Trip Kuehne, after winning the U.S. Mid-Am in Bandon Dunes last week, 13 years after loosing to Tiger Woods in the 1994 U.S. Amateur final, shared the following comment regarding amateur golf in an interview with the USGA.

"Golf is a game, and you play games. My golf game was a heck of a lot better after I decided to do that, just play golf and play the game, and that's what I'm trying to do. It's been a great run. I'm thrilled. I want people to realize that you don't have to turn professional if you're an All-American. There are other things out there. You can get a good-paying job, you can enjoy the game of golf and play because you love the game of golf, and hopefully some people have done that, or will do that in the future. I know that the USGA is proud of it, and I'll probably get in trouble for saying this, but I don't like the fact that almost 100 people in this event are reinstated amateurs. I would love to see more guys that are 35 years old that have always been amateurs who play because they truly love the game of golf. That's why I play the game, because I truly love the game of golf. I think it's watered down a bit with the prize money."


Trip Kuehne holding the Robert T. Jones Jr. Memorial Trophy after winning the 2007 U.S. Mid-Am at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Steven Gibbons/USGA)

Trip Kuehne, 35 from Irving, Texas, is the older brother of LPGA Tour player Kelli Kuehne and PGA Tour player Hank Kuehne - both USGA champions. Kelli Kuehne won the 1995 and 1996 U.S. Women's Amateur titles, and Hank Kuehne won the 1998 U.S. Amateur.

Sandy Tatum, another strong advocate for amateur golf and past USGA President, writes in his book, "A Love Affair with the Game", that "The word amateur derives from the Greek words meaning, as a verb, to love and, as a noun, lover. That word, therefore, puts amateur golfers in the right frame of reference, because they are the lovers of it whose love provides the heart, and indeed the soul, of the game of golf."

Both Sandy and Trip simply ask talented young golfers to consider an alternative to turning professional, one that preserves their love of the game, instead of taking them down a likely path of frustration, lack of income, and eventual failure. At the least, Sandy Tatum encourages these youngsters to take full advantage of the education available to them in college, instead of focusing solely on their golf game. He even tried to persuade Tiger to finish his education at Stanford before turning pro.

Many pros certainly "love the game", but once their livelihood begins to depend on it, their relationship with the game inevitably changes. Dan Millman even observes that, "those who do sports for the trophies or pursue a career mostly for the money are missing the point."

In an interview, this month with The Outdoor Journey, Millman goes on to say that, "It's all a path of personal growth. Sports are a form of voluntary adversity that develops strength and character. This is why I've never aimed at winning or success (since I can’t ultimately control such things). I am only for excellence -- doing the best I can in a given moment, and let the outcomes be what they will. No matter the outcomes of a race, if we learn something about ourselves, it is a victory."

I think Bobby Jones would be proud of Trip and his artful pursuit of excellence... Congratulations!

Labels: Amateur, Articles, Competition, Dan Millman, Sandy Tatum, Trip Keuhne

"That natural ability to translate your thoughts into actions is the un-spoken essence of golf." -- Peter Nomm


Philippines Ladies Amateur Open by Saxmax

Peter Nomm shares his insights at Great Golf into the role athletic ability plays in golf, suggesting that, "coordination and a feel for the athletic movement makes the game much easier to learn and to improve upon." In his experience teaching golf, he has found it far easier to work with an individual who has played many other sports than one who has not, because that natural understanding of how to throw a ball or swing a bat has many similarities to hitting a golf shot.

Nomm says that "anything you can do like playing catch or shooting baskets will also help you reap rewards in your golf game. That natural ability to translate your thoughts into actions is the un-spoken essence of golf. Practice this feel and work on your coordination, and you will be surprised to see how it translates into your golf game!"

I agree that Nomm's advice to practice other sports can benefit your golf game. Other activities not only help develop feel and coordination, but provide new opportunities to recognize and eliminate tension, allowing relaxation in movement to be experienced, the essential ingredient to swinging freely.

According to Dan Millman, "relaxation in movement is the foundation of physical talent."

Labels: Athlete, Dan Millman, Peter Nomm, Relaxation, Tension

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

A good practice session yesterday paid dividends today. I worked on becoming aware of the errors I've been making in my swing and putting stroke in order to improve them.

A large component of my goal to shoot scratch golf is to do so without instruction, in order to prevent the endless cycle of depending on others to find and fix my problems. This goal requires that I develop a keen sense of awareness.

Many golfers resist awareness since no one really likes to look at his weaknesses. In fact, the more you develop your awareness, the more weaknesses you find and the more it appears that you're getting worse instead of better. But awareness also highlights and develops your strengths, resulting in increased confidence, inspiration, motivation, and satisfaction.

