"When you disappear - the thoughts, worries, and judgments you have about yourself - Golf as Art shows up." -- Fred Shoemaker

I had the very good fortune of being introduced to the book, "Extraordinary Golf" by Fred Shoemaker, only six months after starting to play golf on a regular basis in 2005. The book came highly recommended by a friend of Fred's, Tony Criscuolo, whom I had just met in San Luis Obispo. Tony teaches yoga for golf classes nearby at Avila Beach Golf Resort and works with the Cal Poly SLO golf team. I was rewarded with a round of 76 the day after I read the book!


Fred Shoemaker and Jo Hardy of Extraordinary Golf

I consider this good fortune, not only because the book helped me break 80, but because Fred's approach inspired me to coach myself by becoming more aware of my own swing, instead of taking the traditional route of learning to play golf by taking lessons, which often creates a dependence on others for ongoing instruction and tips.

I found myself drawn to Fred's approach, not only for the independence it offered, but for the potential he described for golf to be like art. As a person whose creativity is limited to software design, the possibility of making golf creative was appealing. The key to this creative approach requires only that we let go of the "thoughts, worries, and judgments we have about ourselves," and become fully present in the moment - allowing the genius of our body to create the desired shot.

Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting Fred while attending a week-long golf event at Bandon Dunes, hosted by Fred and Jo Hardy from Extraordinary Golf, and The Shivas Irons Society's founder, Steve Cohen! I enjoyed an extraordinary week of incredible golf with very interesting people in a breathtaking natural setting in the Oregon sand dunes along the Pacific Ocean. Playing Bandon Dunes has been a dream of mine. Doing so in the company of this inspiring group of golfers exceeded any expectations!


Bandon Dunes 5th by Joann Dost

This trip was intended more for exploration, discovery and adventure than instruction. Fred didn't hold any formal clinics, but was available for questions each day on the range. In response to a golfer's question about playing shots in preparation for strong winds, it became apparent that Fred wasn't your typical golf teacher.

Without going into detail, Fred's instruction quickly had the group convinced we'd discovered "the secret" to making a perfect swing! By incorporating what I learned, I pulled off a Tiger Wood's "stinger" using a 3-wood to reach the long par 5 12th at Pacific Dunes in 2, into a good headwind. On our last day, an older participant with a handicap of about 14, shot a 39 on the back nine at Pacific Dunes on a windy day by using what he'd learned from Fred. His wife nearly aced the 10th!

I expected Fred to have us throwing clubs, which he is well known for, in order to help you discover your natural swing by swinging at the target instead of the ball. Instead, Fred used a new technique that helped us discover our natural swing and tempo. For many of us, this made revolutionary improvements to our ball striking quality and consistency!

Fred's instruction certainly wasn't limited to ball striking. His main emphasis was about enhancing our performance by helping us reconnect with our love for the game and bringing one's "self" to the golf course by being fully present.

I was placed in a foursome with Fred during the first nine holes of our trip, which we played at Bandon Trails. Our first round took place on Monday, before any instruction had taken place on the range or during our numerous group gatherings. Interestingly, I played my best nine holes of the trip during this round with Fred!

Admittedly, I was a little nervous at first about playing with Fred, but not overly so. Thanks to Fred's book, I'd already made a lot of progress learning to play without trying to impress others or worrying about what other's may think of my swing or ability. I did notice however that I was a little tense on the first hole. I pulled both my tee shot and my approach just a little left of my target, then knocked my very first putt from just off the green a good 20 feet past the hole! I then took a deep breath, relaxed, and 2-putted for bogie. From then on, I stayed relaxed, played my own game, let go of any expectations, and took in all the beauty surrounding me.

I finished the front nine just 1-over! I tallied 3 birdies to help offset my struggles in the bunkers, taking 2 shots to get out of 2 separate greenside bunkers.

Fred recognized that I had a good round developing and encouraged me to stay present by centering my attention in my solar plexus between shots. This helped me to breathe normally, stay relaxed, and prevented my mind from racing into the future, considering the potential for a great round. I have to take some credit for playing well, but Fred did provide a very calming influence.

But then Fred switched to another foursome at the turn while we stopped briefly to eat a sack lunch. On the back nine, I'm not sure if it was Fred's absence, a change in the rhythm of the round from stopping to eat, or that I simply started "trying" to score, but I just kept getting bogies. My only par on the back was on the par 3 17th. After the round, I realized I'd barely looked up to appreciate where I was and who I was with during those last 2 hours. I have to wonder what the front nine might have been like without Fred's influence!


Pacific Dunes 13th by Joann Dost

However, I did experience more extraordinary play in subsequent rounds at Bandon and Pacific Dunes. But perhaps due to the back pain I started the trip with, I never put it together for an entire 18 holes. Nevertheless, that wasn't the point of the trip. I was there to for the extraordinary place, people, discovery and adventure - and I experienced all of it!

If you ever get the opportunity to attend an event or golf clinic with Fred Shoemaker and Jo Hardy, I highly recommend you do so. They are wonderful people whose commitment to empower golfers to step into the very heart and soul of the "gaeme", provides access to new possibilities in performance, enjoyment, and learning.

Thank you Fred, Jo, Steve, all who attended, and all the caddies and employees at Bandon, for a memorable an extraordinary golf vacation!

There's an excellent interview with Fred Shoemaker in the latest (4th) issue of The Journal of the Shivas Irons Society. You can learn more about the programs presented by Fred at www.extraordinarygolf.com.

