I always get inspired to play the world's best golf courses after watching an episode of The Wandering Golfer on the Fine Living Network. As much as I miss their original host, Chad Maulsby, I'm really warming up to his new replacement, Gia Bocra. I recently watched the new episode on Barnbougle Dunes, a new course by Tom Doak in Tasmania [Review]. During the episode, Gia interviewed one of the course's first caddies, who shared an inspiring poem he wrote about his experience at Barnbougle Dunes. I've shared the poem below, making my best attempt at transcribing that Aussie accent.


Barnbougle Dunes in Tasmania by Tom Doak

As the sun sets slowly over the dune,
The company's good and my swing is in tune.

All around me is beauty like I've never seen,
It's on every tee bed and each fairway and green.

The lovely sea birds and wildlife abounds,
While the waves on the seashore make a mystical sound.

Am I in heaven? Are they Angel's tunes?
No, It's just the wind through the marram at Barnbougle Dunes.

Labels: Barnbougle Dunes, Courses, Gia Bocra, Wandering Golfer

I haven't been reading or working on anything new lately and haven't spent any time practicing. But I have been playing, and focusing on some of the methods I've posted recently. I've made a lot of progress in taking each round one shot at a time, with an emphasis on playing instead of scoring, yet remaining expectant of extraordinary results.


Mornington Peninsula in Melborne by alandot at flickr.com

After shooting the 73 a couple weeks ago in match play, I moved on to the next bracket and played one of our club's best players. To my astonishment, I learned his low handicap for the year was one higher than mine, so I had to give him one stroke in our match. He's very capable of breaking par, is known as one of the longest and most accurate drivers in the club, and even won a local pro-am that includes PGA players such as Loren Roberts, Tom Lehman, Aaron Oberholzer, John Daly, Fred Couples, and others. I was up against a real player and was giving him a stroke!

We both made admirable up and downs on the difficult opening hole to get off to a good start. But on the par 3 2nd hole, he hit the green, and I landed a deep greenside bunker. My lie was hardpan wet sand. It took me 2 strokes to get out, then I 3-putted for a triple bogie! Fortunately, it was match play, so I was only down 1. On the par 5 3rd, we both hit long drives. In fact, it was one of several holes where I out drove him, which is no easy feat. He hit his 2nd shot right into a bank with long grass behind a small tree. I was in the middle of the fairway about 50 yards out. I hit the green in regulation, he punched back out to the fairway. I lined up my putt while he hit his 4th shot short of the green unto the fringe. He then chipped in for par! I was sure I had him and would get back to even. Instead, I 3-putted again and lost the hole! I was now down 2. He finally bogied the 4th and I got back to within 1. I was still in it.

I stayed patient and played with an attitude of expectancy. I knew I had a good enough game to at least make it a good match.

I birdied the next hole to get even! Then I chipped in from off the green on the par 4 6th for another birdie and went up 1. His jaw dropped. The par 4 7th is one of my favorite holes. It's an uphill dogleg left which can be driven with a good drive if you're willing to take the risk. You can bail out safely right, but a pulled shot goes out of bounds left. I hit my drive right at the pin, landed the green, and rolled about 15-20 feet past the pin! My opponent tried too but missed right, then pitched up and 2 putted for par. I 2 putted for my 3rd birdie in a row and went up 2!

The par 4 8th is the #1 handicap hole, so I had to give him a stroke. We both made impressive pars, but he took the hole. Still up 1. I hit first on the par 5 9th. I figured with his distance, he'd try to get on in 2, so I decided I'd do the same. I crushed my drive, but pulled it to the left into a dry water collection area with long rough. He hit one just as far to the middle of the fairway. Fortunately, I had a good lie and because the hole was a slight dogleg left, had a shorter distance to the green. I absolutely clobbered a 5-wood and landed just 1 foot short of the green. He laid up, pitched on in regulation, and 2 putted for par. I made an incredible chip to within 1 foot for an easy tap-in birdie! I'd just birdied 4 out of the last 5 holes and went up again by 2!

