I've had a few bad starts in recent rounds, but kept the faith that better holes were coming. I remained patient and refused to give up. I was rewarded each time.


Golfers Don't Give Up by lolla_sig at flickr.com

I played in a men's tournament last Sunday on a blustery day and struggled to hit many greens in regulation. I only hit six greens! I missed a few too many fairways too. Just to make the day even more challenging, the greenskeeper gave us some pretty nasty pin placements too.

On the par 4 seventh, a golfer in my foursome with a 3 handicap got on in 2, then 5-putted! Any missed putt just wouldn't stay near the hole. On the following hole, the pin was placed on the upslope in the back-left corner of the green. I missed my 8 foot birdie putt by inches and rolled down the bank 4 feet from the hole. I barely missed my return putt, and rolled back to the same spot. I made my third putt for bogie. I added one more 3-putt on the ninth for a double bogie after getting my first birdie on the par 3 eighth.

For a stretch of seven holes in the middle of the round, I went 7-over. I went into fifteen 9 over par - not the kind of round I was hoping for, and certainly not in the running for a top-three finish. Still, I was pretty sure, the majority of the field was struggling for pars right along with me, thanks to the wind and challenging pin placements. I hung in there and pared the long par 3 fifteenth from off the green.

But I hit a horrible drive on sixteen, landing way right near some bushes, just a couple feet from a small shed. I managed to move the ball forward about 20 yards with a pitching wedge and ended up on the upslope of a huge mound in long fescue. The mound was so large that it obscured my view of the flag. I was only about 85 yards out, but knew I'd need a huge swing with a sand wedge to get the ball loose. I picked a spot on the top of the mound to fly over and let it rip. The ball flew so high up in the air, I knew I'd hit it pure. I ran up to the top of the mound to watch. It finally landed on the back fringe above the hole and rolled back to the middle of the green to within 4 feet of the pin. I made the putt for par! I made another par on seventeen. At least I was keeping the round under control.

Then I hit a bomb on eighteen, carrying a ridge about 240 yards out in the fairway with plenty of room to spare, allowing the ball to catch the downslope to run towards the green. I'd hit good drives here before, but this was among the best I'd seen. I got to my ball and found it about 20 yards short of the center of the green. I'd hit a 365 yard drive on this 385 yard par 4! I pitched up and made another 4-footer for birdie!

I came in with a respectable 8-over 79. Only 3 golfers in a field of 40 shot lower rounds that day.

Tuesday, I played the course again with my regular foursome. I started off worse than Sunday. The winds were even stronger and it was noticeably colder. My score reflected it. I finished the front nine 6-over after shooting 2 bogies and 2 double bogies. I failed to tally a birdie.

I made a good par on ten, one of the hardest par 4's I've ever played, hitting a good drive and approach into a strong headwind. I decided right there to keep at it. If I finished the back at 2-over, I'd still be able to break 80.

I followed with another par on the par 3 eleventh, another difficult hole with a strong headwind off the ocean, and one more on the twelfth.

I finally landed an approach close to the pin on thirteen and made the 5-footer for my first birdie. I followed that with great recoveries on fourteen and fifteen for pars. My first bogie on the back then came on sixteen after failing to hit the green from a fairway bunker. So far, I'd kept the back nine to even par.

After finally learning to finish strong in the past month, I knew I had it in me to come in with a good score, but I surprised myself on the next 2 holes.

I nearly hit a 300 yard drive on the par 5 seventeenth and hit the green in two with my 5-wood. Two putts later I had another birdie. I then hit another extraordinary drive on eighteen, just 10 yards short of the drive I hit on Sunday! I pitched this approach to 2 feet and made my second birdie in a row and third birdie in the last 6 holes, finishing the back 2-under!

This became my fourth-ever 75 at Monarch Dunes, second only to my one and only par round, which I shot just last week. I'm especially happy about this round because I didn't give up after such a poor start and after only hitting 8 greens and 8 fairways all day. The round also lowered my index to an all-time low 3.4!

Labels: Disciplines, Monarch Dunes, Rounds

I love to compete. I love to play well. However, I don't put undue importance on winning or loosing. For me, competition provides the opportunity to test myself, demanding my full attention, energy, and spirit. Compared to playing recreationally, competition exposes your strengths and weaknesses more fully. These strengths can be reinforced, weaknesses corrected.


