GOLF LESSONS
Autumn is my restless season. When I most want to slow down and savor a beautiful time of the year, my mind is filled with the remembrance of times past. When things get too heavy, the best thing for me is to play golf. I am out in the fresh air, taking a pleasant stroll through a well maintained park filled with birds and other wildlife. I always meet interesting people, and every once in a while I actually hit as pretty decent shot.
My father introduced me to the game 50 years ago. It has taken me about 40 years to understand the wisdom of a quote made by a great golfer of the 1930's, Bobby Jones: "Golf is a game that is played on a five-inch course - the distance between your ears." With that in mind, here are some lessons I have learned out on the golf course. Trust me, this beats the hell out of another diatribe on health care or Afghanistan.
Replay Success Not Failure
I'm an average golfer. I usually hit between 80 and 90 shots in a round. Some are truly awful. One or two are terrific.
Like most amateurs, I tend to obsess over my bad shots. The pros stay focused on the things they did really well. Sure they remember the missed putt on 16, but they understand the importance of keeping a positive attitude in a sport that grinds you down mentally.
Replaying poor shots prepares your mind and body for failure. Remembering the good shots prepares your mind and body for success.
What you think is what you get.
Stay In The Present
In golf they talk about playing one shot at a time. This is easy to do if things are going well.
When things aren't going so well, it is hard to block out memories of the previous lousy shot in order to stay focused on the next shot.
A poor shot rattles around in your head, eating away at your confidence. The tension in your head causes tension in your swing, which often results in another missed shot. A bad shot leads to a bad hole which leads to a bad round.
Life can imitate golf, if you let it.
One Good Shot
A crappy tee shot veers wildly off to the right into the rough. A lackluster second shot falls 20 yards short of the green. A solid chip shot leaves a makeable par putt.
The pros rarely make poor shots. The rest of us make at least one poor shot per hole, sometimes more than one. If we are lucky, we stroke that one good shot that can save a hole.
One good shot can offset many poor shots. But for that one good shot to count, you have to stay in the game.
September 28, 2009
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