The mystery of golf is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced…
Far too often, golf has been viewed as a problem to be solved. A game to beat. Golf is a game to be experienced, to explore the possibilities that will unfold as you go, hit your shot, chase it, and hit it again. The game is being replaced with the idea that you “should” hit the ball in the fairway, on the green and 1 putt, you “win” only if you make a birdie. Now don’t get me wrong, score is important, as it is the very thing that counts. However, my point is, for golfers who seek to “beat” the game, it is not a game to beat, it is a game to be experienced and play. Junior golfers who play video games are playing to beat the system. You play it to excel to more advanced levels of the game. And while doing so, you fail, try and fail again. However, the consequences do not matter because you have “extended” lives to play in the video game.
When you play competitive golf, you only get to play a round once. The consequence is whatever score you have that day. Golfers often view their score as good or bad. In most cases, it is always bad regardless if they had their personal best. If you took the same mindset to playing golf as you do playing video games, or a school quiz for learning a subject, you may enjoy your golf experience more. You may be less disparaging about the outcome and be more present to the experience of playing the game, allowing advancement to a new level. To improve in golf, you must go through the reality of experiencing all types of shots; fat, thin, in the water, out of bounds as well as holing out from fairway, hitting greens, etc. There is no escaping frustration, or feedback from hitting shots or having rounds that didn’t go as well as you would like, not good or bad, or in video lingo, you didn’t get blown up and have to start over, you merely had a learning experience that day, it will help you later to advance your game.
My point is, golf is not a game to win, or to beat the system, it is a game to experience as it unfolds. Prepare, do the work necessary to be your best, create a game plan and then go experience playing the game. There is no problem to solve and there is no mystery to being good at golf. The reality is golf is a game of accumulated experiences, creating a library of information enabling you to draw on to play your best golf on a given day. As you watch the best players in the world this weekend at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, notice as the players play in the reality of golf. They accept the shots that are good shots and those that may be ‘bad’– it is a part of the experience. There is no mystery of how to play better golf, it comes down to preparation, experiences, and patience.
Enjoy Your Journey
