May
Peterson working on his short game
Courtesy Edmonton Journal:
It’s not exactly the Charles Barkley project, but the premise is the same. Take an athlete who loves golf and see if it’s possible to make him a better golfer.
Subject: Edmonton Eskimos receiver Kamau Peterson.
Instructors: Windermere Golf and Country Club golf professionals Cam Martens and Matt Johnson.
Kamau Peterson, the Edmonton Eskimo’s outstanding slotback/receiver, is like most people who play golf: It drives him crazy. And, like Captain Ahab, Chicago Cubs fans or even the Joker, that’s what keeps him coming back for more.
“I’ve played so many sports, but golf is the only sport that doesn’t lend itself to the perfectionist that I am. It’s a relentless pursuit but you can never catch up to it,” said Peterson, who was named the Canadian Football League’s Most Outstanding Canadian last year.
“In football I’m playing against the guy in front of me. It’s usually a battle of wills. Man on man.
“Golf is not like that. You may feel like you are competing against the other players in your group, but you are really playing against the course. And the course wins every time.
“Outside of maybe Tiger, nobody can dominate this game.” Peterson, who caught 101 passes (second-most in the CFL) for 1,317 yards (third-best for receiving yards) last season, has only been playing golf for seven years.
He is a decent golfer — better than decent by most standards given that he can shoot in the high 80s.
His clubhead speed is an uncanny 120 m.p.h. — which is above the speeds reached by most PGA players.
Most certainly there is no comparison between Peterson’s swing and Charles Barkley, who was part of the Golf Channel’s reality series The (Hank) Haney Project: Charles Barkley.
Barkley owned the ugliest swing in golf history — the often lampooned “most famous hitch in golf.” Peterson’s swing can actually look very good.
But the key word is can. Peterson’s biggest problem is that he is inconsistent. He is just as apt to shoot over 100.
“I’m hooked. There is no doubt about that. And I want to get better. A lot better,” said Peterson, 30, who joined the Eskimos for the start of the 2007 season after playing for the Calgary Stampeders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Peterson’s goal is to get down to a single-digit handicap.
“Hopefully a low single digit,” said Peterson.
Truth be told, Peterson’s real goal is to be able to go out and beat Edmonton Eskimos teammates Noel Prefontaine, Ricky Ray and the newly acquired Kelly Malveaux.
“They are all single digit players,” said Peterson. “It would be nice to be able to play straight-up against them. Right now they have to give me strokes. Lots of strokes.
“I’d like to be able to run with that pack.” Malveaux, in fact, was the one who introduced Peterson to golf when they were teammates with the Stampeders in 2001 and 2002.
“I broke 100 the first time I played the game. So I think I’ve got a chance.
“I’m very much self-taught. This is the first time I’ve ever had a golf lesson.
“I watch the Golf Channel and try to emulate their swings. Well, I don’t watch the Golf Channel now as much as I used to, because I was spending too much money. Every time there was a commercial for a golf aid or something that could fix your swing, I’d say, ‘Hey, that’s what I need.’ ” Now, Peterson said he mostly goes on the Internet and watches golf swings of PGA players and tries to copy their styles.
Martens, 27, who has been at the Windermere G&CC for six years, said he is really looking forward to working with Peterson.
“He’s keen, that’s for sure. He’s real eager to get better and he knows he has a lot to work on.
“That’s probably the biggest key. I hate to say this, but a lot of male golfers are stubborn and don’t want to ask for help. Women are more apt to take lessons.
“Kamau asks a lot of questions. A lot of specific questions. He wants to do it right.” He may also be the keenest student Martens has ever come across.
“I know it would drive my wife nuts but golf, for me, is very relaxing,” said Peterson. “I’d play golf every day if I could. And if I’m not playing, I’m always out hitting balls. Last year in between games, after practices — even after games — I’d go to the range and hit balls.” But like most people who don’t take lessons, what Peterson was mostly doing was perfecting his imperfect swing.
Martens and Peterson have had a couple of early sessions and Martens definitely sees potential.
“We’ve definitely got a challenge on our hands. He’s very strong. He’s very athletic. But the clubhead is not square at impact very often and as a result balls go all over the place.
“He hits it high. He hits it left. And he hits it right.
“I know Kamau wants to be a single-digit player and we’re a long way away from that yet, but I really believe it is attainable.” One of the first things Martens is going to do is change Peterson’s swing path. Right now it is too upright.
(Hate to put this in, Kamau, but that was one of things Haney tried to do with Barkley, too — a flatter backswing.) Peterson believes that his irons are pretty good, but his biggest problem is controlling his driver.
“When it goes missing, then I can shoot anything,” said Peterson.
But Martens said, “His driver just makes it look worse. Even with his sand wedge, the ball is often going straight up in the air and there is significant right-to-left variation.
“And he hits his 7-iron even higher and even more inconsistently right or left.
“He’s going to have to be prepared for some discomfort. Swing changes take time.” Peterson knows that.
“It’s a process. I know we are just getting started, but I can already feel a difference. When it does work it feels amazing.
“Cam told me that May is going to be ugly as we go through the changes. So I’m really looking forward to June.” And he doesn’t mean the start of Eskimos training camp.
“I mean there’s no chance, but I can tell you this: If I ever got the chance to decide between playing football and giving it a shot on the PGA, it would be no contest. Sorry, Edmonton, but I’d be saying goodbye.”