Golf Competitors by gcoz7 at flickr.com

Whether I win or loose, I've learned the outcome has little meaning or lasting impact. If I happen to perform better one day than my opponent does, that doesn't have much significance. But how I respond to the challenges I face, when my opponent does his best to outplay me, provides plenty of opportunity for lasting learning and growth. By trying my best, I provide my opponent the same benefit. This perspective encourages me to always try to win, but without a trace of hostility and negativity - traits that often characterize competition.

Fred Shoemaker shares in Extraordinary Golf, that "people who compete well and don't get in their own way understand that the benefits of competition happen only during the event. These people seem to play very close to their potential and rarely tighten up. On the other hand, people who think that the benefits of an event come only when it is over will tighten up often. If you feel that the joy and satisfaction of competition can happen only when the game is over - the praise and status that you get if you win - I believe that you will always feel a tremendous amount of pressure and have a hard time playing up to your ability. As much as you try, you can't control whether you win or lose."

The real contest is not you versus another but you versus you. Competition provides a means for your old self to become your new self.

Dan Millman discusses competition too in Body Mind Mastery. He says that, "the natural athlete has a way of forgetting the game's outcome the moment it is over, but he remembers its lessons. The usual athlete learns no real lessons, because he's still stuck in the outcome. A natural athlete can't afford to revel or despair over the past. The ancient Olympic wreaths, made of laurel, reminded their wearers that fame is fleeting, and glory fades. The only lasting value in the competitive experience is the lessons we learn and keep alive."

He continues by sharing, "In the competitive arena, there will always be those more and less skilled than yourself. Some may be near the top of their own mountain; others are perhaps struggling up the first steep paths far below. As you continue onward, make use of competition to stimulate your efforts along the way, but be careful not to become too preoccupied with the peak high in the distance, or with those athletes who are far ahead. If you do, the pleasure of the climb may be lost in craving for the goal. Keep your own natural pace. Whether your path on any given day is clear or rocky, the real and only measure of your achievement can be found in the answer to a single question: 'Have I done my best today?' All winning, losing, titles, and fame fall into the shadow of that question."

The artful golfer looks to competition to learn about who he is and strive towards who he can become.

Labels: Body Mind Mastery, Competition, Dan Millman, Disciplines, Extraordinary Golf, Fred Shoemaker

My perseverance with putting paid off yesterday. I shot my first par round ever at Monarch Dunes Golf Course!


Monarch Dunes 15th by Aidan Bradley

As I shared last week, I've struggled with my putting over the past few weeks and have felt that my putting really hasn't improved since I started playing golf. I decided it was time to take action.

I spent time putting in my living room last week and immediately became aware that I was thinking too much. Instead of focusing only on the target and intended path, as I do before striking the ball, I realized I was thinking about things like taking the putter back slowly, taking the putter back on a straight line, and following through down the line I'd chosen. I also noticed that I decelerated through the ball when I was indecisive about the break, or when I lost my focus on the hole due to letting my mind think about the mechanics of the putting stroke.

It occurred to me then that I should try putting the way I take a snapshot in hockey, taking the club or stick back a short distance and then accelerating through the shot. I gave it a try. I focused on the hole, took the putter back slowly, then confidently stroked the ball down the line towards the hole. Right away I noticed a difference. Everything about my stroke felt better. I became confident with this putting stroke after only a little practice.

As if life was confirming my newfound (and rather obvious) discovery, I then received a comment to my recent post about my putting struggles from a reader, Alexis, who shared what she had learned in a lesson that helped her improve. She was instructed to "make sure your backswing is shorter than the follow-through. You should tell the ball where to go, by hitting it, instead of letting the putter head fall on the ball."

I got a chance to try out her advice over the weekend in my monthly Men's Club tournament. I noticed a vast improvement. Although I made a couple poor lag putts down the stretch due to some competitive pressure, I didn't miss a single short putt. I even made a 40-foot putt for eagle on the par 5 ninth! I finished with a respectable 5-over 77.

Yesterday, I got another chance to try out my new "snapshot" putt. My weekend golf partner had the day off work and asked if I'd play. I invited another friend who I play with during the week to join us. This was the first time I'd played a round with both my weekend and weekday partners, and the first time they'd met.

