Rinker’s Golf Tips Bob Toski November 30th with PGA Tour Player Ken Duke. Bob said, “The lead arm is the master arm in golf,” which is the left arm for a right handed golfer. Teachers must teach that the straight arm is the master of the bent arm. For a right handed golfer the right arm is subservient to the left arm. The right arm works on, about, and around the lead or left arm. Poor aim can make the right arm over dominate from the top of the swing. “People don’t know where to aim and where to swing. Aim it square at the target,” Bob stated. A caller asked how to stop hooking the ball and Bob said, “Have to pull longer on the shaft coming into the ball to delay the right hand from catching up.” Bob told him to go hit some balls and let go with his right hand at impact. This forces the left arm to keep speed and control the club face.
Bob Toski was the leading money winner on the PGA Tour in 1954 when Hogan, Snead, and other Hall of Famers were still playing. Bob had a three shot lead after five holes in the final round of the 1954 World Championship of Golf until he triple-bogied the sixth hole and by the 15th hole he was three down. After an eagle on 16, Bob was again tied for the lead, and made a seven and a half foot putt for birdie on 18 to win the $50,000 first prize and an additional $50,000 available in the form of a contract with Tam O’Shanter course owner, George May, for 50 worldwide exhibition events. This was the largest first prize in the history of golf at a time when winning the U.S. Open paid $6000 and second on the money list for the year was $20,000. Even though it wasn’t a major, it was because it had the strongest and best field of the year with the international players that were invited and travel expenses paid by George May.
“It took me five years to become a good teacher. I should have given everybody their money back the first five years. Teaching is an art, playing is a skill. You can only swing a golf club at a rate of speed with which the strength of your arms and hands can bare. The secret to golf is controlling your arm, hand, and wrist speed and time it with your body reacting and supporting that speed,” Bob stated.
PGA Tour Player, Ken Duke who works with Bob Toski, called in and said, “You can ask Bob Toski as many questions as you want and he always has an answer. He’s priceless, he’s touched my life, and so many others, just a special guy.” Ken, who won in Hartford in 2013, said Bob is a hard guy to do something for, so he was able to do two things. (1) After Ken qualified for the Masters by making the Tour Championship in 2009, he took Bob to the Masters and (2) Bob won in Hartford in 1953, 60 years before Ken, and Ken had both the 1954 and 2014 tournament programs with their pictures on the covers, put in a frame that said “Teacher, Student.” I asked Ken what Bob did for him and Ken said, “He took what I had and worked with it. I was too inside out and he got me swinging more left in a way that I could. He’s a get in your face guy and gets his point across. I don’t know if there was one time he said something negative. He was always positive. He encouraged me by telling me you got to play better, you’re a better player than that, and there’s no reason you can’t.” Bob said, “God gave me a gift to be a teacher. God gave me a gift to be a player.”
“We have so many negative thoughts in golf because we don’t understand how to swing the golf club. Knowledge is power transmitted into physical imagery. I try to transmit physical energy by being positive with the knowledge of how the body and the swing works to connect the golf club to the ball with square contact. Most people don’t make square contact. First thing you got to get is hand eye coordination. Hand eye coordination starts with the putter. Aim the putter at the hole and see if you can square the club face and knock the ball in the hole,” said Bob. Bob can be reached at his home at 561-483-5055.