On major championship weeks, my Instagram feed is filled with golf things that I either can’t do, I shouldn’t do, or at least need to do much differently. Rory McIlroy launching high draws. Justin Thomas hitting spinny pitches. Bryson DeChambeau dialing in yardages down to the decimal point. If there is aspirational value in regular golfers studying the best players, the risk is when it leads us down a futile path. This is why I’ve learned to appreciate the mundane.
For all of the out-of-reach differences between a mid-handicapper like me and the players in the PGA Championship—fast-twitch muscles, hand-eye coordination, full heads of hair—others are achievable if you pay close enough attention. I asked Golf Digest Top 50 teacher Tony Ruggiero what would be on the list. Many fall short of sexy, but that’s the point: we don’t do them because they’re subtle enough to miss. But that’s different than saying they don’t help.
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