"Use your time between shots to put the past in the past, create a future that is powerful and full of possibility, and live into that future." -- Fred Shoemaker

Labels: Bandon Dunes, Extraordinary Golf, Fred Shoemaker, Golf Destinations, Golf Vacation, Shivas Irons Society

I continued a streak of extraordinary rounds today, shooting a 75 at Monarch Dunes Golf Club (70.7/135) in a Travel League I play in. My score came in good enough to win 1st place net and 2nd place gross. Six of my latest rounds have now come in between 73 and 76! This is a real breakthrough for me. Although I've scored in the low 70's plenty of times before, I've never done so as consistently or with as little effort. I'm really learning to just play and not try so hard anymore! I've even become a good putter, the part of the game that I've struggled with most. In fact, I've been playing so well that several golfers have asked me recently how I got so good so fast!


Tiger celebrates a chip-in birdie on the 16th at the 2005 Masters

My standard answer to this question has always been that I started getting better when I simply began playing more than once a week. But, although more frequent play does help develop and maintain better touch and perhaps even consistency, it doesn't necessarily result in better scoring. I've met plenty of golfers who expected to become better golfers once they retired and finally had the time to work on their game and play more, but who actually got worse.

I've also replied that the game came pretty naturally to me, coming from playing hockey. Hockey has a complimentary swing. I've found that hitting down on the ball is much like taking a slapshot. But again, although my natural ability and a natural swing may have reduced my learning curve, it only took me so far.

Another factor I share is that I learned quickly by coaching myself instead of taking lessons and filling my mind with too many swing thoughts and techniques. I've learned to simply relax, quiet my mind, focus on the target, visualize my shot, and swing. I just trust that my body can do what I visualize it doing. I've never seen my swing or had it analyzed. However, after taking my first and only golf lesson just a couple months ago, I can see where getting help from a pro on occasion could speed up the process of improvement even more. I just wouldn't become dependant on one.

What I realize now is that my improvement really began when I changed who I am on the course. Golf is a great teacher, and I was eager to learn from it.

My biggest breakthoughs came when I let go of scoring and winning and learned to just play and have fun. I learned to appreciate the beauty of my surroundings. I learned to enjoy playing with friends and meeting new ones. I learned to be patient when I was struggling. I learned to accept my mistakes. I learned to let go of doubt and fear. I learned to trust myself. I learned that my next shot, my next hole, and my next round could be extraordinary. I learned the "Art of the Possible" from Fred Shoemaker, who shares in his book Extraordinary Golf, to use our time between shots "to put the past in the past, create a future that is powerful and full of possibility, and live into that future."

So, while I take a moment to celebrate my recent breakthrough, I also give thanks to those who have shown me how to play a game, and live a life, that is full of possibility and excitement.

Labels: Disciplines, Extraordinary Golf, Fred Shoemaker, 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

Most people who succeed in their various professions each describes being fully immersed in the moment during performance, with little or no thought of technique or results of their efforts. They lose themselves in their own creative process.

In my experience, no other discipline in golf has proved more important than being creatively immersed or centered in the present moment.

Artful golf appears when the mind is centered. When you find your inner center, creativity shows up. Your mind becomes free from the anxiety and interference introduced by judgment of a shot just taken in the past and fear or hope of executing a shot in the near future.

Fred Shoemaker shares in Extraordinary Golf, "when you disappear - the thoughts, worries, and judgments you have about yourself - Golf as Art shows up… Golf as Art recognizes the enormity of the potential of the moment. This can also be called creativity. It is the realization that what could exist greatly exceeds what does exist, and it keeps each moment vibrant, alive, and full of possibility. When a person plays golf in this way - fully absorbed, full committed, merging with the game - it is a marvelous thing. It is extraordinary golf."

Many of us experience this immersion in the moment when we start playing golf, while our expectations are realistic and golf is still a game to us. However, for various reasons, we eventually begin putting pressure on ourselves to perform.

We begin to expect results and we get consumed by outcome. The joy of the game gives way to frustration as we obsess over making perfect shots, winning holes, and shooting lower scores.

I'm personally making progress staying centered during shots, and even at letting go of judgment and reaction immediately following a shot. However, I still struggle to stay in the present towards the end of good rounds. I begin thinking about results and trying to achieve an outcome.

My biggest lesson, among many, came last month when I was playing a round with a friend that promised to be my best ever.

I shot a personal best 2-under on the front nine with 3 birdies and a bogie. On the back, I managed to shoot more pars than bogies by the time I walked up to the par 5 17th tee. I was only 1-over for the round. My best round at this course up until then had been a 4-over 75. Even with a bogie on 17 and 18, I'd beat that score!

On 17, I drove the ball into a lake on the right, which I had succeeded in carrying in all my dozens of rounds prior. I followed that with a couple more poor shots and a 3-putt for a triple bogie. I then drove the ball into a grove of trees on the par 4 18th, and 3-putted again for a double bogie.

The golfer I was playing with was also shooting his personal best round. Entering 17, he was 4-over, only 3 shots behind me. Unlike me, he shot pars on both 17 and 18, succeeding to shoot his best-ever round, not to mention beating me by 2 strokes!

His ability to stay centered through the end of the round made a huge impression on me.

Find your inner center, swing freely, and trust that the outcome will take care of itself. Great shots always follow and Artful Golf shows up.

Labels: Books, Centeredness, Disciplines, Extraordinary Golf, Fred Shoemaker, Rounds

Here at The Artful Golfer, I'll share insights and experiences pursuing Golf as Art, a unique approach to golf that I was inspired to explore after reading Extraordinary Golf, by Fred Shoemaker.

Shoemaker believes that anyone, beginner or pro, can play golf in an artistic way and have experiences so deep and compelling that they will benefit others as well. He shares, "when you disappear, Golf as Art shows up. The resulting void is where all the important discoveries, personal development, satisfaction, joy and fulfillment take place."

Labels: About, Books, Extraordinary Golf, Fred Shoemaker