Author: vet4golfing51

Posted on

The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

Well, here we are on Super Bowl Sunday, and yes I will give my fearless prediction at the end of the blog. Last week I discussed what I called the biggest mind-body disconnect in the history of golf, at the 86 Masters. Today the subject will be a much more common disconnect that the average golfer makes. If you don’t buy into the problem that I am about to discuss, then I suggest you find a golf course where you can sit at a clubhouse that is directly behind the 1st or 10th tee and watch about 10 to 15 groups tee off. What you will see is what I consider one of the most common problems in trying to hit the golf ball at the target. The golfer aiming anywhere from 10 to 30 yards right of the targer. Then when making the swing, at the last minute there is a violent over the top move, which results in a shot that lands left of the target. So, what is going on here.

One assumption is that the player is not aware that he is aiming that far right. However, I have had two instances where trying to correct this, the player said ” I can’t believe that now I am aiming at the target, and the most famous quote which is heard many times, ” I just can’t do this. Maybe there are other players that are aware that they are aiming that far right and just try to make the correction with the swing. Now lets look at the possible results when starting at this position.

Make a good swing: The shot will end up the appropriate distance right of the hole

Make a good swing but make a roll of the wrists: This might create enough of a draw to get the ball on target

Make an over the top move with the upper body: This will either get the shot back on line or result in a shot that ends up left of the target.

Make an over the top move combined with an open clubface: this will result in a left to right shot that may get the shot back on line.

At the outset I make the assumption that most players are not aware that they are aiming that far right. Most of them will try to make a correction move anyway. So where does this come from. Some might argue that it comes from the subconscious mind and they may be right. I think it is the body trying to make the correction. If it was the subconscious mind, then I think the result would be consistantly better. This is the obvious mind-body disconnect. The mind thinks it is aiming at the target but in reality the body is aimed right of the target. In other words the mind has no idea what the body is doing. If the mind has no idea what body is doing at address, how is it going to know what the body is doing when it is in motion, consciously or subconsciously. However I still think this is open to debate. In order to correct this the mind and body have to stay connected. That is the problem to be solved. Next week I am going to write about one of the all time greats who made a career of aiming right but did he know it.

Now for the mandatory Super Bowl prediction. I think it is going to be a much lower scoring game that anticipated. Seattle 16 Denver 10. But I did not ask my body.

Posted on

The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

This week I am going to discuss the mind-body connection. First lets look at one of the biggest mind-body disconnects in the history of golf. It happened in one of the most memorable majors of all time, the 1986 Masters. We are going to look at only two players, Jack Nicklaus and Seve Ballesteros, and one hole, the par 5 15th. So lets look at the timeline.

Nicklaus is on the 15th tee and Seve is on the 13th green with about an 8 foot eagle putt. At this moment Jack is -5 and Seve is -7.

Jack hits a great drive right down the middle and as he is walking down the fairway, Seve makes the eagle putt to go nine under par.

Jack is 204 from the pin and hits a 4 iron within 12 feet and makes the putt for an eagle to go to -7

Seve hits the drive of the day on 15 and is only 198 yards from the hole. Nicklaus has birdied 16 to go -8 and is trailing by 1 shot.

Seve also takes out a 4 iron and makes a horrible swing and pull hooks the ball right in the middle of the lake, not even close and goes on to make a bogey, which is a 3 shot swing on this one hole.

Jack Nicklaus goes on to win the Masters with a birdie on 17. Even though Seve and his caddie, who happened to be his brother, had plenty of time to make the decision on a club selection for the second shot into 15, there was enough doubt to cause the mind-body disconnect. The result was a very bad swing and an even worse result. Lets say that Seve was absoulutely sure that 4 iron was the right club. He was totally committed to the shot. His mind and body were perfectly in sync. What would have been the result. He would have smoked that 4 iron and quite possibly would have flown the green and maybe would have even put the ball in the back lake. But he would have hit a solid shot. That is the difference when the mind and body are connected and when they are not. The mind-body connection does not mean that you are never going to hit a bad shot or miss a putt. It does not mean that you are going to go out every time and be in the mythical zone. The Zone is another subject all together. What the mind-body connection does mean, is that it gives you the ability to execute the present shot or stroke to the best of your ability. How is this accomplished? I do not know. Over the next few weeks, I am going to give more examples of the mind-body disconnect, discusss if this mind-body connection even exists, and talk about a lot of theory.

