
The Zen of the First Golfer on the Course
Waking up to play golf when it is still dark can be considered crazy but I have grown to like it There are benefits to being the first golfer on the course.
For the love of this damn game.
Waking up to play golf when it is still dark can be considered crazy but I have grown to like it There are benefits to being the first golfer on the course.
Some days the bear eats you and some days you get his pizza delivery. that doesn’t make sense and neither does how poorly I played golf today.
Golf is a game of style and class but are you a classy golfers? Let’s find out.
Looking at these techniques, how can we apply them to a bad hole in golf? I don’t mean to take your vengeance physically on the hole. If we treat the bad hole as the attacker on our enjoyment of the round and positive mental state, how can we combat that attack?
There is terrible affliction that robs the golfer of all knowledge of how to hit and the physical coordination to strike a golf ball purely. It robs them of years of technique, practice, and most importantly confidence. There are no tells of its approach and the only sign of its infection is a confused look on the face or repeated staring at your club after each terrible shot. It is the Voldemort of golf and we dare to speak its name….the y!ps.
Today, I would like to dive into the dark side of golf. Golf is a sport which means there is competition and sometimes money rides on that competition. As we learn by paying attention to modern professional sports, every advantage should be used to win. Sometimes, you don’t need a physical advantage but play a few golf mind games to get the best of your opponent.
The USGA rule book is one of the most quoted and feared books in the game of golf. We all want to play by the rules but we don’t always want to know if we are breaking any rules that result in stroke and distance. (Damn you OB and white stakes). There are however unwritten rules of golf that are not written down but rather passed down. These are the unwritten rules of golf my dad taught me.
There are merits to each but here is why the correct answer is SHORT GAME. Let’s first define short game as anything within 50 yards of the green and this includes green side bunkers. You work your hardest to cover 300+ yards in was few strokes as possible an then hope for the best? Short game takes touch, finesse, strategy, and foresight.
Recently, I played at Heron Glen Golf Club with my dad. It was the first round that we had played together this summer. I enjoy playing with my dad now that I can hit consistently and don’t lose a dozen balls on the Front 9 or my temper on a regular basis. This round was special to me for another reason, I played probably my best golf score despite imploding on the last 3 holes of the day. And I didn’t lose my sh!t.
Ready Golf is defined by the small steps taken by all players to not waste time. Some traditional protocols are ignored but not completely forgotten. It is not a free for all but rather an organized group effort. Golf courses like it because they cannot more foursomes through the course in a day. I want to review what makes for good ready golf.
On a recent round of golf, a player in my foursome and I ended up in a conversation admiring pro golfers for their shot making abilities but more for their … Continue Reading My Top 5 Mental Golf Errors
The key to moving from being a hacker to a golfer who can hold your own is the lot art of scramble golf. Scrambling is part special swings that of almost trick shots and mental fortitude to play your game. If your drives end under tree more often than in the short grass of the fairway, a good scramble golf game can keep your scores from entering triple digits.
Through the years, golf gear will accumulate in any house, garage, shed or storage area of a golfer. Putters and drivers fall out of fashion or effectiveness and rest in dust corners. Golf balls multiple in bags faster than sox disappear from the dryer. My house is no different so I gathered up all my extra golf gear and saw the pile and thought of what to do with it all. Then I remembered the First Tee organization.
After reading Mastering Golf’s Mental Game, I was eager to try out the Mental Scorecard to see how consistently my mental game is during a round. I usually debrief myself after a round by talking to myself in the car running through each hole. I usually focus on the holes that ate my lunch and costed my penalty strokes. Using Dr. Lardon’s process, I wanted to see where my mental game falls short of maintaining a constant mental approach the game. It was a learning experience.
My resume shows that a stage of my professional career was in sales. My focus on customer service relied on relationship building. Sales happen when trust exists that was built on common experiences and understanding. Golf is a great way to spend quality time getting to know your customers and showing them your character. Through my travels, I played in countless charity tournaments and took scores of customers out for rounds of golf. Here is what I learned and would like to share with you to help you use golf as a professional networking tool.
The physical aspect of golf is relatively simple and takes 1.2 seconds. The rest of the 4.5 hour round is waiting for your turn to swing. During this time, each golfer must work to maintain their concentration and re-engage before stepping up to their next shot. Dr. Michael Lardon wrote Mastering Golf’s Mental Game to help each of us build a stronger mental golf game.