[Yoda]

More often than I'd imagined, we here at Lynn Blake Golf experience a very pleasant surprise. That happened again this past week at the Kiawah Island Resort National Pro Am. http://www.kiawahresort.com/golf/tou...ampionship.php

I'll come back to the event in a moment, but first, a little background . . .

About a year after I established my 'world headquarters' at Cuscowilla, a new assistant, Wayne Watts, PGA, came on board. I remember meeting him briefly in the cart staging area, but over the next few months, we had little contact. (Lynn Blake Golf, LLC, is entrepreneurial and independent of Cuscowilla.) Then, late one summer evening as I was wrapping up, I saw his lone figure practicing at the far end of the range.

It wasn't pretty.

His swing was extremely flat, with the arms all bound together and held close into his body, under even the flattest of acceptable Planes. His talent was obvious, but no match for the flawed swing mechanics he had been taught. As a result, his shots were flying every whichaway, and his frustration was palpable.

When I went down and offered to help, he gave the green light.

I explained basic concepts and didn't pull any punches: some things simply had to change. He agreed, and we began The Journey. I left a half hour later -- dark-thirty -- knowing the seeds had been planted. I did not know then how earnestly Wayne would apply himself -- -- but I did know that the work was good and that we would be spending more time together.

That was eighteen months ago.

This past Thursday, in high winds on the famed Ocean Course, the unheralded Wayne Watts won the Pro Division of the Kiawah Island Resort National Pro Am -- by eight shots.



Oh, almost forgot, his Cuscowilla team -- all his students and aficienodos of Alignment Golf -- won the tournament proper.

A good day.



Congrats, Wayne.



In a relatively short period of time, you:

-- Mastered the principles of Alignment Golf;

-- Totally changed your approach to the game and your own swing; and

-- Earned the designation Lynn Blake Certified Instructor.

Last week, you took what you've learned and executed under the gun in a major four-day competition. You deserve the trophy (and the cash!).

We'll get photos up when they become available. For now, though, just know that 'ol Yoda is a mighty proud papa.

Yep, mighty proud indeed.