When it comes to legends of golf, Texas has more than its share. Not so many caddies land on the list of golf greats but if there ever were a case to be made for that to change, Kevin Robbins would be the man to do it. Robbins wrote Harvey Penick: The Life and Wisdom of the Man Who Wrote the Book on Golf.
Born in 1904, Penick started out as a caddy but became a teacher. He had been a close observer of the sport since childhood. “He taught by observation – he was not an educated man,” Robbins says, “… (so) he taught by watching and he started watching at the age of 8.”
Penick jotted down his observations in a little red book, which became the title of his best-selling book published in 1992. He watched everything from divots to downswings.
“He’d look at grips, stances, swings, turns,” Robbins says, “and just jot down what he saw – the cause and effect of things.”
What you’ll hear in this segment:
– What Penick looked for when he taught golfers how to improve their game
– How his dedication to teaching on the green affected his time with his family
– The women that Penick instructed, at a time when most golf professionals wouldn’t teach female golfers
