With Leonard Finkel
Leonard: You’re a big proponent of fitness and golf. For the average out of shape golfer, what would you consider your most effective fitness tip?
Blair: I think mixing up your workouts is effective. Always keep your body guessing. Whether you’re doing strength training, yoga, hiking, Cardio. I think it’s always important to mix it up.
LF: You hit the ball a long way. How do you do it?
Blair: I’ve naturally always hit the ball far. When I started playing golf, I hit the ball really long, and that’s when it first intrigued me for playing. But a lot of it is timing and keeping good speed through the ball.
LF: You’ve worked with a lot of top instructors in your capacity on The Golf Channel. What’s the best swing tip you’ve ever heard?
Blair: The best swing tip, and one that I use all the time is, and I said it before, is keeping the speed through the ball. Because to me, that means you’re making a confident swing. And a confident swing means you’re not second guessing yourself, and you’re going to hit the ball to the target most of the time.
LF: Injuries derailed your competitive golf career. How are you able to deal with that? And how do you channel that competitive drive now?
Blair: I had an injury years ago when I was playing out on Tour. I broke my foot. I just think everything happens for a reason. It worked out well. I am where I am now, maybe because I took some time off and pursued some other opportunities in modeling and television and all of that. I’ve always just been a competitive player. I feel like I was just born with that. I’m not competitive with everything in my life, but when it comes to sports I’m competitive, just overall naturally.
LF: Have you been custom fit for equipment, and if so, what equipment do you play?
Blair: You must be custom fit for your equipment (laughing). Put that out there, yes. Being fit for your equipment I think is number one. It’s really going to make a difference in how you hit the ball. It’s super important. So yes. I’ve got COBRA forged irons in my bag, The Trusty Rusty wedges, the new King F8 driver, and the new 3 and 5 woods. First tip I would say is, definitely go get fit.
LF: You’ve a great deal of success. NCAA Long Drive champion. Winner on the Big Break and tremendous success on The Golf Channel. What would you consider your greatest accomplishment in golf?
Blair: My greatest accomplishment in golf? It’s the fact that I’ve created a hybrid kind of job for myself. I’ve been able to really blend my golfing with modeling and television and not many people do that. It’s not really something you sign up for and do. So over time, everything that I haver done has gotten me to where I am now. The fact that I’ve been able to really create this entity for myself. It’s been amazing.
LF: How is it that you came to COBRA Puma? What’s the back story?
Blair: I’ve been with COBRA Puma now seven or eight years. It’s been awhile. We have a great relationship. It was a perfect fit. After I won Big Break, I had a lot of opportunities that came my way and for me the right choice was signing with COBRA Puma. It was just a good fit company wise, and we had a great relationship for the last seven years, so it’s amazing.
Leonard Finkel is the author of The Secrets to the Game of Golf & Life and former editor in chief of Golf Journeys Magazine. His work has been featured in almost 200 publications including Golf Magazine, Golf Digest, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Golf Illustrated, Golf Tips and Player Magazine. He has written more than a dozen cover stories for Golf Today Magazine. He has written extensively about golf and travel and has added poker to his writing repertoire. Finkel also works as a marketing and public relations consultant. His specialty niche is writing advertorial copy. Prior to his career in golf, Finkel owned a chain of retail stores and a consulting and import company based in Asia. He attended the University of Utah.