Minds and Battlefields

Hello, friends. As I sit here watching the smoke rising off my keypad (wishful typing), I am reminded about the amazing journey of a lifetime that the game of golf creates. Starting at an early age while just trying to hit the ball off the ground to advancing into the professional realm, pressure is something you always have to deal with. Half of the battle is external, playing the course and dealing with your game. But I believe that the greater path to success lies within conquering the internal half found between your ears. Faith in yourself and discovering who you are on the golf course will take you farther than any set of lessons. My definition of beating pressure is the opportunity to overcome fear with execution, founded in trusting yourself. You can be your own worst enemy; you are your own best encourager. Only believe!

Way back in the day I actually caddied at an LPGA Tour Q-school event. This tournament carries a pressure unlike any other. There are usually one or two stages that you must first pass, and the level of play gets better and better as you progress. You are actually playing for the next year or two of your future, and you must finish in the top 25 or 30 of the field that week (out of approximately 120) to earn your playing card. I worked for a young girl named Jody Rosenthal, but my job that week was fairly easy. She was an All-American college player so we just had to avoid a crash and burn. This is caddy talk meaning that her college ranking and talent should enable her to easily pass her golf test. I helped her to think conservatively, to avoid any large numbers and to remember to breathe! She played well and finished top-10, earning her playing card. It was the first time I have ever been hugged and kissed on the 18th green of a tourney.

Another really cool thing about golf is that you can learn some amazing life lessons during the hunt. From chasing your Tour card to enjoying a good walk with friends, this unique game allows a place for every level of skill, or lack thereof. I love this game, I hate this game. To quote a fellow survivor, “ I quit! I never want to play this game again but I can’t wait to tee it up tomorrow!”
Golf is:
“…a puzzle without an answer.” –Gary Player
“…a game of expletives not deleted.” –Dr. Irving Gladstone
“…a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an even smaller hole with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose.”-Winston Churchill
“…a game of endless predicaments.”-Chi Chi Rodriguez
“…not a fair game. It is a rude game.”-Fuzzy Zoeller
“…an awkward set of bodily contortions designed to produce a graceful result.”-Tommy Armour
“…20 percent mechanics and technique. The other 80 percent is philosophy, humor, romance, melodrama, companionship and conversation usually resulting in tragedy.”-Grantland Rice
“…a game where the ball always lies poorly and the player always lies well.”-Anonymous
“…a game where I don’t have a handicap. I’m all handicap.”-President Lyndon B. Johnson
“…the most over-taught and least-learned human endeavor. If they taught sex the same way they teach golf, the human race would have died out years ago.”-Jim Murray

Enjoy storming the fairways of your mind …
Scotty