--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In golf, driving is a game of…" description: "\"In golf, driving is a game of free-swinging muscle control, while putting is something like performing eye surgery and using a bread knife for a scalpe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/tommy-bolt-29440_bread_in-golf-driving-is-a-game-of-free-swingi_29430.png" --- # In golf, driving is a game of free-swinging muscle… ![“In golf, driving is a game of free-swinging muscle control, while putting is something like performing eye surgery and using a bread knife for a scalpel.” quote by Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/tommy-bolt-29440_bread_in-golf-driving-is-a-game-of-free-swingi_29430.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/tommy-bolt-29440_bread_in-golf-driving-is-a-game-of-free-swingi_29430.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/tommy-bolt-29440_bread_in-golf-driving-is-a-game-of-free-swingi_29430.png) > “In golf, driving is a game of free-swinging muscle control, while putting is something like performing eye surgery and using a bread knife for a scalpel.” [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Driving relies on gross motor skill and power, whereas putting demands precise, delicate control akin to delicate surgery. **In simple terms:** Contrast of power vs. precision in golf. Key Takeaway Different skills dominate different phases. Themes Contrast Skill differentiation Metaphor Precision Power Mood Focused Analytical Humorous Type Analogy Humor When to use this quote - Long drive off tee - Approach shot - Short putt on green - Practice session - Competitive tournament Key Concepts Motor control Fine motor skill Focus Technique Practical Applications - Coaching to tailor training - Designing equipment for each skill Questions to Reflect On - How do you train for both extremes? - What mental shift is needed between the two? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bread/) [Control Putting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control-putting-422020/) [Driving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driving/) [Driving Game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driving-game-422021/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Golf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golf/) [Golf Driving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golf-driving-422019/) [Knives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knives/) [Muscles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muscles/) [Performing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performing/) [Putting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/putting/) [Scalpels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scalpels/) [Surgery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surgery/) ## Related quotes > [All I can control is putting on great performances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-anderson/all-i-can-control-is-putting-on-great-performances/) [Megan Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-anderson/) > [There is no game like the direct attack. Fancy strokes, while effective to watch, do not bring the results a fast driving game does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-wills/there-is-no-game-like-the-direct-attack-fancy-strokes-while-effective/) [Helen Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-wills/) > [Yes, the deficit doctors have their scalpels out all right, but they're not poised over the budget. That's as fat as ever and getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/yes-the-deficit-doctors-have-their-scalpels-out-all-right-but-they-re/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The railway was part scalpel, part movie camera, slicing the city open, parading its inner workings at fifty frames per second. It was on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-sington/the-railway-was-part-scalpel-part-movie-camera-slicing-the-city-open/) [Philip Sington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-sington/) > [ Listening to Benny \[Goodman\] talk about the clarinet was like listening to a surgeon get hung up on a scalpel. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/listening-to-benny-goodman-talk-about-the-clarinet-was-like-listening/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [I love the process of cutting everything out with a scalpel yourself: I don't want to have my stencils drawn up in Illustrator, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-love-the-process-of-cutting-everything-out-with-a-scalpel-yourself/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [The voice was gentle, like a scalpel petting the short hairs of your throat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/the-voice-was-gentle-like-a-scalpel-petting-the-short-hairs-of-your/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [I could teach an eighth-grader in twenty minutes how to brief a case. Yet for all three years in most law schools the casebook…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/i-could-teach-an-eighth-grader-in-twenty-minutes-how-to-brief-a-case/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [Get a scalpel, and practice just, say, cutting a piece of meat or something like that. You sort of learn how you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denton-cooley/get-a-scalpel-and-practice-just-say-cutting-a-piece-of-meat-or/) [Denton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denton-cooley/) > [I was a bit of a strange kid in some ways. I had microscopes, scalpels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hadley/i-was-a-bit-of-a-strange-kid-in-some-ways-i-had-microscopes-scalpels/) [Tony Hadley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hadley/) > [Self-disruption is akin to undergoing major surgery, but you are the one holding the scalpel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-samit/self-disruption-is-akin-to-undergoing-major-surgery-but-you-are-the/) [Jay Samit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-samit/) > [The truth is like a scalpel. The truth is painful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-angel-ruiz/the-truth-is-like-a-scalpel-the-truth-is-painful/) [Miguel Angel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-angel-ruiz/) > [ \[Mindfulness\] is not concerned with anything transcendent or divine. It serves as an antidote to theism, a cure for sentimental piety, a scalpel for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/mindfulness-is-not-concerned-with-anything-transcendent-or-divine-it/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [If you take the time to study how to be a doctor and how to use your scalpel and your medicine, then there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/if-you-take-the-time-to-study-how-to-be-a-doctor-and-how-to-use-your/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [Theater acting is an operation with a scalpel, movie acting is an operation with a laser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/theater-acting-is-an-operation-with-a-scalpel-movie-acting-is-an/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) ## More by Tommy Bolt > [The mind messes up more shots than the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/the-mind-messes-up-more-shots-than-the-body/) [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) > [Water holes are sacrificial waters where you make a steady gift of your pride and high-priced balls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/water-holes-are-sacrificial-waters-where-you-make-a-steady-gift-of/) [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) > [I've thrown or broken a few clubs in my day. In fact, I guess at one time or another I probably held distance records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/i-ve-thrown-or-broken-a-few-clubs-in-my-day-in-fact-i-guess-at-one/) [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) > [Actually I was more of a breaker than a thrower - most of them putters. I broke so many of those that I probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/actually-i-was-more-of-a-breaker-than-a-thrower-most-of-them-putters/) [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) > [The biggest liar in the world is the golfer who claims he plays the game for exercise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/the-biggest-liar-in-the-world-is-the-golfer-who-claims-he-plays-the/) [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) > [Never break your putter and your driver in the same round or you're dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/never-break-your-putter-and-your-driver-in-the-same-round-or-you-re/) [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) > [Golf is a game where guts and blind devotion will always net you absolutely nothing but an ulcer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/golf-is-a-game-where-guts-and-blind-devotion-will-always-net-you/) [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) > [If you are going to throw a club, it is important to throw it ahead of you, down the fairway, so you don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/if-you-are-going-to-throw-a-club-it-is-important-to-throw-it-ahead-of/) [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) > [I know you can be fined for throwing a club, but I want to know if you can get fined for throwing a caddie?