1995 Golf Illustrated Article

Somebody wanted to know if I had access to an old Golf Illustrated article about Bruce Lietzke.  Dug through a couple of boxes and happened to find the article and uploaded to a file a cloud storage service.  Here's the link: 1995 Golf Illustrated article 

Texas Archive

 Here's a link to a good video about Bruce Lietzke from yesteryear (1980).

Texas Archive

Sadly, Bruce Lietzke recently lost his battle with cancer.  We can be grateful for the legacy he leaves behind as an outstanding golfer and even better person, family man, and witness to the Christian faith.

Here's a copy of his obituary:

Bruce Alan Lietzke

July 18, 1951 - July 28, 2018 

Surrounded by his family, Bruce went to be with his Lord on July 28th, 2018, after a courageous battle with glioblastoma. Born July 18, 1951 in Kansas City, Kansas, and raised in Beaumont, Texas, he attended The University of Houston, playing on the golf team before joining The PGA Tour in 1975. He won thirteen tournaments, seven on The PGA Champions Tour, including one major, The Senior Open in 2003. Bruce was known for his consistent fade and the fact that he never practiced. 

Easygoing, thoughtful, introspective, articulate and witty, Bruce was a gentleman's gentleman and was loved by all. He enjoyed working on his car collection and fishing in the lakes on his ranch. Faith, family and friends played an important part throughout his life. He cut the number of tournaments played when his children arrived, choosing fatherhood over golf. In the past six years he has thoroughly enjoyed his role as "Papa Leaky." 

Bruce is preceded in death by his parents, Norman D. and Elizabeth Jane (Alley) Lietzke, and brother, Brian Robert Lietzke. He is survived by the love of his life, Rosemarie Nelson Lietzke; son, Stephen Lietzke; daughter, Christine Ablondi and husband, Aaron; two grandchildren: Luke Aaron and Elizabeth Rose Ablondi; brother, Duane Lietzke and wife, Christine; sister-in-law, Kathy Lietzke; two sisters: Marilyn O'Grady and Martha Thompson. His in-laws include: Diane & Charlie Gould, Soozi & Jerry Pate, Greg Nelson, Leo & Melissa Nelson, along with many nieces and nephews. 

Service and reception will be 11:00 a.m., August 6, 2018, at The First Baptist Church of Athens, 105 Carroll Street, Athens, Texas 75751. Arrangements by Autry's Carroll-Lehr Funeral Home in Athens, Texas. 

In lieu of flowers, please donate to The Glioblastoma Foundation, POB 62066,Durham, NC 27715 or email: info@glioblastomafoundation.org.

#GetWellBL 

Bruce Lietzke recently wrote to journalist Bob West (see link above) the following:

“On Thursday morning I was given a diagnosis that I have a brain tumor of substantial size. I am already in a hospital in Dallas and I have a surgery scheduled Monday at 7 a.m…. Please tell your readers that I am a man of faith. I believe that God doesn’t always answer all prayers that come his way, and the ones that he answers don’t always have the results we want. But I do believe he hears all of the prayers. I do know that Jesus has lived in my heart since 1976 and I will draw from his strength and spirit to lead the way in this fight. Please ask your readers to pray for me, possibly for an extended period of time.”

Bruce Lietzke is a fine example of the Christian faith and message making a difference in a person's life.

Has Bruce Lietzke Retired?

Question: A nagging shoulder injury limited you to only three events during the 2011 Champions Tour season. You have yet to tee off in an official event in the three seasons since then. Are you officially retired from professional golf?

Answer:  I am officially retired from the game until I decide to get my shoulder cleaned up. It's not really an injury. It is an arthritic shoulder. It doesn't bother me any other time other than making a whole bunch of golf swings. I can play golf for one day, but the next day the shoulder is really sore. My tournament golf is over until I decide to get it worked on.

