What we have to do as golfers committed to improvement is believe in the possibility of our potential and challenge ourselves to reach it.

Regardless of our skill level, every once in a while we all experience a round where we get a glimpse of our potential. On these rare occasions, it seems that with little effort, the ball goes were we want, we hit more fairways and greens, and sink more putts. We're calm and relaxed and the game just comes to us.

It's during all the other rounds that we must remain open to the possibility of our potential and remain focused on our intention for each and every shot. It's during these rounds that we must make a choice to be confident, fearless - and artful.

Instead of letting our mind naturally wander towards thoughts of past or desired results, we must keep focused on the specific requirements of each shot. It's a simple choice, but requires our discipline and will.

Dr. Gio Valiante shares in his book, Fearless Golf, that "the opportunity to be a fearless golfer isn't dependent on anything other than our will to do everything possible to execute golf swings at precise targets, and to believe in the possibility that by controlling our interpretation of events and our approach to hitting a particular shot we have the opportunity to maximize our potential. Playing with confidence ultimately is not an after-affect; it is a choice. The power lies solely within us."

I had an opportunity to apply these disciplines in a round yesterday, coming off some very poor rounds in my recent outings and learning that my physical, emotional and mental biorhythm cycles are all at or near the bottom.

Nothing has been easy lately. I've been duffing chips, scalding pitches, and 3-putting greens. I've had more than my normal share of double and triple bogies, even a quintuple bogie! However, my commitment to focusing solely on each shot, one at a time, has lacked the necessary effort and concentration.

It appears that the confidence I gained by improving my game through these very principles, made me feel as if golf was now easy, and I could shot good rounds at will. Instead of striving towards even more improvement, I'd become self-satisfied and perhaps complacent. And now, far from being "in the zone", my scores and shot-making began to slip.

So yesterday, while playing with a couple scratch golfers, I made the choice to really focus, to remain open to the possibility of a great round, and to play artful golf. The worst thing that could happen is that I record another poor round, but it was also possible that I open myself up to playing closer to my potential, and even keep up with these better golfers. I did just that.

Even though I let my focus falter on a few occasions, resulting in horrific shots, I followed through with total concentration on the rest of my shots, yet remained detached about their outcome. Although nothing came easily, and a few shots were just plain horrible, I managed to score one of my best rounds ever at this difficult course, coming in with a 37-39-76. More importantly, I'd learned a valuable lesson.

The highlight of the round came on the par 3 5th hole. I topped my 9-iron off the tee and landed on the top of a mound of long fescue about half way to the green. It was one of my worst shots ever. Amazingly, I didn't let the shot phase me in the least. I didn't get mad at myself. I wasn't even feel embarrased in front these 2 scratch golfers, one of which I'd never played with, the other I'd played with only once. Instead, I took out my sand wedge and hit the next shot to within 2 feet of the pin and tapped it in for par! I stayed open to the possibility that my next shot could be extraordinary.

I can't wait to see what's possible when I make the choice to play artful golf during a round when shots are coming more easily!

Labels: Books, Concentration, Disciplines, Dr. Gio Valiante, Fearless Golf, Rounds