The more I read about golf the more I realize that our Positive Mental Attitude is the reason why we have streaks in our games. That’s right streaks of great shots and pars or streaks of poor shots and bogies or doubles. Poor shots happen. The winners in this game know how to block the bad shot memory and move on to the next shot. Ben Hogan said that “the most important shot in golf is the next one”.
I realize that I am a temperamental golfer so I rationalize why I made a poor shot before I can move on to the next shot. I notice that some pros like Jim Furyk will execute the perfect practice swing after they make a poor shot. They know the swing required to execute every shot so they use their practice swing to build that mental corrective action.
Moe Norman’s Philosophy of Golf
There was a wonderful Golf Digest article about Moe Norman, the autistic Canadian golfer. He used a full hip and spine rotation in his backswing but with both arms straight from setup to impact. It limited the arc of his club head but it gave him and amazing accuracy. He looked like a windmill. It was not a pretty swing and not extremely long but it was perfectly accurate.
I’m not suggesting that we should duplicate Moe’s swing but I do believe that if we limit our backswing, every recreational golfer will improve accuracy. As an autistic person he was noticed for his shy nature and his seemingly silly quirks.
Moe learned to ignore others and golf within his own mentally focused world. He constantly said “Golf is to have fun. What do you have to lose? A lousy ball, that’s all. If you lose yours, grab another one out of your bag and hit it.” [A great suggestion for beginning golfers or when you play a none competitive round of golf.] “That’s what the game’s about. Most golfers don’t see the bright things. All they see is the bad. But if you see the bad things, that’s where your mind will take you.”
“If you drive a car down the road and look at the sidewalk, where do you think you’re going to put the car? It’s the same thing on a golf course. People see only trees and water. But I don’t. To me, they are only there as an ornament. They are there to make the course look nicer. All I see is the tee, middle of the fairway, and middle of the green. That’s golf. I hit my 18 fairways and 18 greens, and go on to the next day.”
The interviewer said, “It must be boring for you.” Moe replied, “Like heck it is. That’s fun”
The golf season has pretty well opened up across North America (in spite of COVID-19). This is a good time to play with safe social distancing and to drop an extra ball when you miss a shot. Learn from your mistakes and create a new attitude for your game. Have fun. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to improve the consistency of your swing. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com
Golf Truism #8: If your driver is hot, your putter will be ice cold; if you can hit your irons, you will top your woods; if you are keeping your right elbow tucked in, your head will come up.
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