By Brian Robin
To fully grasp where Garrett Boe and that elusive mistress known as a "repeatable, effective golf swing" are right now, you must go back to the late fall of 2021 and the winter of 2022.
When you take this trip in the Wayback Machine, you won't find the Garrett Boe who is currently dismantling golf courses around California.
No. That Garrett Boe, the one who was just anointed Big West Golfer of the Month for February, the one who finished first and third in two tournaments, the one who — in that first-place finish at The Joust at Goose Creek Golf Course in Mira Loma — put on a ball-striking clinic that left his hard-to-impress coach Jason Drotter in awe, wasn't around last season.
No. The swing that produced a playoff loss in the Fresno City Amateur brought Boe to the quarterfinals of the Northern California Amateur, a third in the Northern California Open and a fifth in the Southern California Open — in both of which he was low amateur — disappeared.
"He came back from Christmas break, and his swing was gone," Drotter said. "It was the weirdest thing I've ever seen. I've never, ever seen anything like it in 13 years here. I lied to him. I told him work hard and you may get decent by the end of the season. Reasonably, he was six to eight months out to fix his mechanics."
Anyone who has ever picked up and swung a golf club understands what Boe faced was one of the worst calamities to befall a golfer. Losing your mechanics and your ability to repeat a smooth, effective golf swing often is the death knell to a golfer's career. What you dig out of the dirt, in the words of the iconic Hall of Famer Ben Hogan can bury you without warning. The cautionary tale, often mentioned in hushed tones, is that of Australian Ian Baker-Finch.
Currently a CBS broadcaster and one of the nicest guys in golf, Baker-Finch won the 1991 British Open. Within three years, Baker-Finch's swing was a mess, the result of too much tinkering. That led to psychological issues that nearly drove Baker-Finch insane. He'd hit it perfectly on the range, then snap-hook his drive on the opening hole and meltdown. It drove him through numerous swing coaches, caddies, mental coaches and everything short of voodoo. By 2000, it drove Baker-Finch off the Tour and into the booth.
This is the peril that Boe stared at. He refused to blink.
Instead, Boe literally dug his new swing out of the dirt. He spent upward of six, seven, eight hours a day on the range and on the course. He'd hit upward of 700 balls a day, then chip and putt before going out on the course.
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