The windy round got off to a good start with 4 straight pars and a birdie on the par 3 fifth. My ball striking and putting felt solid. On the par 5 sixth, I missed my only fairway of the round, landing in a eucalyptus grove along the right side of the fairway. My only feasible shot was to aim between two large trees and try to carry a large lake to get back to the fairway. This would leave me an easy approach to get on in three. I hit a perfect 5-wood through the trees and carried the lake with 10 yards to spare. My wedge from 105 yards in landed about 15 feet past the hole. I made the putt for my second birdie in a row.

My good fortune ended on the par 4 seventh. I hit a good drive, but it faded slightly and a strong crosswind carried the ball over the fairway into a large tree. The ball luckily bounced 90 degrees left back into the fairway, loosing only distance. My approach from there landed the green about 15 feet from the pin, leaving me a decent chance for my third birdie in a row. I got the putt to the hole, but it ran about 2-3 feet past. I was left with a breaking downhill putt for par. I hit it firm to take out the break, but lipped out and ended up 4 feet below the hole. I missed the return putt and ended up 4-putting for double bogie. Instead of getting to 3-under, I was back to even. I learned a valuable lesson though - to aim inside the cup on a firm putt within 3 feet. I had aimed right at the edge of the cup, thinking it would at least break a fraction of an inch. A costly lesson.

I put it behind me and made a good par on eight and bogied nine to end the front 1-over. Even though I recorded 18 putts on the front, I putted well other than the 4-putt on seven. The ninth was the first green I missed in regulation. I landed the front of the green from 175 yards out, but it still rolled off the back.

I saved par on the long par 4 tenth, playing especially hard yesterday into a strong wind off the coast. I then parred the next 4 holes as well. On fourteen, I duffed my 3-wood off the tee, but hit it far enough to land the beginning of the fairway, leaving me 200 yards out. I hit my hybrid to about 12 feet and sunk the putt for my first birdie on the back. I was back to even!

After another par on fifteen, I hit a 300 yard drive on the short sixteenth to 50 yards out and made par. I followed that with my best drive of the day on the 480 yard par 5 seventeenth to 170 yards out - a 310 yard drive! I then struck a 6-iron to the edge of the green and rolled up left of the pin and 2-putted for birdie. Now 2-under on the back, I teed up on eighteen at 1-under for the round, my best ever round after seventeen.

I hit decent drive and left myself inside a full sand wedge to the green. But I duffed the approach shot so badly, the ball only traveled about 10 yards! I got on with one more try and nearly sank a 15 footer for par, but ended with bogie. I had shot my first-ever even par round at Monarch Dunes, lowering my index to an all-time low of 3.7!

This was not only one of my best ever rounds striking the ball, it was without doubt one of my strongest rounds putting. I made 4 birdie putts and only missed one short putt, which lipped out. For the first time I can remember, I felt relaxed and confident over every putt. What a breakthrough!

Thanks again to those of you who shared your valuable putting tips in my previous post!

Labels: Awareness, Disciplines, Monarch Dunes, Perseverance, Putting, Rounds

Some of my best shots come immediately after duffing the previous shot or blowing the previous hole. I've learned to put bad shots and bad holes behind me, refocus, and move on. Dealing positively with negative events is key to playing artful golf.

But more importantly, I've learned to enjoy my good shots. Celebrating your good shots and letting yourself truly feel happy about making them reinforces that behavior and helps harnesses that energy. I'm not suggesting you go around doing fist pumps and high fives all day, using up valuable energy and irritating your playing partners, but that you acknowledge the great shot with some form of internal self-congratulation. Be grateful that your focus on learning and enjoyment is improving your shots and your game.


Cypress Ridge Golf Course by golfslo at flickr.com

Just over year ago, I had the privilege of playing a round of golf with PGA golf instructor, Jim DeLaby, awarded two-time Teacher and Club Fitter of the Year by the PGA of Southern California Northern Chapter. Jim stressed to not only to enjoy your good shots, but to imprint those good shots into your mind, helping to reproduce them more consistently.

Replay it again and again so you can see, hear and feel it. Maintain this simple routine until you can relive the whole sensation of the shot and all the senses it unleashed at the flick of a mental switch. DeLaby suggested that I hold my finish just a second longer on those good shots to help anchor and reinforce the shot in my memory.

He even suggested I replay one of those good shots in my memory immediately after making a poor shot, to help flush the bad shot from my memory and replace it with a successful one. When you are faced with a similar shot in the future, you can rewind to that great moment and ask yourself to do it again.

