Inspiration from Payne Stewart

Some time ago I saw a story on the Golf Channel about memories of Payne Stewart by his wife, Tracey.  Considering his struggles for success and the tragic early end of his life, I was most impressed by swing tips that Payne’s father, had hand written for Tracey. She framed the note as it was a wonderful reminder of the years that she had referred to it for guidance when she worked with Payne throughout his professional career.

Tracey recorded the stats for every tournament that Payne played. She kept a record of fairways hits, GIR and number of putts so we know that she was very involved with the process to help Payne improve his game.

The following note is a good example that we may all want to follow in order to improve our games. It’s a list of swing thoughts that Payne’s father hoped that Tracey would use if she noticed that Payne’s game was in trouble. This note is a piece of Payne Stewart’s golf history and the specific tips may have little bearing on YOUR game but the list may give you ideas to prepare your personal list to read when your putts, fairways shots or drives are not working.

———————
“dad wrote to me” [comment entered by Tracy Stewart at the top of the hand written note]

– Watch Payne’s feet on putting, keep left foot back, right foot up.
– Keep Payne with a good tempo. Slow backswing, take it back high + finish high
– Keep the blade open with 7, 8, 9, PW & SW and finish high
– Keep from pressing, just a good solid swing, good far left arm
– Keep left shoulder up in the air, Keep head behind the ball, Hold head tilt,
Practice with eyes shut
——————–

Payne Stewart celebrates when he won the 1991 US Open at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Mandatory Credit: David Cannon/Allsport Golfweek

During practice on the final day of the 1999 US Open, Tracy noticed that Payne was moving his head on his putts. She told him to “just keep your head down”. After he won the tournament (his second US Open), he embraced her and said, “I kept my head down all day”.

He cherished her words of wisdom!

These comments are meant to be an inspiration to all of us. Most of us don’t have a coach but we should write down our WORDS OF WISDOM for a quick reference when we wonder why our game is going off track.

Take notes on your success factors. Continuously update them as your game improves. That list will help you improve your game. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to apply YOUR Words of Wisdom for every swing in your game. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

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