CAUTION: GOLF TERMINOLOGY AND IMAGERY IN USE. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Several days ago, I was at the driving range doing a “full bag” practice session. It won’t surprise those who know me to hear that I have a set practice routine on such days. I start by hitting 12 balls with my 9-Iron, 12 with my 7-Iron, and then 8-10 balls each with my 5-Iron, Hybrid, and 5-Wood. Next, I pull out my driver and hit at least 12 balls with it, then proceed backwards – hitting 8-10 balls each with my 4-Iron, 6-Iron, 8-Iron, and Pitching Wedge. If I struggle with any particular club, I’ll hit more balls with it until I feel comfortable. When I’m done with my “regular” clubs, I hit any remaining balls with my Sand Wedge and Lob Wedge. The idea is to maintain a good feel for ALL the clubs in my bag – because I never know which one I’ll need to use in a critical situation on the golf course. I also try to work in regular sessions at a short-game practice facility, where I focus on chipping, pitching, playing out of the sand, and putting. At my level of play (11-12 index), I can’t always count on hitting the ball where I want to, so a decent short game is essential to scoring well.
Because golf is an individual sport, you can tell a lot about players by watching them practice and by how they conduct themselves on the course. I’m constantly amazed by people who come to the range, don’t loosen up or stretch, immediately grab their driver (the most difficult club in the bag to hit), and begin banging balls in rapid succession. There’s no work on any kind of preshot routine (GASP: Grip, Alignment, Posture, Stance), no focus on rhythm and tempo, or even on “warming up”. It’s just bang, bang, bang – get it done so that when things go bad out on the course, I can claim that I don’t know why because I was “just at the driving range working on my game” :-). I can’t tell you how many people I’ve played with over the years who lug around a full bag of clubs but use only a few of them because they “can’t hit” the others…or people who absolutely kill their driver, but have no “touch” and can’t hit anything inside of 175 yards. I’m not talking about “occasional” golfers who don’t practice and are just out for some fun, sun, beers, cigars, etc. I’m talking about people who claim to take the game seriously. Yeah, yeah…I may be a “golf snob”(as my wife says) but I just don’t understand wasting precious time and money on a game that’s already frustrating enough – even for professionals.
At the driving range, I usually pick a slot adjacent to the teaching pro with whom I work. When he’s there doing a lesson, I can often pick up handy “tips” and reminders. He doesn’t mind because I’m also one of his “students” – not a freeloader trying to get something for nothing. The other day, he was working with a man whom he repeatedly had to admonish for “choking the club to death”. It was like a mantra: “loosen your grip, relax, loosen your grip, relax, loosen your grip !*!#@*#!”. A mantra is supposed to create or foster transformation. In this case, I’m not sure if his student got it, but I certainly did.
I will openly admit that I’m a borderline Type A personality. As such, I have to constantly remind myself to “loosen my grip”. A few days after listening to my golf pro’s mantra, I went out to the course and resolved to loosen my grip (literally) on my golf clubs. Miracle of miracles! Tightening one’s grip causes all kinds of other muscles in the body to seize up – in my case, this includes my jaw. How am I supposed to relax and hit the ball when my whole body is “puckered up”? Needless to say, I played well that afternoon. Apparently, I’ve been bringing my stress onto the golf course and allowing it to dictate how I play the game (both physically and mentally). Is it any surprise then, that I’ve haven’t felt very “refreshed” lately after playing golf?
There’s a fellow I play with pretty regularly at my home course, Gleneagles. He’s a former professional football player who’s around my age and has two characteristics that are noteworthy to me. Out on the course, we say that he has “almost no pulse”. By that, I mean nothing ruffles him – good shots, bad shots, he just keeps plugging away – on an even keel emotionally, not wasting one bit of energy. The second characteristic is that when things get tough (competitively), he seems to have another “gear” that kicks in – allowing him to play even better under pressure. Over time, I’ve come to realize that his experience as a professional athlete allows him to conserve energy, even in the midst of playing, so that he can utilize it exactly where and when it’s needed. Perhaps if I can learn to consistently “loosen my grip”, I can do the same – on the golf course and in life.
