Well, not really. Peter Jacobson won the Open. The U.S. Senior Open, that is. But Tom Kite was in contention for much of the day. Strangely, I found myself rooting for Tom, although it was ok with me that Jake won. Strange, I say, because back in the day, I didn't care much for Tom Kite. And I will admit to the fact that there was really only one reason why... I didn't think he looked like a golfer. Back in the late 80's and early 90's when I was first getting into golf, I watched players like Norman, Nicklaus, Crenshaw and Faldo and drew to the conclusion that this is what a golfer should be. Kite to me looked like a computer geek. How ironic that I would grow up to me a computer geek myself.
Anyway, my attitude of Kite changed when I picked up a copy of the Little Red Book (on audiotape), the first book by Tom's childhood teacher, Harvey Penick. Now, I'm not much of a technical person when it comes to the golf swing. I know how you're supposed to swing a golf club, but I just can't make myself think that way. I like to tell myself that I'm a feel player. I guess that sounds better than saying I'm a no-talent bum. I was never able to read or hear any instruction without it messing up my swing even more. That is, until Harvey came along. Harvey's way of teaching the swing was not to tell you how to do it, but to get you to thinking about something else which produced the same result.
For my fellow "feel" players out there looking for instruction on the game of golf, I'd suggest picking up a copy of Harvey's Little Red Book. It changed my game, and my outlook on the game.
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