I had this opportunity yesterday in a round at Cypress Ridge Golf Course using my 3-wood from the fairway. I've only recently begun hitting this club well with any consistency on the range. I had the chance to try it out on the course on two par 5's yesterday.

On the 516 yard third hole, I hit an average drive into the wind, leaving myself with a long shot to carry three fairway bunkers and leave myself with a wedge in. Most players would have chosen to lay up in front of the bunkers, but I felt confident I could get everything out of my 3-wood. I visualized the swing path and ball flight I'd executed on the range and let her rip. I killed it, landing in the fairway, just carrying the bunkers. Nice shot!

Then on the 531 yard par 5 thirteenth, I hit one of my best drives (second only to a 325 yard drive on six where you get a nice downhill roll if you carry the top of the hill), leaving myself with 245 yards to the center of the green. In all the many times I've played this course, I've never reached this green in two. I've only seen one other player do it. Even from this distance, it is wise to lay up since the green is so well guarded with bunkers. There's no room to run up to the green, you have to carry the entire distance. I decided I'd try to reproduce the shot I made on the third and go for it with my 3-wood. I visualized the shot again, and let her go. My ball landed on the left edge of the green and rolled to the back, pin high! What a shot!

Even though I didn't record a very good round, I walked away satisfied. I hit some great shots, and celebrated in doing so.

Labels: Cypress Ridge, Jim DeLaby, Rounds

There is only one part of my game that hasn't improved, putting. I'm striking the ball and chipping and pitching better than ever, but my average number of putts per round hasn't gone down one bit in two years.


The final putt by Kevin Day at flickr.com

Over the past half-dozen rounds, I've tallied more than 20 putts for 9 holes twice. I've had more 3-putts than I care to admit. I even had another 4-putt yesterday. And what's frustrating me most is the number of 2-3 footers that I continue to miss - up to 4 a round. Although the course I regularly play has the most difficult greens I've faced, I've played them enough that there's no excuse for such poor performance.

My growing frustration and lack of confidence putting has reached a point where I have to take action. Yesterday, I shot a 78 with 21 putts on the front nine! Over the weekend, I shot a 73 with 4 missed putts within 3 feet. During a few rounds lately, my poor performance putting crept in to the rest of my game and I shot rounds of 84 and 87, among my worst in 6 months.

My first inclination is too seek help from a pro. However, I'm confident I can fix this the same way I've fixed problems with my swing - by looking inward and increasing awareness. I'll determine why I invite fear and doubt into the moment when I putt.

Fred Shoemaker asks us in Extraordinary Putting, “where do expectations, embarrassment, frustration, and doubt come from? The past? The present? The future? Obviously, they are historically based, from the past. At the moment you miss a shot, your mind goes into the past and recalls similar past events and projects those memories, in that moment, into a future (it will happen again). These past memories, now misplaced into the future (and believed to be the real future), create an upset. And the upset will last until we put something in the future that gives us new possibilities, ones other than endless repetition of an upsetting past. We put the past back in the past (where it belongs) and create a new future where anything is possible. We have the power to choose."

I've integrated this logic into the rest of my game and have learned to leave a bad shot behind me, in the past, and create a new future, but I've apparently chosen to project my past failures putting into the future.

Yes, I'm aware that there are some issues with my putting technique as well, such as the need to keep my head still, but the deeper problem lies with my subconscious belief at the moment I'm putting, that I'll miss.

I now choose a new future, of creative and artful putting. Stay tuned ;)

Labels: Choice, Disciplines, Extraordinary Putting, Fred Shoemaker

I was planning to take this weekend off from golf because rain was forecast, but a friend called this morning when the weather appeared to be clearing, so I agreed to join him. It turned out to be a perfect day - blue skies with big cumulus clouds and mild winds. If anyone spent the day watching the AT&T at Pebble Beach today, you got a glimpse of how nice it was here on the Central Coast. I live about two and half hours south of Pebble Beach. The recent storm passed and left us with a gorgeous day.


Monarch Dunes 9th, photo by Aidan Bradley

We played Monarch Dunes Golf Club in Nipomo which is located just 4 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean and Guadalupe Dunes, south of Pismo Beach. The eleventh tee provided incredible views of the dunes and ocean today.

