Rinker’s Golf Tips Sept 21 Top 100 Teacher Bill Harmon. Bill’s brothers Butch, Craig, and Dick said that Bill was the best player of the four Harmon brothers. I asked Bill how close he came to making it as a player and he said that if there were two exits on the highway, he would take the “fun” exit instead of the “get better” as a player exit. Their dad, Claude, was a great player who had nine top five’s in majors and won the 1948 Masters. Claude was also a fine teacher and Bill said, “To be a good player you have to be selfish. To be a good teacher you have to be a giver.” His dad was a big cause and effect guy who focused on the grip and how the club face was at the top of the swing. Claude played the Tour in the winter time where he met Craig Woods who hired him as an assistant pro at Winged Foot. Craig changed his grip to a more neutral grip which helped him to eliminate the left side of the golf course. Claude won the Masters four years later. Craig taught Claude how to swing the club, Hogan taught him how to play. All of the Harmon brothers have an eye for teaching which Bill called a gift. Something they just have.
To be a good player you have to manage the golf course and manage yourself. Good players are trying to hit a good shot where poor players are trying not to hit a bad shot. Have to be committed to doing something. Eliminating one side of the course makes the game easier. If you are missing it both ways the game is much harder. Hogan said the hook was never his problem. It was the fear of the hook. Hook one early and you will be playing defense the rest of the round. There is an importance to being a good driver of the golf ball which is very underrated. Got to figure it out and find a way to hit fairways.
Bill’s dad was a huge proponent of swinging a heavy club. Claude had a lead-weighted driver that he used to swing while he was giving lessons at Winged Foot. The weight of the club helped him to set his wrists at the top of his swing and also gave him great tempo. You never get any negative feedback swinging a club without a ball and it’s hard to swing a heavy club off plane. We talked about Bob Toski and how he is a tremendous arm, hand, and wrist teacher. Have to learn how to swing the club with the arms, hands, and wrists first before bringing the bigger muscles in. Bill said that so many people are trying to swing the club with their bigger muscles and they get the club way off of plane. There is a relationship with the hands and the club face and everyone has to figure that hand eye coordination out first.
A caller asked how he could better take his game from the range to the golf course. Bill said on the range there is no consequence, we swing freely, and without fear. We get to the course and try too hard. On the course we have to commit to a target with our eyes seeing the line to the target. You want to practice hitting shots on the range because it will peak your concentration. Jay Hass, “Just because you are nervous doesn’t mean you have to hit a bad shot.” Lastly Bill said his dad used to always say, “Two things to impress; the back of the ball and the scorecard.” Jay and Bill Haas, who work with Bill, always putt out and play for a score in practice rounds. The art of playing is not talked about enough. Bill Harmon can be reached at zito1948@verizon.net