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/i-know-you-can-be-fined-for-throwing-a-club-but-i-want-to-know-if-you/) [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) > [Lloyd could get down in two from off the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/lloyd-could-get-down-in-two-from-off-the-earth/) [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) > [They throw their clubs backwards, and that's wrong. You should always throw a club ahead of you so that you don't have to walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/they-throw-their-clubs-backwards-and-that-s-wrong-you-should-always/) [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) > [Always throw your clubs ahead of you. That way you don't have to waste energy going back to pick them up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/always-throw-your-clubs-ahead-of-you-that-way-you-don-t-have-to-waste/) [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) > [I wonder who is going to finish second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/i-wonder-who-is-going-to-finish-second/) [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) > [ He \[Bill Clinton\] told me that he caddied in the same group with me in the Hot Springs Open. That's why I voted for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/he-bill-clinton-told-me-that-he-caddied-in-the-same-group-with-me-in/) [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) > [The good chip allows you to whistle while you walk in the dark alleys of golf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/the-good-chip-allows-you-to-whistle-while-you-walk-in-the-dark-alleys/) [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) [Explore all 18 Tommy Bolt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) ## More Bread quotes > [French women don't eat Wonder Bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mireille-guiliano/french-women-don-t-eat-wonder-bread/) [Mireille Guiliano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mireille-guiliano/) > [In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/in-the-olden-days-in-england-you-could-be-hung-for-stealing-a-sheep/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [I don't eat meat - chicken, fish, none of that. I eat a lot of vegetable sandwiches, like lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, cucumbers, whatever I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gza/i-don-t-eat-meat-chicken-fish-none-of-that-i-eat-a-lot-of-vegetable/) [Gza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gza/) > [“We should remark the grace and fascination that there is even in the incidentals of Nature's processes.. When a loaf of bread,. for instance,.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-should-remark-the-grace-and-fascination-that-there-is-even-in-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [When I met you you were oh so sweet, now you give me the bread and you take all the meat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-jett/when-i-met-you-you-were-oh-so-sweet-now-you-give-me-the-bread-and-you/) [Joan Jett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-jett/) > [When you fight to give your family bread, that's not passion anymore: that's conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoel-romero/when-you-fight-to-give-your-family-bread-that-s-not-passion-anymore/) [Yoel Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoel-romero/) > [I think the best Thanksgiving we ever had was one where we didn't even have a turkey. Mom and Dad sat us kids down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/i-think-the-best-thanksgiving-we-ever-had-was-one-where-we-didn-t/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [Bread is a second cause; the LORD Himself is the first source of our sustenance. He can work without the second cause as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/bread-is-a-second-cause-the-lord-himself-is-the-first-source-of-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Even if we have to go without bread, we Albanians do not violate principles. We do not betray Marxism - Leninism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enver-hoxha/even-if-we-have-to-go-without-bread-we-albanians-do-not-violate/) [Enver Hoxha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enver-hoxha/) > [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [“Nine times out of ten, people pick the wrong food. No, it’s not the sugar (GI = 68), it’s not the candy bar (GI…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/nine-times-out-of-ten-people-pick-the-wrong-food-no-it-s-not-the/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [Waffles аrе јust awesome bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/waffles-r-ust-awesome-bread/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [At my age, I don't buy but a half a loaf of bread, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-haggard/at-my-age-i-don-t-buy-but-a-half-a-loaf-of-bread-you-know/) [Merle Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-haggard/) > [Jesus Christ would have been considered just another long-haired hippie freak if he hadn't been crucified. The folks weren't impressed with healing the sick,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/jesus-christ-would-have-been-considered-just-another-long-haired/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [“To consume the Eucharist is an act of anticonsumption, for here to consume is to be consumed, to be taken up into participation in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-cavanaugh/to-consume-the-eucharist-is-an-act-of-anticonsumption-for-here-to/) [William T. Cavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-cavanaugh/) [Browse all 2,164 Bread quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bread/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In golf, driving is a game of free-swinging muscle control, while putting is something like performing eye surgery and using a bread knife for a scalpel.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tommy Bolt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/in-golf-driving-is-a-game-of-free-swinging-muscle-control-while/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bread" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/in-golf-driving-is-a-game-of-free-swinging-muscle-control-while/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/tommy-bolt-29440_bread_in-golf-driving-is-a-game-of-free-swingi_29430.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/tommy-bolt-29440_bread_in-golf-driving-is-a-game-of-free-swingi_29430.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/tommy-bolt-29440_bread_in-golf-driving-is-a-game-of-free-swingi_29430.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In golf, driving is a game of free-swinging muscle control, while putting is something like performing eye…” — Tommy Bolt", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tommy Bolt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In golf, driving is a game...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/in-golf-driving-is-a-game-of-free-swinging-muscle-control-while/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/in-golf-driving-is-a-game-of-free-swinging-muscle-control-while/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```