 

 

Posted on

The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

It’s freezing in the Burgh with no let up in sight. We have had some brief moments in January where you could get out and play, but it has either been raining when the temperatures have risen, or I just couldn’t get out because of prior commintments. In recent blogs I discussed the first four mental A’s, Anxiety, Anger, Acceptance, and Awareness.  Today I am going to discusss the final mental A, Adjustment. When you are playing this game there will be two adjustments you will have to make.

THE BIG ADJUSTMENT:  This adjustment is related to getting out of bed. How do you feel. How is the weather. How has your week been going. How is this golf day going to go. Many times, things can go badly right at the outset. Here in Western Pa., despite what you are told on TV, the weather is very unpredictable. You may go to bed expecting one thing and get up seeing another. You may go to bed feeling fine and get up with a headache, a stiff back, or just not feeling right. When you get to the course there may have been an unexpected delay, or somebody in your group is late. These are all things you must be ready to deal with if you are going to get the most out of your golf game. Its almost always a bad thing if on your golf day, you have a commintment to be at a certain place at a certain time after your round. Sometimes it may be best just not to play. These are things, just to name a few, that have nothing to do with golf, that can have a huge impact on your golf game.   You must be able to adjust your thinking and expectations, depending on how all these variables are impacting your mind.

the small adjustment: This is the adjustment you must make on a shot to shot basis. As you go through your routine for each shot, chip, and putt, you must feel that you are totally ready to execute the stroke. If you feel misaligned, your address position is bad, or there is doubt about the stroke in any form, then your chance of executing a good shot is remote. Getting in that “just hit it anyway” mode will spell disaster. That’s the mode when you feel that something just isn’t quite right, but you hit it anyway.

There are your two adustments that you are going to have to make if you are going to play to the best of your ability. Now lets look at how the other four A’s affect this.

The bad A’ s: Anger and Anxiety. If your upset or anxious about things going on outside of your golf life, then the BIG ADJUSTMENT will be always difficult to do. Depending on how things are going it may be best not to play until these things can be dealt with. You must find a way to block these things out to really enjoy your game and do your best. If you get angry or anxious over the results of your shots then the small adjustment will very rarely be accomplished.

The good A’s: Acceptance and Awareness. If you are aware and accept the fact that many times life is not perfect, and can deal effectively with life’s challenges, then THE BIG ADJUSTMENT will be easier to accomplish. If you can do the same thing with the results of your shots, then the small adjustment will become part of your game.

Next week I will begin discussing the mind-body connection, by writing about what I consider the biggest mind-body disconnect in the history of golf, at one of the most memorable tournaments of all time. Meanwhile stay warm, and by the way, instead of coming up with these catchy names, like POLAR VORTEX, why don’t you just figure out a way to predict the weather better, WEATHER CHANNEL See you next week.

Posted on

The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

Well, 2014 is here, and after 35 bowl games I am ready to get back into golf. This week I am going discuss the fourth A, anxiety. Anxiety is the most complex of the 4 A’s. First we need to get to some definitions.

Anxiety: Concern or solicitude respecting some thing or event, future or uncertain, which disturbs the mind, and keeps it in a state of painful uneasiness.

Fear: A painful emotion or passion excited by the expectation of evil, or the apprehension of impending danger.

The reason I gave those definitions, is I think we confuse anxiety with fear. There is nothing on the golf course that is going to put us in immediate danger, except lightning,  and we all know that. However fear is the word that is use to describe many failures on the golf course. Afraid to win, fear of short putts and fear of hazards. In reality we are anxious about those situations. In other words fear is a response to something that is real. It’s what keeps us from jumping off the 20th floor or placing are hand on a hot stove. Anxiety is something that is in the future and is percieved. You can have anxiety over your fear of something but you don’t have fear of your anxiety. I told you this was complex.

The number one reason for bad shots in golf, is feeling anxious over the ball and the results of the pending shot. So how do we deal with this? There are lots of standard advice for this, and many of them are not bad. Breathing, staying in the present, thinking of when you made good shots in similiar situations, and slowing down, are some of the better ones. Despite this, everyone has experienced where anxiety has just taken over your game and destroyed a good round, a chance to shoot your best score, or win a big bet. It is the big reason for the yips and the reason the yips continue. I think the solution to the problem goes back to finding the mind body connection. I will write about this in a later blog. For now, one just has to do the best they can with this problem and try to minimize it to the best of one’s ability. Next week I will discuss the final A, adjustment which depends on how well you do awareness and acceptance, and how well you control anger and anxiety.

