Re: When golf became fun.

Hehe ... free time or not, I agree with your point.

After all, if golf was easy, how long would we bother? If we all could play to scratch from championship tees inside a couple of years, what would the point be?

One of the things that keep me into golf, despite being desperately mediocre at it, is the therapeutic element.
The fact that the game is hard in all facets mean, that I have to stay 100% focused during a round of golf to be able to play at a satisfactory level. That - in turn - means that I can't think about too many other things for the 4 hours a walking round takes.

THAT is pure therapy. 4 hours of release from stuff at work, nagging girlfriend (whom I love deeply), noisy egocentric kids, bills etc. etc.

It's a recharge of the batteries, PLUS a good walk (spoiled) in the fresh air and beautiful countryside.

So it happens to ind up in the trees now and again (for some completely inexplicable reason), putting takes three, and favoured shot profile is "starts right - moves right" ... so what?!

That just means that I need to play some MORE to get better ... and the loop is complete

I say "hold that finish" even when it's in the woods.

Re: When golf became fun.

When I was younger, much younger, I use to be a club thrower, cusser, I got mad on every other shot..at that time I had a 15 or so handicap. I was playing with the course pro one day, a man I greatly admired for his golf game, when I went into one my tantums after a bad shot, he asked me what my handicap was, I said 15, he laughed and said your not good enough to get mad at bad shots...lol...that single comment hit me like a ton of bricks, how right he was...I started enjoying the game after that, and dropped to single digit handicap that summer, scratch the following year. I think it was because I finaly calmed down, and quit trying to hit perfect shots all day long, I started to play golf.

Re: When golf became fun.

Sometimes when I am out playing (playing well), I find an inner peace that is almost religious like... without the dogma attatched. I still find it amazing how we can hit a round object with a flat blade nearly 3 feet from our hands, catch it clean, watch how nature takes over the shot, the arc of the ball, the fact that it finds the green, the fact that it stops on the green from so far away, and that we can sometimes actually get it close to the flag our target... if you think about it, so much "processing power" athletic reflex, thought, instinct must take place to carry out a well played shot. It can be mind boggling at times.

Re: When golf became fun.

I find it scary to look at pictures of the end of a backswing.
I cant help thinking how on earth do I get the clubhead back to the ball and square.

When you think that half on inch off means a ****py shot its a wonder we are not all in tears.
As you say, if we all actually sat back and thought about a tee shot that goes 300yrds to the middle of the (correct!) fairway we would be much happier people.
If you think about it, the default state should be the bad shots, the good ones are when we temporarily rise to a god like level

Re: When golf became fun.

Yes, it is all very spiritual

The great golfing spirit will shine on us as long as we keep offering sacrificed balls to the god of the trees, the lake gods and all the unplayable regions of the bushes, we must make visitations to the the sandy lands of the bunkers and the watery regions of the lateral hazard. We must raise ourselves to the dizzy heights of the tee box and tremble at the gushing wind .................

Sorry!! got a little carried away there! must lay down in a darkened room for a while.

Re: When golf became fun.

This type of thread always floats my boat.

I have played the best golf of my life once I learned to master my mind,

It all started when I caddied for a club shop pro who was actually really really good, on the first day he shot a 67 which was 5 under, I had never seen golf like it, he taught me loads about wind, lies, club selection......all these things without even knowing it.......................anyway we were 3 off the lead as a 64 and two 66 had been posted, the next day the weather was poor and a very light drizzel, we set off with a couple of pars and then bang off the tee with one out of bounds............the whole round was going downhill from there, poor lies in the rough, missed greens.......finally we finished finished 6 over par, that was 11 shots different from the day before.

The most important thing was he was absoultely no different in himself from the day before he walked the same chatted the same, even laughed at his bad lies, commenting at one point "no one was on his side today". But he really enjoyed the day and the evening meal.

Maybe because he won it the year before, I think and still do that his heart rate or mind set never changed that second day, not for a minute thats why he said " I couldn't have played any better today" and I agreed with him.

The moral of this is that somedays thing don't go your way, sometimes you can't buy a putt, thats golf enjoy it for the good and the bad times....................I too have never slamed a club down in anger not even for a minute.


Hope this helps you as much as it helped me.


Ian.

Re: When golf became fun.

Brilliant outlook on this wonderful game. I once was so wound up about this game that I became a different animal on the course. Got to a point where I did not like myself, and could not accept the rubbish that was going on. Then, I came to understand that it was useless to have this attitude and had to change my mindset. I now go to the course with a relaxed body and mind, and a routine which does not change, for both good and bad results. The end result is I now have dropped close to single figures and most weekends come close to playing to my handicap. I am the same person right through the round. This is a major factor in getting to where you want to be.

Re: When golf became fun.

I have learned that the correct mind set in golf improves your game and makes it all so much more enjoyable.

Some of the things that help me:

Conserving mental energy:
I think we have a limited amount of the stuff available in a 3/4 hour period, when it is used up we become mentally tired and cannot concentrate or play at our best. I think of it as an egg timer full of this energy, when I am pulling a club from my bag the timer starts dripping sand, when I return the club I lay the timer on its side and the sand stops. For the period between shots I turn off the concentration, I take in the scenery, I hum a tune, I speak to my playing partners as we stroll to the next shot.

Blocking the negatives:
When faced with a difficult shot I never consider that I can or can not make it, I think "This shot is possible" then I don't have the highs or lows of success or failure.

Before and during a round I convince myself that I can handle what ever happens in the round. I also believe that I will be no less worth as a person if I have a poor game, no one will shoot my dog or burn my house down over it.

I draw an imaginary line ten yards in front of the ball, when I walk past that line I will leave the result of that shot behind me.

Hit or Miss Putting Practice:
I no longer try putting to the holes on the practice green before a game, this removes any negative thoughts on missed holes during practice. I hit balls from differing distances and places and try to pull them up on the fringe, this is good for the speed of the green and feeling with the weight of putt.

I then place a tee in the green and putt balls to that, never a hole. If I get it near or just past the tee then it may have dropped in the hole.

Breathing:
Breathing does steady the nerves when on the tee, the green or taking a difficult shot. You have to breath correctly though, not short shallow breaths but deep slow rhythmic breaths where your stomach rises and falls.

Another form of breathing I have learned sounds strange but it works for me. When I step onto a green I trigger a change of breathing , what I do is look down at the fringe then look up, from that point I feel as though I am breathing through my heart, yes, I said heart. I get the sensation that I am taking controlled breaths through the centre of my chest that are calming and slowing my heart rate, this really relaxes me. As I step off the green I look again at the fringe and return to normal breathing.