by Ried Holien

People say Tiger Woods is golf’s fiercest competitor, but such talk would just make Lloyd Mangrum laugh. You see, Mangrum was, is, and likely always will be golf’s toughest tough guy. Tiger stares down 3-foot putts; Mangrum stared down death.

Contemporaries called Mangrum “Mr. Icicle” for his cool confidence under pressure, and for his frosty personality. So quiet as to appear condescending, Mangrum showed little emotion. Other golfers respected his ability and feared his temper.

Sam Snead remembered sitting with Mangrum at a restaurant once when Lloyd accidentally tripped a passerby. The irate man rose and started yelling at Mangrum. The golfer listened for a minute, silent and stone-faced. Then, in a flash, Mangrum picked up the sugar bowl and slammed it into the man’s face. Crunch, crash, splattering blood.
Years later, after Mangrum died—which meant he was safe saying it—Snead revealed: “Some of us weren’t sure he was quite right mentally because of what he went through in the war.”

Fading and drawing the ball are skills every good golfer should have. The modifications required to hit these shots are surprisingly very simple. Just keep in mind that the funda¬mentals, which apply to a normal shot, apply as well to these shots. To hit the fade — to move the ball from left to right — aim your clubface at the target, then open your stance and your hip and shoulder align¬ment setting your body a bit to the left. Now make your normal swing, the path of which will follow your body alignment. The only swing change you make is that you "hold on" a little more through the impact area and ¬you keep the back of the left hand firmer going more toward the target instead of releasing and rotating as it would in a normal shot.

The Single Pivot Swing

I have seen great players play off their left side, but never off their right side. Hogan, Nicklaus, Trevino, and Venturi all appeared to reverse their weight on the backswing. They did not; they merely stayed on their left side.

Golf is a game that requires patience, skill and a tolerance towards playing with some discomfort. If you play the game long enough, it is inevitable that you will experience some form of soft tissue discomfort.

Knee pain that won't go away and the recuperation process after knee replacement surgery.