Dan Millman explains in Body Mind Mastery that "life is a great school, and nature is the ultimate teacher - but without awareness you can't hear the "teacher." Awareness transforms life's lessons into wisdom; it can translate confusing circumstances and events into useful knowledge. Awareness, then, is the beginning of all learning.

So I headed out today to my great school, Monarch Dunes Golf Club, and joined up with a threesome including a father and son. I was eager to try out a few things I discovered during my practice yesterday that I hoped would improve my putting.


Monarch Dunes Golf Club 9th

I started strong with a par on the very difficult opening hole, another par on 2, and birdie on 3 with a nice 10-foot putt. I hit a wayward wedge on the approach to the par 5 4th and recorded my first bogie. Another par on 5 kept me at even par. I hit a fairway bunker on 6, then mishit a 170 yard approach shot and bogied.

Now 1-over, I parred 7, then put a 6-iron on the par 3 8th to 5 feet for a great birdie attempt to get back to even, but left it short dangling on the lip of the cup. However, the tap-in par began a streak of 9 pars in a row. I made several key putts to save par during this streak.

I stepped up to the par 4 16th still 1-over for the round and cut the dogleg with a great drive to 65 yards out. I began to consider that this might be the round that I beat my best-ever round of 75 at this 135-slope course. I'd had one other opportunity not long ago when I got to 17 at 1-over, but choked with a triple bogie on 17 and double bogie on 18 to finish with a 6-over 77!

Letting myself leave the present moment cost me again. I scalded my sand wedge to the back of the green and failed to get up and down for par.

Now 2-over, I launched a drive on 17, but pulled it and rolled across the fairway into a lake bordering the left-side of the fairway. I nailed a 5-wood after taking a drop, but landed the huge bunker guarding the green. I got on from there, but lipped out my short 2nd putt, resulting in my first 3-putt and first double bogie for the round.

Refusing to finish with another 5-over on the last few holes, I buckled down on 18 and finished with a par to get in with a 4-over 75 round, tying my best round at Monarch Dunes.

Letting my mind leave the present moment cost me a stroke on 16, and letting myself try to make up for it on 17 by over-swinging cost me another stroke and poor putt on 17.

At least I got another glimpse of the kind of round that's possible if I can learn to stay present and finish strong. Most importantly, I met my immediate goal of improving my putting. I only missed one putt that I should have made, and that was due to my mind lapse at the end of the round when I got preoccupied with the outcome.

Labels: Awareness, Body Mind Mastery, Books, Dan Millman, Disciplines, Monarch Dunes, Rounds

In my opinion, the biggest obstacle to playing extraordinary golf is self-criticism. Repeatedly, I witness friends and strangers beat themselves up over bad shots and watch their rounds deteriorate as frustration mounts. As any golfer knows, it's easy to do.

It's interesting to watch as others in the foursome try to encourage this golfer to help him remain positive and constructive. However, it rarely works. The only remedy for this golfer is to encourage himself and be the friend to himself that others are being to him.

Being your own best friend is a choice. Decide to be constructive and be gentle with yourself. If you will not be your own unconditional friend, who will be?

As Dan Millman points out in Body Mind Mastery, "if you are playing an opponent and you are also opposing yourself - you are going to be outnumbered."

Millman suggests that we "maintain an attitude of unconditional self-worth, free from self-criticism. You can agree that it is cruel and unnecessary to tell someone else they are stupid, a klutz, to give up, you'll never be any good. If you would never say those things to anyone else, why not pay yourself the same courtesy?... If babies carried around the same tendency towards self-criticism that adults do, they would never learn to walk."

This very advice changed me over a decade ago when I was playing softball. I was always encouraging other teammates after they made a mistake, but continually berated myself for the most minor physical and mental errors. Only after treating myself with the same compassion and respect that I treated others, did my game and enjoyment improve.

Although, being human, I still have bouts of frustration playing this most frustrating game of golf, I've found that my best rounds occur only when I allow myself to make mistakes and remain positive.

Expecting perfection is simply immature. I recently played with a golfer who shot a round of 64 once, but left the course pissed off because he felt he could have played better.

My weekend golf partner set me straight once after I lost my temper after a bad shot by reminding me that I'm not good enough to get that pissed off.

I remembered that wise remark yesterday after getting a little frustrated after ending my round with five 3-putts. That quickly helped me realize that in reality I'd just shot an extraordinary round, coming in with a very respectable 77, despite my 36 putts.

Although we all need to allow ourselves to make mistakes and expect a few of poor shots, I've found that the frequency of those poor shots decreases significantly when you cut yourself some slack and remain open to the possibility of following it up with your best shot. The experience I shared recently about hitting my second shot within 2 feet of the pin from the worst of lies after one of my worst-ever tee shots is a great example.

Labels: Body Mind Mastery, Books, Dan Millman, Disciplines, Self Criticism