R.I.P. Miller Barber

Richard Goldstein with the NY Times remembrance of a fantastic player and character.

Barber didn’t seem a prime candidate for pro golf success. He was pudgy, he had hay fever, and his form was ungainly at best.

His right elbow flew outward on his backswing as he raised the club to the outside, bringing it high over his head, the shaft almost perpendicular to the ground. (In a classic backswing, the right elbow remains close to the body and the shaft ends up almost parallel to the ground.) After that he looped the club head inside and produced an orthodox downswing.

Fellow players likened Barber’s contortions to an octopus falling from a tree or a man trying to open an umbrella on a windy day. But he usually got the club face square to the ball, producing long drives and superb iron shots.

A PGA Tour video celebrating Barber.



Instructor Carl Welty captured this video of Barber at La Costa.