Ken Larsen's website - Golf
I love golf. In 2004 I played 111 rounds - the most ever in one year. I belong to the Occoneechee Golf Club in Hillsborough, North Carolina. (online booking)
My best scores lifetime have been 71 right-handed (in 1974) and 76 left-handed (on August 21, 2006).
Lifetime eagles that I've made:
|
Type of Hole |
# |
|
|
Par 3 (hole-in-one) |
0 |
I'm still looking for my first ace! |
|
Par 4 |
3 |
Each time by holing out a 7 iron. |
|
Par 5 |
5 |
|
I switched to playing left-handed to cure a chronic "over-the-top" move that I had as a right-handed player. I throw and write right-handed, but played baseball left-handed as a youth. Interestingly, there are many famous golfers who are (or were) left-handed and play (or played) with right-handed clubs or vice versa. Here are a few:
|
Golfer |
Throws |
Golf Clubs used |
| Jordan Spieth | Left | Right |
|
Johnny Miller |
Left |
Right |
|
Nick Price |
Left |
Right |
| Ben Hogan | Left | Right |
|
Bob Charles |
Right |
Left |
| Phil Mickelson | Right | Left |
|
Mike Weir |
Right |
Left |
I think it would be beneficial if golf instruction books addressed this issue of handedness as I harbor a visceral belief that "opposite-handed golfers" ideally need different drills than "same-handed golfers". Additionally, the PGA and LPGA should update their web site player bios to identify the "handedness" of each tour player. That would make it easy to answer questions like: "Does opposite-handedness contribute to driving accuracy, driving distance, position on the world ranking, etc.?"
My favorite golf instruction book is "The Eight-Step Swing" by Jim McLean (1994)
Here is my latest philosophy on the golf swing.
During the years 1975-1987 I directed the IBM Watson Trophy Golf Tournament for employees at the Raleigh site. The 1975 tournament had 108 participants; the last three had 300, 304, and 308 golfers and was played out over two weekends. It became hugely popular after I began publishing results for all players in 1978 and recruited numerous volunteers to serve as spotters on various golf holes. I was also assiduous in publishing rules and details of volunteer assignments. This attention to detail began as a youth when I ran a neighborhood baseball team for eight years and kept copious statistics.
Golf swings of myself
My left-handed golf swing (from rear)
My left-handed golf swing (from side)
My right-handed golf swing (from rear)
My right-handed golf swing (from side)
GoPro footage of my golf swing on January 25, 2018
My golf swing on October 8, 2018
My golf swing on April 16, 2019
My right-handed golf swing on April 18, 2019
My right-handed golf swing on April 22, 2019
Golf swing of Glenn Tortorici (a friend)
Golf swing of Glenn Tortoric on hole 12 on April 22, 2019
Golf swing of Glenn Tortoric on hole 15 on April 22, 2019
Slow motion analysis of Brooks Koepka's swing
"Tuck trailing elbow on the downswing for distance" -YouTube video