8 June 2023|Golfing with gratitude
Is the fog starting to lift?
Play one shot at a time
Play one hole at a time
Don't dwell on a bad shot
Don't think about your score
Swing your swing
Have fun!
We've all heard these things and while I know they are right, I still find them to be the most difficult things to implement in my golf game. The focus on score is probably the single most difficult one for me and it was really brought home by Jon Sherman's Practical Golf newsletter this week.
He talks about getting to a "neutral mindset" and learning to "let go" in order to actually gain more control. I find that discipline extremely difficult to cultivate. Sometimes I can get there for part of a round, but I've not managed to get there for a full 18 holes very often. Despite changing this part of the blog to "golfing with gratitude" from "quest for scratch", I still find it very difficult to let go of the results focus. I can "talk the talk" but I'm struggling to "walk the walk". I think it has to be a legacy hangover from deciding to retire and the stuff I've spoken about before regarding status and the hedonic treadmill etc. I can't get rid of the old nagging saying that "the difference between theory and practice is that in practice, theory often doesn't work". Maybe writing this will help me let go.
In my professional life, I used to tell the management teams I met to focus on running their businesses to the best of their ability and their share price would take care of itself. I found it hard to trust the ones who were always talking about the share price. I truly believed in focusing on the process and letting the results fall as they would. Some would be good and some would be poor, but I could learn from both and sticking with the process gave me the mental toughness to accept the outcomes. I also knew that I couldn't force results or start with the result I wanted and work backwards. It's like Jon's poker player tilt example, taking bigger bets to try and offset their losses but making bigger mistakes.
I was listening to a podcast the other week (but can't remember which one it was!) and they interviewed Zach Johnson's coach (I think it was him anyway!). He was talking about golfing happiness and said there are 4 types of outcomes. A good shot with a good result; a good shot with a bad result; a bad shot with a good result and finally a bad shot with a bad result. His point was that if the only thing that makes you happy on the course is a good shot with a good result then you've massively reduced your chances of enjoying the game. It was really about expectation management, trusting your process and accepting outcomes.
While I was writing this post I was also listening to some random songs on Spotify and "Pick Yourself Up" by Nat "King" Cole, sung by Gregory Porter came on. I thought I would leave you with the lyrics:
Pick yourself up Take a deep breath Dust yourself off And start all over again Nothing's impossible, I have found For when my chin is on the ground I pick myself up Dust myself off And start all over again Don't lose your confidence if you slip Be grateful for a pleasant trip And pick yourself up Dust yourself off And start over again Work like a soul inspired Until the battle of the day is won You may be sick and tired But you'll be a man, my son Will you remember the famous men Who had to fall to rise again So take a deep breath Pick yourself up Dust yourself off And start over again Work like a soul inspired 'Til the battle of the day is won You may be sick and tired But you'll be a man, my son Will you remember the famous men Who had to fall to rise again? So take a deep breath Pick yourself up Dust yourself off And start all over again
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