Wild Bill

Written By Thomas Abts

Wild Bill

 

Greetings Golfers,

 

You’ve probably never heard of Bill Mehlhorn … the guy who Ben Hogan said was “the best I ever saw from tee-to-green."

 

He was called “Wild Bill” because he could go “wild” shooting a string of low scores … and he wore a cowboy hat.

 

His weakness was putting … that’s why you never heard of him. He did win 20 tournaments and finished 14 times in the top ten in Majors … and was runner-up to Walter Hagen in the 1925 PGA Championship.

 

But his real legacy is his ideas about the golf swing.

 

Here they are in a nutshell:

  • Don’t interfere with the swing.

  • Grip lightly and relaxed.

  • Never use more than 2/3 power.

  • The follow-through is more important than the backswing.

  • In golf… you never use force… you create it. Motion is force.

Well … he can explain his ideas better than I can.

 

Here’s a link to a video of him giving a clinic in Florida in the 1970s.

 

Cheers!

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Thomas Abts
Next

The Ryder Cup