Question:
Maybe it’s just people with exceptional coordination and sporting ability being good at anything they turn their hand to?
I agree with this, they are the type of guys we all hate: the natural athlete. Plenty of good cricketers have the hand-eye co-ordination to quickly become good golfers. Interestingly, many RH cricketers take up LH golf as learning one technique seems to interfere with the other. Being as I gave up being a mediocre cricketer before becoming a mediocre golfer it wasn’t an issue with me.
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I agree with this, they are the type of guys we all hate: the natural athlete. Plenty of good cricketers have the hand-eye co-ordination to quickly become good golfers. Interestingly, many RH cricketers take up LH golf as learning one technique seems to interfere with the other.
Of all the sports and games I have played, easily the most boring (to me) is cricket. Even more so than baseball. It’s much slower than chess. There are LOTS of good hockey players who play good golf. But in general, being athletic & fit helps in all sports. Being as I gave up being a mediocre cricketer before becoming a mediocre golfer it wasn’t an issue with me.
I gave up being a mediocre racquetball player for being a poor golfer. I am a quick, aggressive, diving type player and had to pick a sport more suited to my age and arthritis.
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I think I remember former tennis great Ivan Lendl trying tob qualify either for a tour and maybe just a single event. I’m pretty sure he didn’t do too well though.
I forgot about Lendl. I’m fairly sure Pat Rafter is also a single-figure handicapper … he’s been seen in quite a few charity pro-ams in Australia. — Cheers Colin Wilson RSG Roll Call: http://rec-sport-golf.com/members/?rollcall=wilsonc Trentham Golf Club: http://www.trenthamgolf.com
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I think I remember former tennis great Ivan Lendl trying tob qualify either for a tour and maybe just a single event. I’m pretty sure he didn’t do too well though. I forgot about Lendl. I’m fairly sure Pat Rafter is also a single-figure handicapper … he’s been seen in quite a few charity pro-ams in Australia.
he’s off 4 or 8 or something…? playing any ball sport full time has to be useful in golf.
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Pete Sampras played to a 1 or 2 when he was playing tennis at his peak and now, I hear he is a scratch golfer. I played tennis for 9 years before I picked up a golf club and I can tell you that some of the techniques in both swings are identical. Making a full turn, weight shift, keeping your head down, eye on the ball, etc. etc. I play to a 3 handicap (new born has put a crimp in my golf game, but I am hoping it will be better next year 
) and I can tell you that tennis has helped a good bit. Raj
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – So what would be the transference of skill from tennis to golf … anything? Former Australian international and Davis Cup tennis player Scott Draper, who has taken up golf and is off a one handicap, shot a one-over 73 for T109 playing as an amateur in the first round of the Queensland PGA Championship at Emerald Lakes today. Draper shot a 4-under-par 68 at the same course last week. In an interesting match-up, former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, who apparently plays off about 8, is looking for experience and will caddy for Greg Norman in the Australian PGA Championship next month. Hewitt says he loves the sport (golf, that is) and might have his mind set on it for "life after tennis" (although he’s still only 22!). Maybe it’s just people with exceptional coordination and sporting ability being good at anything they turn their hand to? — Cheers Colin Wilson RSG Roll Call: http://rec-sport-golf.com/members/?rollcall=wilsonc Trentham Golf Club: http://www.trenthamgolf.com (Also waiting for the comments about Hewitt’s on-court antics transferring to golf! 
)
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I thought he was planning on playing for the Crows! Hewitt says he loves the sport (golf, that is) and might have his mind set on it for "life after tennis" (although he’s still only 22!). Quite a few Pro tennis players play golf (Henman plays off 4 I think). There’s quite a link between the two, the fundamentals of the stroke mechanics are not dissimilar, in terms of loading and unloading and the muscle groups used. The co-ordination element also comes into it, as does body awareness (Kinesthesia [or is it proprioception?]) which is hugely important for both sports as is the fact that both are late specialisation sports. As a tennis coach who has recently turned to playing a bit of golf (as many tennis pro’s do) i’m loving going through the learning process again and am finding that many of the lessons that apply in golf apply in tennis as well and has given me a few new analogies to use in my lessons. Ash Smith
I think I remember former tennis great Ivan Lendl trying tob qualify either for a tour and maybe just a single event. I’m pretty sure he didn’t do too well though.
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So what would be the transference of skill from tennis to golf … anything?
There’s a kid at my club that spends his winters down in Mexico teaching tennis to rich folks behind the barbed-wire fences…far as I can tell, you’ve got many of the same muscle groups in motion, so if you’re used to using them, the golf swing comes fairly naturally. What Mike thinks does the most for him, though, is the timing and tempo. He’s used to adjusting his tempo to adjust the speed of his shots… Prof. Rev. Todd "Runyan" McGillivray, Esq. http://cplhicks.tripod.com/ Emailing me? tmcg at sasktel dot net. "Even the Mona Lisa’s fallin’ apart." – Fight Club
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So what would be the transference of skill from tennis to golf …
anything? Tennis Elbow …. :)
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The best transition point for me going from a 5.0 tennis player who got old was the natural feeling of wrist rotation through the ball. Weight shift and keeping the eyes steady also transfer. Paul
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – So what would be the transference of skill from tennis to golf … anything? Tennis Elbow …. :)
Response:
I thought he was planning on playing for the Crows! Hewitt says he loves the sport (golf, that is) and might have his mind set on it for "life after tennis" (although he’s still only 22!).
Quite a few Pro tennis players play golf (Henman plays off 4 I think). There’s quite a link between the two, the fundamentals of the stroke mechanics are not dissimilar, in terms of loading and unloading and the muscle groups used. The co-ordination element also comes into it, as does body awareness (Kinesthesia [or is it proprioception?]) which is hugely important for both sports as is the fact that both are late specialisation sports. As a tennis coach who has recently turned to playing a bit of golf (as many tennis pro’s do) i’m loving going through the learning process again and am finding that many of the lessons that apply in golf apply in tennis as well and has given me a few new analogies to use in my lessons. Ash Smith
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I thought he was planning on playing for the Crows! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hewitt says he loves the sport (golf, that is) and might have his mind set on it for "life after tennis" (although he’s still only 22!).
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So what would be the transference of skill from tennis to golf … anything? Former Australian international and Davis Cup tennis player Scott Draper, who has taken up golf and is off a one handicap, shot a one-over 73 for T109 playing as an amateur in the first round of the Queensland PGA Championship at Emerald Lakes today. Draper shot a 4-under-par 68 at the same course last week. In an interesting match-up, former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, who apparently plays off about 8, is looking for experience and will caddy for Greg Norman in the Australian PGA Championship next month. Hewitt says he loves the sport (golf, that is) and might have his mind set on it for "life after tennis" (although he’s still only 22!). Maybe it’s just people with exceptional coordination and sporting ability being good at anything they turn their hand to? — Cheers Colin Wilson RSG Roll Call: http://rec-sport-golf.com/members/?rollcall=wilsonc Trentham Golf Club: http://www.trenthamgolf.com (Also waiting for the comments about Hewitt’s on-court antics transferring to golf! )