I was especially excited about playing today too after getting some good suggestions from a couple golfers who posted comments on yesterday's blog entry. I've been collapsing at the end of some great rounds lately, and I was eager to try out their advice to finish strong.

I started with a good drive on the challenging first hole, followed by a 5-iron in which landed on the right edge of the green, 50 feet from the pin. I made a great lag putt, leaving me with an easy 2-footer. I missed it to start off with a 3-putt bogie.

My drive on 2 ended up just right of the fairway, behind a tree. I cut a wedge around the tree from 120 yards out and landed short of the green. I pitched up to about 3 feet, but followed with another missed putt for bogie #2.

I didn't get discouraged and focused instead on how great it was to be out with a good friend on an empty course and on such a beautiful day. I decided right there to let go of any concerns about score and to just enjoy the round. I knew a great round would eventually come, I just needed to stay patient.

I parred the next 4 holes, then birdied seven after sinking a 25-foot putt. I parred eight and nine, and finished the front just 1-over!

I hit a pretty poor drive on the par 4 tenth, leaving me about 230 yards out with an uphill approach into the wind. I hit a great 3-wood, but came up short of the green. I pitched my third shot over a bunker to about 4 feet and made the putt for par.

I hit a 6-iron into the wind on the downhill 180 yard par 3 eleventh overlooking the ocean, to about 6 feet from the pin. I made the putt for another birdie, getting me to even par.

At this point in the round, I didn't know my score. I took the advice of one of my readers and didn't tally my score until the end of the round and just kept taking things one shot at a time. I usually don't record my score on a scorecard, but keep track in my head of how many strokes I am above par. Today I decided to write down my scores on each hole, but not keep track of the total. This seemed to help me remain unattached and unaware of my score throughout the round.

I shot another par on twelve, but managed another 3-putt on thirteen for bogie, missing another 2-foot putt. I came through and followed up the bogie with pars on fourteen and fifteen.

So, I walked up to 16 just 1-over par, but at the time unaware of my actual score. I knew I had a good round going, but didn't focus on that. I actually didn't realize I was scoring this well, since all I remembered was all the missed short putts. On the sixteenth green, I remembered the advice from another reader who suggested I treat the last 3 holes like a new round. I did just that. I made a mental note that I'd just finished a good 15 hole round and was starting a new 3-hole round. I wasn't feeling any pressure to score.

I shot a par on both sixteen and seventeen. I'd now played the last 15 holes in 1-under par and was 1-over for the round! I walked up to eighteen unaware that I was shooting my best-ever round. Although I shot a 1-under 71 a couple months ago at another local course, it was from the white tees with a slope of only 124. Today, I was playing the gold tees on a harder course, with a slope of 135. Being 1-over after 17 at Monarch Dunes is quite an accomplishment.

My drive on 18 faded a little too far right, but stayed out of the eucalyptus grove bordering the fairway. I hit a sand wedge from 106 yards out just a little too strong and ended up on the upper tier of the green, above the pin. I made a pretty nice downhill sloping putt from 30-40 feet, leaving my ball just 3 feet below the hole for par. Unfortunately, I missed the putt slightly right and ended with bogie and my third 3-putt for the round.

I then tallied my score and learned I'd shot 1-over on both nines to end with a 2-over 73, beating my previous 3 best rounds of 75 at this course! The score was rated with an index of 1.9, beating my previous best 2.1 from the 1-under round just mentioned. I can't help but consider what could have been if I hadn't missed 4 putts from within 3 feet. Nevertheless, I'm thrilled!

My index has now trended down to an all-time low of 4.1. Thank you to Nolan and Greg, whose responses to my last post helped make this career round possible!

Labels: Courses, Monarch Dunes, Rounds

We've all heard of the 80/20 Rule, also known as the Parento Principle. Dr. Joseph Juran, the total quality management guru, developed the Pareto Principle after studying the work of Wilfredo Pareto, the Italian nineteenth century economist who observed that in most countries eighty percent of the wealth was controlled by twenty percent of the people. The Pareto Principle states that a small percentage of your efforts (typically around 20 percent) will create a large majority of your results (usually around 80 percent).

Today, the rule appears everywhere. Sales people will tell you that eighty percent of the sales are made by twenty percent of the sales force. Artists say that eighty percent of their productivity comes from short bursts of intense inspiration which happen about twenty percent of the time. Managers point out that eighty percent of the work is done by twenty percent of the employees.


