A look at the 20 top players in the world of Golf today: Bubba Watson
The man with the longest drives on the PGA Tour, an average drive of 315 yards and capable of generating a ball speed of 194 mph. Gerry Bubba Watson was born on 5th November 1978 in Bagdad Florida a small town with a population of 1490 at the
time of Bubba’s start to his career.
This made Bubba’s inclusion in professional golf all the more intriguing. Watson is married to Angie a former basketball player.
Watson a left hand golfer, had a drive of 416 yards at the 2010 Sony Open, but his longest drive ever is 422 yards on the Nationwide Tour. Watson was quoted talking about his power hitting, “My dad gave me a 9-iron at age 6 and said, 'Hit it as hard as you
can,' “said Watson, who weighs 180 pounds, “It's about hitting the ball in the center of the club face and hitting it hard.”
Watson won his first PGA tour in 2010 in Cromwell, Connecticut at the Travelers Championship, a win that Watson dedicated to his parents. His father was fighting Cancer at the time. He soon died on October 15, 2010.
Watson in his early days played on the same high school golf team as fellow PGA tour members Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley. He also played for University of Georgia in 2000 and 2001. Watson’s professional career started in 2003 when he joined the Nationwide
Tour. He played there till 2005. In 2006 he had qualified for the PGA tour. In 2007 Watson played the U.S. Open, he was in the final group on the Saturday after the shooting rounds. He finished tied at fifth.
Watson won his 2nd PGA tour event the Farmers Insurance Open in 2011, by one stroke beating Phil Mickelson. Later that year he also beat Webb Simpson at the second playoff hole at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, giving him his third career
PGA Tour title.
Watson career has not been one without controversy, During the European Tour he criticized Alston Open de France; he complained about the security and organization at the tournament and said that he will not be playing any further events on the European
Tour. Watson is also part of an infamous quartet of a Golf boy band called the “Golf Boys.” They have released a video of one of their songs called “Oh Oh Oh” in a bid to raise money for charity. The video left everyone wide eyed, but it was done in good humor
and for a good cause.
On a serious note Tiger Woods regards Bubba highly, and while speaking to the media called Bubba “the future of the game,” given his prodigious distance. Watson responding to the remark gave a smile with a grin on his face and said, “That's sad; a guy named
Bubba could be the future.”
Watson is a genius and that genius is reflected in the empirical data of his freakish launches. Bubba uses a 44 ½ inch drive with 6.5 degrees of loft, generating a clubhead speed of 122 miles per hour. He easily exceeds the ball speed tour average by 30
mph. But the wonder of his game is the combination of the launch angle and the spin rate which is about 1600 to 1800 revolutions per minute that is about 1000 revolutions lower than the tour average. Bubba Watson epitomizes the titanium era with maximum distance,
high launch and low spin.
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