I was succeeding in staying true to my goal to take the match one shot at a time, let go of the outcome, yet remain expectant for extraordinary shots to come.

However, it turned out my opponent was pretty good at doing the same and he got very focused and hung right in there. He birdied 10 and 12 to get back to even with 6 holes to go! From there he went on to birdie one more hole and I started getting a couple bogies. He took the match on 17 with a par on a very difficult par 3. I still considered the match a success. I'd shot a 76 with a triple bogie and 4 3-putts and he came in with a 2-under 70!

There's no doubt I had no business having to give him a stroke. He's a much more accomplished and experienced golfer whose index has recently been as low as 1. The inaccuracy of handicaps is just a reality of amateur golf that I wasn't going to waste any time dwelling on. I'd played a good match and certainly gained his respect. I had him a little worried after my string of four birdies. In the end, I think he just wanted it more than I did. I just wanted to play and see what an expectant attitude might bring forth! He just wanted to win. We both got what we wanted.

I've now shot a 73 and 76 in my last 2 competitive rounds and shot a 74 yesterday playing recreationally with friends. Just playing golf, instead of trying to score, is paying big dividends!

Labels: Rounds

A golfer who found his way to my website recently directed me towards an inspiring golf story, Golf's Sacred Journey by Dr. David L. Cook, about a rancher with extraordinary insights and a struggling young golf professional. Dr. David L. Cook is an author, peak performance coach and speaker in both the sport and business arenas. Golf Digest recently named him one of the "Top 10 Mental Game Consultants" in the world of golf. The story, available as a free download, shares wisdom that can transform your game, and life.


Bandon Dunes by hole-in-one at flickr.com

In addition to insights about the importance of rhythm, balance, and patience, I was particularly drawn to a chapter describing golf as art, an approach to the game I try to realize. Below, I've included some of my favorite excerpts from the story about golf as art.

"Golf is to art like dance is to music. Dance is a physical expression of the music; a golf shot is a physical expression of art."

"To be a great player, you must be a great shot-maker. To be a great shot-maker, you must become an artist."

"All shots start with a blank canvas. We must paint the shot with our eyes first, before our body can produce it accurately. In essence, the quality of our shot mimics the quality of our painting."

"Your muscles work off of images sent from the eyes. Your muscles will hit the shot, but like a pilot in the fog, they can only respond to the information you send to them. The most powerful information is an image, a picture. A good picture produces feel and feel produces trust."

"First, you must see; second, you feel; third, you trust. Trust is the epitome of golf. It is the freedom to swing and let go. Great athletes compete best when they are free. Trust, you see, is earned. It is earned by feel, and feel is earned by seeing. Therefore, art is the catalyst to a great shot."

"Every time you hit a shot, you are signing a painting. When we fail to engage art, we sign our name to a stick figure outcome. When you engage art, you sign your name to a masterpiece."

At one point during the story, the rancher tells the struggling pro to "be expectant". Although this advice was easy to miss in the story, it really struck me since I've focused so much on not having expectations. But then I realized that "being expectant" isn't about expectations about the outcome, it's about what Fred Shoemaker describes as being open to the art of the possible, being open to and even expectant of extraordinary golf.

Play golf with artful expectancy!

Last week, I had the opportunity to play a competitive round with this newfound attitude of artful expectancy. Our Men's Club Match Play tournament just began and my first match was against a very competitve golfer that I had to give 9 strokes to. Thanks to those strokes, I was quickly behind by 2 holes after 3. Although my opponent's handicap was quite a bit higher than mine, he was striking the ball and putting like a single handicapper. It was looking like I'd have to birdie every hole to stay even.

I decided to be expectant, yet patient. By the end of the front 9, I was up 3! Although I bogied the 1st hole, I shot 6 pars and 2 birdies to finish the front 1-under. My opponent kept it closer on the back, but I closed him out on 15 (4&3). With net pars on the last 3 holes, I recorded my best-ever competitive round with a 1-over 73 (71.2/129).

Labels: Art, Books, David Cook, Expectations, Golf's Sacred Journey, Rounds