Natural Swing by rgusick at flickr.com

In golf, it has been said that twenty percent of the game is physical and eighty percent is mental; twenty percent of players are avid golfers, and they play eighty percent of the rounds; twenty percent of golfers break 100 on a regular basis, while eighty percent do not; the average golfer spends about twenty percent of his time at address looking at the target, and eighty percent of that time staring at the ball (pros do the opposite); and that golfers spend twenty percent of their practice time on the putting green and eighty percent of that time on the driving range.

It's no surprise then that eighty percent of golfers don't break 100 on a regular basis if their efforts to improve are focused on twenty percent of the game.

Using the Parento Principle, it follows that the golfer should instead spent less time working on his swing and more time on those activities that improve scoring.

There is no prize for the prettiest swing. We've all seen golfers with some very unique swings, score well. Just look to the Champions Tour. I learned this for myself when I played a round last year with an 80 year old golfer with a short little swing that hit the ball about 180 yards off the tee - into every fairway. He outscored me that round with an incredible attitude and short game.

The artful golfer learns to appreciate his unique and natural swing, and uses his limited practice time working on the parts of the game that make the most difference in scoring - the mental and short game.

I've also found that the Parento Principle can be applied to the overall score I shoot for a round. I usually score well on eighty perfect of the holes (14-15 holes) and loose my round on the other twenty percent (3-4 holes), usually towards the end of the round.

Many years ago, I failed to get selected for a job managing a software team that develops a very popular financial program. I shared during the interview that my greatest strength lies is getting new projects off the ground, building teams, and doing the initial product research, specification, architecture and design - the first eighty percent of the project. And although I had prior success in seeing projects through to the end, I found the last twenty percent of the project to be less rewarding. I didn't enjoy the grind involved towards the end of projects. The company selected someone else, perhaps someone less frank.

Interestingly, I seem to carry this personality trait over to golf. I'm usually a good starter. I find myself shooting good rounds through the first eighty percent of the round, but seem to fail in the last twenty percent, when the need to grind it out is most important.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to play with three employees at my local course who are all good golfers and who play from the back tees. I'd played the back tees only two other times, never breaking 80, but still got off to my usual good start. I only had one bad hole through 15, and tallied 4 birdies. I missed a 2-footer on 16, putting me at a respectable 4-over going into 17. I can remember about a dozen rounds over the past few months where I had a great round going into 17, but only finished well on 2 of those occasions. I added to the number of failed rounds yesterday by finishing with a triple bogie on 17 and 3-putt bogie on 18. I did however break 80 by one stroke.

I think the reason for my failures lies deeper than a simple inability to focus for an entire round or from getting overly concerned about the outcome. Golf, which we all know reflects our personality, is perhaps exposing an internal issue I have with success, causing me to break down on the last holes, ruining good rounds. I can think of other examples of this in my life.

It appears I better take a closer look at what golf is trying to teach me here. My golf game - and life - may be better for it.

Labels: Disciplines, Failure, Parento Principle, Practice, Rounds, Success

When I took up golf regularly nearly 2 years ago, I decided to approach the game as if swinging a club were as easy as throwing a ball. I believe our body already has the natural ability required, we just need to learn to calm our minds and reduce its interference - interference that we introduced as we grew older.



The key, I think, is to rediscover that carefree and fearless attitude we once knew as children, an attitude that keeps the possibilities open and makes the game more fun. This video certainly shows us what's possible. We just need to relearn how to swing like a kid.

Labels: Disciplines, Freedom, Video

In the Podcast I mentioned in my last post, Fred Shoemaker also talked about doubt and fear. He shared that many golfers, when standing over a shot, see before them a threat instead of safety. They view the narrow fairway, the trees, the shrubs, the lake, the stream, the bunkers, and the rough as threats. In fact, there is nothing physically threatening out there, nothing to be afraid of. By viewing these obstacles as threats instead of safe, the golfer experiences doubt and fear and the body's muscles naturally tense. And of course, the ball ends up getting offline and going right where the golfer feared it would.


Carefree on the Range by Giantlogie at flickr.com

I have a friend who describes himself as a scratch golfer - on the range. He hits every shot long and straight. But as soon as you get him on the tee, look out. His drives transform into something more like a dying quail. Fortunately for him, he has a great recovery game - he gets a lot of practice at it.

