Alright, so I decided to spend some time looking into this golfer, Bryan Kim. Heard his name pop up and figured I’d see what his game, especially his swing, was all about. You know, maybe learn something I could try myself.
First thing I did was jump online, watched a few videos of him playing. Slowed them down, looked at his setup, his takeaway, the whole sequence. Seemed pretty fluid, pretty powerful. Thought to myself, “Okay, maybe I can borrow a piece of that.”
Down the Rabbit Hole
But then, things took a bit of a turn. I started getting sidetracked, looking at the gear he was using. What driver? What irons? You know how it is. Suddenly, I wasn’t focused on the swing anymore, I was obsessed with finding the same clubs. Big mistake.
I spent maybe a solid week, probably more, digging through websites, forums, even checking out some obscure overseas shops online. Looking for that specific set of irons he supposedly plays. Found a listing that looked promising – decent price, seller seemed okay. Said they were barely used. Pulled the trigger, paid the cash.
Waited for them to arrive, feeling pretty pleased with myself. Box shows up, I open it up… totally wrong specs. Shafts were like steel rods, way too stiff for me, and the lie angle was all wrong. Completely unhittable for my swing. Tried contacting the seller, nothing. Just vanished. Money gone. Felt like a complete fool. My significant other just shook her head, didn’t even need to say anything. Honestly, it made me pause and think about what I was even doing. Chasing gear instead of actually working on my game. It reminded me of that time I waited hours online for some limited-edition gadget only for the site to crash. Same pointless frustration.
Back to Basics
So, after that little disaster, I kind of snapped out of the gear obsession. Realized I needed to get back to the actual playing part. Forget the clubs, what was Bryan Kim actually doing in his swing?
- I went back to the driving range, using my own trusty, albeit less fancy, clubs.
- I picked one thing from his swing – his tempo. It looked really smooth, unhurried.
- I specifically tried to slow down my backswing. Just focused on that one element.
- Pulled out my phone, watched a clip of his swing, tried to mimic the rhythm. Swing, watch, adjust, swing again.
- It felt weird at first, really unnatural compared to my usual jerky motion.
- I started using a little mental count, like “one… two…” for the backswing and downswing.
The Result?
Look, I didn’t suddenly become a pro golfer. My scores didn’t magically drop by 10 strokes overnight just by thinking about Bryan Kim’s tempo. But, focusing on that rhythm, that smoothness? It actually helped a little. My ball striking felt a bit more solid when I managed to keep that tempo.
Trying to completely copy someone else’s swing, piece by piece? Probably not the best idea for an average Joe like me. And definitely, chasing their exact equipment was a stupid waste of time and money, as I learned the hard way. But picking up on one small thing, like tempo, and trying to incorporate it into my own feel? Yeah, there was some value there. It’s a process, always learning, always tinkering. That’s golf, I guess.
