When it comes to golf, the old saying “less is more” usually is the case. Take for instance a player’s score. Obviously the lower you score the better you are. I can think of plenty more to prove my point but let me relate it to your golf game.
I was at a dinner for the graduating players from the annual Qualifying School back in 1993. The grueling 108 hole event which upon concluding granted 40 player’s privilege to participate onto the PGA Tour. The excited group of golfers gathered together and as we ate and listened to several guest speakers. Each speaker would start by congratulating the players for their achievement of earning their “card” and then to share a story or two. Commissioner Deane Beaman began the evening’s event and then was followed by Legend and Hall of Fame golfer Tom Watson. When Tom took the microphone, every ear was on him. You could sense that he had earned the respect of every player assembled in the room.
Tom captivated all of us while he told interesting stories of his numerous victories and some tales about how he and Jack would duel it out often in Major Championships. For us, we could have listened all night. We were there because we had achieved a high success level in our profession but the person speaking, Mr. Tom Watson, was someone who all of us admired and looked up too. Secretly, we even hoped he would share some insight or inspiration that we ourselves could draw from.
When he was finished and before he walked away, he asked the audience for questions. I raised my hand and he pointed right at me. “Mr. Watson, what was it about the British Open that allowed you to win it so many times” I asked. “I don’t know” he said. “Next question please”?Not the answer I had hoped to hear. “Tom, what would you think about when you had a pressure shot to win or lose a tournament” a voice spoke from the back room. “When I play well, and then he paused, he asked us if we remembered Jack Palace in the movie “City Slickers”. He reminded us of the line in that movie from the famous actor. “Life is about one thing. You have to figure out what that one thing is”. Tom said that golf was the same way. Then he added, “When I play well I always thought about just one thing. And then he said this and I will never forget it, “but when I play great, I don’t think about anything! This was some great advice from a great golfer.
When I began my golf career almost 40 years ago, there were times when I thought that the mental side to golf meant that you needed to be able to think and perform many tasks combined. 4 or 5 swing thoughts all at once. However, now I believe that is not true and that we need to sort out a thing or two that repeats. I believe rhythm and timing are two key elements that you can not play well without. And, you can’t have a bunch of thoughts in your head to achieve rhythm and timing. As Tom said, “golf is about one thing”, we just need to figure out what that one thing is. In this case, yes, less in more!
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