Posted on

The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

Today’s blog is coming from sunny San Diego, and I do mean sunny, with temperatures in the mid 70’s, with lots and lots of sun. As promised, today’s subject will be the dreaded yips. Is there a cure for the yips? The answer is a decided no. I will explain later.

First a brief historical review of the yips. The first well know yipper was the great Harry Varden. Other great players that have had trouble with the yips include, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and probably the most well know modern yipper Bernard Langer. Because these players were in competition for a long time, it was thought the yips were an older players problem, due to the stress of many years of competitive golf. But today a lot of younger players are plagued with the yips and players that are not in a lot of competitions, also have yip issues. There are different forms of the yips in golf. Putting yips, the chip yips, the driver yips, and as far as I am concerned shanking is nothing more than the iron yips.

What is a yip? It is an uncontrollable twitch of a muscle or muscle groups when performing a particular golf shot or stroke. It is accompanied by a black out of the brain. It is worse under stress but it does not mean it is totally  a mental abnormality. The yips have been studied by the Mayo Clinic believe or not, and it is through their work, that it has been shown that one of the causes of the yips may be due to the repetitive  nature of certain golf shots, namely putting. That is why grip changes have helped a lot people with the yips. Even if you are not a yip sufferer, I would suggest you read the Mayo Clinic study. It is found on their web site and it is fascinating reading.

Why can’t the yips be cured? It is not a disease. It is a symptom. To put it another way Tuberculosis is a disease, anemia is a symptom. There are many causes of anemia. You have to find the cause of the anemia and then you treat the disease that is  causing the anemia. There are many causes of the yips. One must find what is causing the yips in each case and then try to treat the cause which will make the yips go away. Lets look at a case sample me. I yip every putt, right handed. I putt left handed and play golf right handed. Putting left handed is a much more natural way for me to putt. I throw left handed, my left eye is my dominant eye and I am much more comfortable over a putt from the left side. Do I hit some bad putts left handed, absolutely,but I don’t yip. I have suffered through the chip yips the last two years. At times, I have done better than at other times. I can tell you the chip yips are more complicated than the putting yips. In order for me to be totally free of the chip yips I will have to find the underlying cause that started them. As yet I have not found it. It will be one of my number one projects for the coming year. Any one who has suffered with the yips knows it is a very helpless feeling. Remember it is not a 100% mental  flaw.   There can be physical problems that may make the yips worse.

The blog will be put to sleep for next couple of weeks or so because of the upcoming college football bowl season. I am a college football junkie and I will watch every meaningful play of every bowl game, just like I did last year. I know there is lots of complaining about all the meaningless bowl games, but I love every one of them. I hope everybody has a great holiday season and a Happy New Year, as the search will continue into 2014.

Posted on

The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

I was able to get the 100th round of the year in this week as temperatures were in the 50’s on Wednesday and we went to Fort Cherry where I managed a 77 despite the two week lay off. I hit my irons really well , hitting 12 greens in regulation. I had 3 really bad holes, all double bogeys leading to the 7 over par round. It was a very good day and very glad to get that even 100th round.

Today’s blog will deal with the third A of the mental A’s of golf, a positive one, Awareness. I am going to leave Anxiety last as it is the most complex and there is some research to be done.

Let’s get the easy awareness out of the way first and that is being aware of your surroundings and the things that are going to affect the results of your shots. This is the easiest to explain but sometimes not the easiest to do. When you get on the golf course you must be aware of the wind, that can be ever changing, the hazards of the hole, the condition of the course and the qualities of the greens. Some days you will be better at this than others, but as I say you just can’t fall asleep out there. Sometimes lack of course knowledge can get you into trouble. The bottom line, the faster you get in touch with your surroundings the better your score will be. There are no secrets to this, you just have to do it. In future blogs I will discuss some problems and ways to hopefully get better at being aware of your surroundings.

The second awareness is much more tricky. That is the awareness of what your body is doing, when you are approaching a shot, addressing the shot. and playing the shot. This is where the famous mind body connection comes into play. In other words there can be times that you are too aware of what your body is doing during the execution of a shot. The old paralysis by analysis syndrome. The old what am I doing wrong syndrome.  However, if you are not aware that you are aiming 20 yards right, or some other address problem, or not swinging the way you think you are swinging,  then your chances of hitting a good shot are pretty slim. This will be another subject to cover in more detail in a future blog. One way of saying this is, that you want to be aware of what you are doing but not conscious of what you are doing. Like I said, this is real tricky. This could be one of the big keys to the answer to this goofy game.

