Lee Trevino Reveals His Secret To Success

Lee Trevino is an amazing player. He always seems to be smiling and for those who don’t know he was/is one of most colorful players in golf. To match his amazing personality he was also a prolific winner. With 92 world wide professional wins, he is better know for his wins in the Majors. Tied for 12th overall with 6 wins, Trevino knows how to win the big matches. Interestingly, how he became a great player is rooted in his early years and what he focused upon to eventually be a golf legend.

Lately, I have talked about how to improve our game and Lee Trevino hits the nail on the head. In his own words:

“The reason that I got so good was because we had this par-3 golf course on about 50 acres. The longest hole was 120 yards; the shortest hole was 55 yards. And we had a driving range. All I did was play the pitch-and-putt all day, and hit drivers. You don’t need any other. All you need to be good is a wedge and a driver. You can learn to roll [putts] if you know the other parts.”

Of course, like any truly great ball-striker, Trevino slightly understates the importance of putting. But he does admit that the best years came when his putter was at its hottest, because his ball-striking was dependably rock solid.

“I was never known as a great putter. But when I did putt good, you couldn’t beat me. That’s the string I had in 1971 when I won three Opens [U.S., British and Canadian]. The hole looked this big. My ball-striking was always the same.”

To be a great player, start training at the pin and work your way out is what I glean from his quotes. By his own admission when his short game was on he was almost impossible to beat. If that is not an endorsement for how to improve our golf game, I do not know what is. Working on our short game is always a good thing. If you do not believe me, then take it from Lee.