Source: Beaumont Texas Newspaper (June 17, 2014)

Golfworld's Best Modern Golfers Ranking:

Link

"The average guy, truth be known, hits more balls in a week than Bruce hits in a year," Duane [Bruce Lietzke's brother] said.

Why Playing a Fade May Help Your Golf Game

Here’s an excerpt from Hitting a Fade May Help Your Golf Game by Ken Ruggiero.

“Here’s why [a fade gives you more room for error]. If you can hit a driver straight down the middle into a fairway that is 40 yards wide, you create a room for error of 20 yards on either side of center.

However, if you can hit a fade a shot with consistency, then you can hit your tee ball down the left side of the fairway, knowing that your ball will be curving towards the center. You have in effect doubled the margin of error on the fairway by eliminating misses to the left.

You could do the same with a draw, but a draw is more difficult to contain because it tends to run out further. A fade generally moves from left to right and gently lands without much topspin. It’s more controllable.”

Paying Tribute

Lietzke Still Paying Tribute to Henry Homberg

Photo Source: Texas Golf Hall of Fame: H. Homberg

 Local Golfer Lietzke Reflects on Humble Beginnings

 

Looks like they have now made the linked article available only to digital subscribers.  However, if you google the phrase "local golfer lietzke reflects" you may be able to read the a entire article.

Flashback

Here's an oldie-but-goodie--a Dodge commercial from the late 70's.  Found it at TomWatson.com:

Nice Pants!

Hey Bruce, Bob Evans restaurant called.  They want their curtains back.

Photo is from The Venturi Analysis, 1981.

Ben Crenshaw Discusses Bruce Lietzke

I generally enjoy Feherty on the Golf Channel.  Here's a brief clip where Ben Crenshaw talks about Bruce Lietzke in a segment about golfers from Texas.

Yardages

This a screen shot from some video footage that shows Bruce Lietzke's club yardages when he was on the Champions Tour and playing Adams Golf equipment:

A Tip

I can't vouch for the accuracy of it, but I saw this tip in Golf Magazine's Complete Book of Golf Instruction:

Bodyguard?

Here's a photo I saw online of Bruce Lietzke with what looks to be a bodyguard.

Lietzke Footage

Someone was kind enough to send me a link to some Lietzke footage they recently uploaded to YouTube.  Good stuff.

Link to Lietzke Swing on YouTube

Bruce Lietzke in the News

Here's a news story about the Bruce Lietzke Junior Golf Classic:

How Bruce Lietzke Learned to Fade the Ball

The following is an excerpt from a 1995 Sports Illustrated article:

[Lietzke] missed qualifying for the Tour on his first attempt by a stroke, but it was for the best. Lietzke took his classic, upright swing to the mini-tours in Florida, where to be competitive in constant heavy wind, he had to learn to lower his ball flight from a towering draw.

Lietzke is the first to admit he knows next to nothing about the mechanics of the golf swing, and it showed in his diagnosis then. Rather than simply moving the ball back in his stance, he left it off his left heel and tried to lower the trajectory of his shots by "covering" the ball with his right shoulder. That move created a slight outside-in action that produced a consistent fade.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1006631/2/index.htm

Over the Top

I remember one discussion in which [renowned golf instructor] John [Jacobs] was talking about how, contrary to conventional wisdom, so many of the most consistent and enduring ball strikers had a slight “over the top” move, rather than the more classic “inside-out” path, in which the shaft flattens out on the downswing.

John clicked off the names of Bobby Locke, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, and Bruce Lietzke as just a few examples of players who started down with their arms a bit farther from their body, the club taking something close to the “outside-in” path that slicers are always warned against.  John said that way of hitting the ball held less danger for good players than dropping the club down and hitting from inside out.

“Hitting too late from the inside with an open face not only misses the fairway, it can miss the golf course,” he said.  “A little over the top never misses by too much.  In competitive golf, it’s not so much where the good ones go.  It’s where the bad ones go.  You’ve got to build a swing that will eliminate the big miss.” 

Excerpt from, The Big Miss, by Hank Haney, p. 17