Representative Joe Baca of California’s 43rd District

The Best Golfer in Congress Discusses His Salute to Arnold Palmer, His Self-Made Mastery of the Links and His Hopes for Healthcare Reform

(page 1 of 4)

TGM: You didn’t take up golf until you were in your late 30s. Why did you begin playing?
JB: I took to golf when my wife told me, “When are you going to grow up.” I played a lot of professional fast-pitch softball, traveling all over the United States, and she was just tired of me traveling and playing and being gone. At the time, I was at the 1986 Seattle ASA [American Softball Association] Major World Tournament. I left all of my equipment in Seattle, flew back to California, and picked up the game of golf. I’ve been in love with it ever since. It’s been an addiction. It’s something that you love and want to get better at and master. I’ve always been a competitive type of person and I just kept practicing and trying to build my skills. I never really took any lessons. It’s a beautiful sport. I wish I would have taken it up earlier, when I was younger or when I was in the military. It probably would have been inexpensive for me to play during that time. Now my wife probably wishes I was playing softball, because I wouldn’t be playing golf as much.

TGM: As a self-taught golfer how did you become so skilled at the game?
JB: It’s just about being competitive. I watch a lot of golf channel and read a lot of golf books. In fact, I’m reading one on putting by Dave Stockton right now. I’ve read The Little Red Book. I’ve read a lot of Jack Nicklaus’ books. I read almost any magazines I can get my hands on that say anything about technique, and then I try to implement the advice on the driving range. It’s trial and error, which makes it a lot more difficult because you don’t have someone watching you. I had to learn about the right grip, the right plane, the right path, and the right takeaway. And I buy all kinds of equipment. But I also realize that when it comes down to it—timing, rhythm, and tempo are very important. If you don’t have timing, rhythm and tempo, then you’re either going to swing too hard or not hard enough or your swing will be off plane.

I learned a lot by emulating others as well. I’ve watched Tiger Woods and tried to mimic his swing [laughter]. I visualize it, and then try to take it out onto the driving range. The problem is, maybe I need to eat a few more strawberries to make sure that I remember. Sometimes when you’re out on the course, you don’t know what person jumps in and out of your body. Sometimes I’m looking for the person who has that perfect swing, the one that has total concentration—and isn’t thinking, but is doing it naturally. And then there’s the other guy who becomes so mechanical that you’re out of plane, you’re out of sync and you put a lot of pressure on yourself.

That’s how I learned the game and I’ve always wanted to win. In golf you can’t blame anyone else. The only time I blame someone else is when there’s a little wager and the other person makes a little bit of noise to distract you. They’ll reach into their pockets and rattle some coins, or they’ll put their clubs in their bag when you’re hitting the ball, or someone will start talking while you’re hitting—those little distractions.