Golf Tips for Short & Portly Players

By: Bob Boldt


Golf is one of the few professional sports that give an equal chance, or even an advantage, to those not physically endowed with strength or height. The closer you are to the hitting area the better advantage you have in controlling the ball and swing plane.

One common factor among almost all body types in establishing the swing plane is keeping the club parallel on the backswing (i.e., when the club shaft gets parallel to the ground it is also parallel to the target line). Here's a look at some examples of the heavier body types who've excelled.

Portly & Muscular Players

Jack Nicklaus - 5'10" 220 pounds. 116 professional wins, 18 majors

The longest hitter of his era for over four decades, Jack had a powerful build. But more importantly than his strength, his tempo was slower than almost every pro at that time, which allowed Jack to coil his body in back of the ball resulting in a complete release of his lower body in the hitting area. Plus, he was known for a surprisingly upright swing for his build, assisted by a flying right elbow.

Craig Stadler - 5'10" 220 pounds. 29 professional wins, two majors

Nicknamed the Walrus, Stadler is a personal friend, a free spirit with a "tee it up and let it go" attitude. Very supple body, swings around his heavy frame.

Kevin Stadler - 5'10" 260 pounds. 10 professional wins, 2014 Phoenix Open winner, nicknamed the "Smallrus"

A clone of his dad with a short, three-quarter swing. Also a free spirit, Kevin came up with a great quote when Bubba Watson missed a 5-foot putt to force a playoff: "I didn't think Bubba would miss his putt and I was thinking if we go into a playoff I'm going to miss the Super Bowl."

Billy Casper - 5'10" 220 pounds. Seven majors, won more tournaments than Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player combined from 1964-70 with a total of 27. Holds record for most Ryder Cup wins.

Billy actually played his best golf when he lost 40 pounds on a so-called Buffalo diet; he was later nicknamed "Buffalo Bill." Casper swung around his body and kept his back foot on the ground in order to keep his right side underneath the ball in the hitting area.

Tim Herron - 5'10" 265 pounds. Four professional wins, nicknamed "Lumpy."

Tim has almost a duplicate swing pattern of the above professionals with a slower, smoother backswing.

Porky Oliver - 5'9" 255 pounds. Eight professional wins

Oliver was the first professional to win a PGA tournament with the average weight of an offensive lineman in his era. I had the good fortune to play a practice round with Porky in my amateur days at the Tahoe Open. I marveled at how he hit the ball, almost an exact duplicate of the above professionals with a three-quarter swing.

Porky won the Tahoe Open and, if I remember correctly, a winner's check for $500. I was following Porky to see if I could learn anything when he gave the gallery a great line after he went into the bushes to relieve himself. When he emerged he had missed most of the bush and his white pants had bright yellow lines on both sides.

When he got to the tee he turned to the gallery, who were smirking, and said, "You now know why I'm putting bad. I can't even get my putter out of my pants." After he hit a perfect drive down the middle, he said, "I think I really like this design - Rodney Dangerfield would be proud of me." (Rodney, the famous comedian, was known for his John Daly-esque pants.)

Golf Tip for Portly Players

The more girth you have the more you swing the golf club around your body and through the hitting area. Tempo will be the key for keeping the body underneath the ball in the hitting area.

Bob Boldt turned 77 in September 2014. Married for 31 years to Patricia, the father of two - including two sons, Rob and Jason, who are golf professionals and excellent players - played on the PGA and Champions tours for dozens of years, earning multiple victories in his amateur and professional careers.

Boldt, who attended Cal and became the Bears' men's golf coach, is a long-time native of Northern California and currently the director of golf at Vintners Golf Club in Yountville, where he is one of state's most recognized golf instructors. He received the Northern California PGA Section Junior Golf Leader Award in 1999.