Next week the blog will be coming from San Diego, where I will be celebrating the holidays with those dear grand kids. Next week the subject will be my take on those dreaded YIPS. See you then.

Posted on

The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

No golf in the Burgh this week as we got some snow, but not as much as predicted, and it has stayed cold. I thought I would discuss the second of the mental A’s and that is Acceptance. If you are going to play golf, and I would think long and hard on this if I was you, there are two things you are going to have to accept.

First, you have to accept your golf swing. Some people like to say that you should own your golf swing, but I am not to sure you would like to buy it. No golf swing is perfect. Every golf swing is going to have little idiosyncrasies and flaws. There are some golf swings that are more pleasing to the eye, and may seem more technically correct, but every swing is flawed. I think the best way to accept your swing is to watch golf on TV, especially on Thursday and Friday. There are lots of odd swings out there on all the professinal tours. This is one of my main beefs about golf coverage. With every odd swing you see, they are always telling you what’s right with the swing. What they should be telling us is all the things that are wrong with the swing. The rest of us out there tinker way way too much with our swings. Remember this one important point, every time you hit a bad shot 85% of the time it was caused by something you did before you swung the club. Now, that’s not to say that the golf swing is not important and you can swing any old which way you want, but with some rhythm and smoothness and turning of the body the golf swing is not an exact procedure. So, accept that golf swing and the game will definitely get better.

Second, you have to accept the vagaries in golf. This can range from missing short putts, to getting a bad bounce,  unexpected playing conditions, bad lies, and how different your game can feel from week to week, day to day, and even hour to hour. In order to play your best you have to accept the fact that you are going to hit bad shots, miss short putts, and have rotten luck. There is one other thing you are going to have to accept also, good luck. Lots of players when they get that lucky shot think they don’t deserve it or it means disaster is right around the corner. Now granted things do seem to even up, but accept the good breaks and try to take advantage of them. If things are not going well, accept it, and in order to get back in the game take an ultra conservative approach, until things start to go your way again. You can not make up lost strokes, and the more you try, by going for pins and cutting doglegs, the more strokes you will lose. Throttle back and get in the fairway and on the green, and if you make a long putt,  pull or push an iron close to pin, accept it, make the putt and you may start  a hot streak. Be ready for anything and accept the fact that your not.

Next week is looking promising to get round number 100 for the season. If the weatherman is wrong I will just have to accept it.

Posted on

The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

It’s a very chilly Sunday here in the Burgh, with temperatures in the 20’s, so no golf today. I was able to get in two rounds this week, shooting a 79 under some tough conditions at North Park, windy with temps in the high 40’s, and a nice solid 75 at Scenic Valley under better conditions with temps in the upper 50’s with just a slight breeze. I have been fortunate enough to have 5 holes in one, over the 50 plus years of playing this game, and the ball going in the hole is certainly just luck. But I must say, I had one of my luckiest shots of all time, which contributed mightily to my 75 on Thursday. I hit my tee shot just to the right of green on the par 3 sixth hole. It left me a very difficult pitch to an upslope and then a downslope to the hole. I shanked the shot across the green to the back and about 6 inches in the rough. I was already in a bit of foul humor, as I had just 3 putted the last green from about 20 feet. I did not go back to the cart and all I had in my hand was my 60 degree wedge and putter. I was about 50 to 60 feet from the pin and the correct shot would have been a low running chip. I was not comfortable shutting down the lob wedge especially after the shank. So I putted the ball and the ball just popped out of the air and carried about 5 feet onto the green and started to scurry along the green. As I was watching the ball, I thought I just might make a 4 here, and the next thing you know the ball broke about 10 feet to the right and into the hole. You gotta love this game. I bogeyed the next hole, but then went on to play the last 11 holes even par with two birdies and two bogeys. These two rounds this week were the 98th and 99th rounds of the year. Last year I was able to play 102 rounds. This does not include 9 hole rounds I played. The difference between the 2 years so far, is that I played 7 rounds in March of 2012 and only 2 rounds in March of 2013. The USGA doesn’t have to tell me to go out and play golf. I think all the new rule adjustments are fine that they recently made,  but I still think they missed the boat in one area. All rule decisions should be made on that day of play. Nobody should go to bed thinking they shot one score and then the next day find out they have been penalized for something that was discovered the next day no matter how it was discovered. When the day is over it is over. This weather is looking like it is going to sit in here for awhile, so golf is not looking too good this week. Will get back into the Mental A’ and discuss Acceptance next Sunday.

