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 15^th 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.

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In 1976 my dad took me down to Miami to have a golf lesson with the legend Bob Toski which would start a friendship and mentorship that is still going on today. Bob Toski called in and I asked him to share some thoughts about my father. “He and I had something in common that I didn’t realize. I love flowers, have a garden, and spend a lot of time maintaining it at my home. I didn’t know your father was in the flower business until I read his obituary. The result of why you are such a great family is the fact that you were raised so well from your mother and father; How to live life, how to enjoy life, how to be a good person, your dad taught you that through golf. Your dad loved golf, he loved to teach, he was very passionate for teaching, and he spent a lot of time coming down to see me to talk about the golf swing. Your dad had that energy and passion to teach the game and learn more about it.”

Toski told a couple of great stories. First when he was stationed in India, he won a tournament in Calcutta beating other service men, and thought hey, I must be pretty good. So when he got back to the States, he went out on the Tour and Demaret, Snead, Nelson, and Mangrum adopted him, and would come over and watch him hit balls. They all kind of agreed on what he should do. They said, if you’re good enough you’re big enough, you have a small light body, and know how to swing the club. So a 118 lb guy ends up being leading money winner in 1954. “I doubt that will ever happen again,” stated Toski. Demaret told Toski, “The perfect golf swing is one that you can perfect, consistently repeat, hit golf shots, and make a number. All golf swings are not the same. The player that understand his own mind, his own body, and his own swing, is a player that is going to be successful.”

Toski’s second story was that he used to spend a lot of time watching Hogan practice. “I decided that my swing was in and up like Nicklaus. I’m going to flatten my swing out, lay the club off, and I’m going to re-route it and move fast into the ball. I was hitting golf balls and Same Snead was watching me practice out of the corner of his eye. I’m practicing and my balls are going all over the place. Sam finally walks over to me and says, Mouse, what in the hell are you practicing? I said well, I’ve been watching Hogan swing and I’m trying to emulate some of his moves. Mouse let me give you some advice. You swing like Bob Toski, you don’t swing like Ben Hogan, and you don’t swing like Sam Snead. Now you get back over there and show me how you swing like Bob Toski, and if you don’t I’m going to come over there and chew your butt out! He scared the hell out of me and after 10 or 15 balls Sam said, that’s the swing that is going to make you great.” Bob Toski can be reached via Twitter @BobToski. Tom Patri can be reached at www.TomPatri.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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When you swing the golf club three things happen; you make a golf swing, the body turns, and the body shifts, that’s all you do. So you have a swinging force, a turning force, and a shifting force. You must correlate and synchronize those movements and square the club face to the target. The way you hold the club and aim the club is critical to becoming a good golfer. Bob likes the word “neutral” to describe the grip and you want a neutral grip to be able to neutralize the force of the right hand from turning over and hooking the ball. The grip has transformed from a strong grip to a neutral grip. The hands influence your golf swing more than any other part of your body. “No one will convince me otherwise because they are in constant contact with the golf club and in control of the golf club constantly from start to finish. It’s the only communication you have with the golf club and the only part of our body that is touching the club,” Bob stated.

Aiming and swinging the club head on the line of play is a fundamental. Your eyes conceive, your mind receives, and your body reacts. Good players know how to use their eyes to aim and swing the club head on the intended line of play. The lateral force that starts the down swing creates vertical force from the inside. You must go from a lateral motion into a rotary motion and not from a rotary motion into a lateral motion.” Have to move to it, to turn through it.” The golf swing is a push pull motion. The lead arm must push the club back and then pull the club from the inside. Bob Toski can be reached via twitter @BobToski.

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