'The Timeless Swing' by Tom Watson

By: Dr. John Wagner


I have always liked Tom Watson but never met him. A friend of mine, Mike Crissey, went to grade school with Tom and told me he's just a really nice person.

As kids, Mike used to play with Tom. Mike often tried to talk Tom into going to the pool to look for girls, but Tom always went to the practice range. It seems the practice range paid off. Now to his new book.

I have to say that I usually don't get excited about a book on instruction, having read so many. But when I got into this one, it turned into a delightful trip. Here's a book that proves you can teach an old dog (me) a new trick or two.

This is a delightful read probably because of the way it's laid out. It's like reading (?) Playboy in that I could tell by the pictures what he's trying to teach. Not a lot of words but great use of photography.

There are also short chapters with nice color highlights to help make the lessons understandable and pleasing on the eye. It gives you a good understanding of the golf swing from start to finish.

Even great amateurs will learn something from Tom's tome. I really enjoyed learning that Tom is the gentleman I always believed him to be.

"The Timeless Swing" by Tom Watson with Nick Seitz, $29.99, Atria Books (a division of Simon and Schuster), ISBN 978-1-4391-9483-6.

Dr. John Wagner has been a Seattle dentist for 37 years. He's been published in several dental journals as well as had several articles appear in the turf magazine for Pacific Northwest golf course superintendents. John has served as a guest lecturer at the University of Washington Business School for several years and as a guest lecturer for several dental societies. Dr. Wagner is the co-designer (with Steve Shea of the Berger Partnership) of a golf course in Japan that cost over $120 million and was built by Wadsworth Golf Construction. He's a Past President of the Washington State Golf Association and a Trustee of the Pacific Coast Golf Association. A 7 handicap, John is currently a member of the USGA Green Section and a Director of the WSGA.