When I first heard Fred Shoemaker's Podcast, it occurred to me that every shot should be as carefree as a shot on the range. Now, anytime I face a tight fairway or obvious hazard, I look out, admire the beauty and visualize a wide-open range before me. I pick a precise target, make a tangible connection with it, then swing freely. Although I still occasionally loose my focus and hit my ball offline and into a hazard, at least I wasn't scared about doing so. The freedom I felt increased the odds that my ball would find its target.

Labels: Disciplines, Fear, Fred Shoemaker

I recently listened to a Podcast at TeeTour.com where the host interviewed Fred Shoemaker about his books, Extraordinary Golf and Extraordinary Putting.


Autumn Redux by Linda's Manymuses at flickr.com

During the interview, Shoemaker shared that he doesn't recommend that golfers use swing thoughts or pre-shot routines. He believes that both of these common practices in golf actually remove you from the present moment. The act of having to remember or think about a swing though or routine takes your mind from the present and puts it in the past. The golfer is only capable of creating shots when he remains in the present moment.

Hearing this was music to my ears since I've resisted incorporating swing thoughts and pre-shot routines into my own game. I've found that you can't be creative in visualizing and executing a shot if you just go through the same routine on every shot. Perhaps you can find a level of consistency from routine, but consistency can be boring and limiting.

Breaking out of a routine opens the door to creativity and artful golf.

Labels: Books, Disciplines, Fred Shoemaker, Routine, TeeTour

In my last round, I discovered the root cause of my recent problems on the course. My motives have changed.


Green Thoughts by eltigre at flickr.com

I credit most of my success over the past 2 years in improving my game to an emphasis on learning and having fun. My performance just naturally improved. It appears that my motivation has now changed and has become more centered on performance. I think it's safe to assume that I let my guard down and allowed my ego to change my motives for playing.

Ron Mann, Ph.D., a certified GolfPsych instructor and Peak Performance coach, writes in an article on motivation that, "when you are highly and positively motivated, and use golf as a learning experience, you will stay even-minded, even when you are not scoring well. On the other hand, when you are highly motivated, but for the wrong reasons, you can work very hard at trying to accomplish something, but continually fail. When desire to impress others or prove yourself drive your motivation, it ultimately creates negative self-talk, increased tension and loss of concentration."

I'm looking forward in my coming rounds to rediscovering my desire for learning and self-improvement and playing for the simple love of the game. I'm especially looking forward to my round tomorrow with my son who is taking time from his busy schedule to play his fifth round of golf.

Labels: Disciplines, Motivation, Ron Mann

After shooting one of my worst rounds of golf in 6 months yesterday, and realizing that I've taken too much time from work this week to play golf, I think I need to step back and get some perspective. It's bad enough that my score has suffered recently from trying too hard to improve. I certainly don't want golf to start interfering with other parts of my life, like work.


Photo by Deano8 at flickr.com

Jim Waldron, a nationally acclaimed golf teaching professional and mental game coach at Balance Point Golf Schools, believes that perspective is one of seven core traits comprised by golfers who learn the fastest, practice the most effectively, and achieve the most dramatic performance breakthroughs on the golf course.

Waldron shares that, "perspective means understanding that life itself - especially golf! - is always in a constant state of flux. There is nothing to hold onto that will truly last. Accepting this allows the golfer to see that golf is truly "just a game" and that there are many more important things in one's life than the current state of your golf game. Perspective allows you to see the larger view and apportion your time and energy to golf in a balanced blending with the other parts of your life."

Not only does proper perspective help to keep your life in balance, but in golf, perspective leads the way to detachment about the outcome of a shot, and that detachment removes all doubt and fear from your mind, enabling a tension-free swing and solid contact. Learning proper perspective may be the most important discipline in golf because doubt and fear only exist when the golfer cares too much about the outcome.

It is our ego that is attached to and overly concerned about the outcome. The ego's attachment to the shot interferes with the natural communication between brain and body in a futile attempt to prevent failure or achieve success. Both intentions affect your balance, coordination and mechanics, resulting in poor impact.

Great golf shots result from a detached state of mind allowing us to clearly focus on the target. So the freedom and fearlessness required for playing artful golf are rooted in detachment that comes from proper perspective, gained only by rising above the ego.

Labels: Balance Point, Detachment, Disciplines, Jim Waldron, Perspective