 

Posted on

The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

Even though temperatures are well above normal, it is a rainy day in the Burgh and no golf today. Only one round was played this week because of snow cover, but it was a pretty solid 77 at Scenic Valley. Even I, Mr. Shoulder Control Swing himself, forgets just how dominate the arms can be, and ruin a golf shot. I righted the ship around the 13th hole and made some nice putts to break 80 in less than ideal conditions. I have also made an equipment change in by driver and fairway clubs that has made a big difference so far. It has been tough to evaluate totally because I have been playing in mostly cold temperatures which will effect distances and ball flight.

Today I will discuss one of the mental A’s, with the first one being a negative one, anger. However is anger always negative. After all, we often see the best golfers getting angry and slamming clubs on the ground and letting out the F bomb, especially the No. 1 player in the world.  Tiger at times has espoused an eastern philosphy and I supposed if the Buddha had ever played golf he may have thrown a club once in awhile,too. The key here is the timing of the anger. On the golf course, you want to stay as calm as possible no matter how frustrated you get. Then when you get home just beat the shit out of a loved one and you will feel much better. Maybe thats why I am divorced. Just kidding, not about the divorce. I also wasn’t kidding about the timing. Everyone at times is going to have let off a little bit of steam on the golf course. Do it after the shot is totally done. If you react immediately to a misplayed shot, you will lose all feedback from the mistake. This can be difficult especially with putts. Never walk after a putt before it stops rolling no matter how bad you think it is going to be. I wish I could say that I follow this rule, but I am as quilty of this as next golfer. If you can do this, your putting in the long run will improve. Same thing with golf shots, don’t react negatively to the shot until it hits the ground and stops rolling. Again you will see improvement in future shots. If things are just going badly and you can’t just help yourself then do something from the shot to bag or the green to the bag. Slamming the club in bag is a good one. Throwing the ball is a good one. Try not to throw clubs or bang clubs in the ground because of injury. Again I wish I could say I have never tossed one, but it wouldn’t even be close to being true. I also like kicking things, air, golf cart tires, and tree trunks. If you are going to get pissed off so to speak, do it after the shot. Feedback is the key to improving during the round. Over reacting to shots completely blocks your feedback mechanism.

This week looks like there are some playable days in the middle of the week. If these forecasts aren’t right I am really going to be pissed off. See you next Sunday.

Posted on

The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

I had planned to write about one of the mentals A’s, as I call them, this week but my week was so odd I have decided to write about that. Usually I am not into decribing golf rounds in much detail because I think they are generally boring except to the person who is playing the round. I played two 18 hole rounds this week that were such studies in contrast, that I am compelled to go through each round in some detail. Now I am not sure what conclusions can be drawn from these 2 rounds but I will just describe them, and maybe that will even help me figure it out.

The first round was on Wednesday at Pittsburgh National, a course that I have not played all that much, and from the tees we played from, the course is rated at 71.2 and a slope of 135. It was a beautiful day for November with lots of sun, temperatures in the mid 60’s and with a little bit of a breeze, that kept you on your toes.  I was also coming off the trip from San Diego the day before so I was a little tired. We had an 8:50 tee time. The first hole is a 369 par 4 fairly straight away. I hit my drive to the right around some trees.  I had an opening over the trees and hit an open faced 8 iron over the trees and it hit the back of the green and spun forward about 12 inches. Another 2 to 3 yards and I wound have bounded way over the green and I would have been lucky to make 5. Instead I 2 putted for an easy par. From that point on I had a very good rhythm, and my thinking was very good. I had a great lay up on the second hole a par 5 which gave me a good shot in which I put in about 8 feet from the hole. Missed the birdie but made par. The next 2 holes were routine with drives in the fairway and on the green for 2 putt pars. The next hole I hit a great drive but it went through the fairway and with a downwind I thought my wedge would jump more and I left it 8 yards short of the green to an upfront pin. I elected to putt it and left it about 6 foot short but made it to save par. On the next hole a par 3 I hit a beautiful  7 iron to about 4 feet and made birdie. On the next hole I messed up a short pitch on a par 5 and made bogey. I finished with 2 routine pars to shoot even on the back. I cooled off on the back but it was mostly due to losing some touch on the greens and a couple of bad breaks but a four over on the back led to a nice solid 76 on a solid golf course. My thinking was pretty clear the whole day and I hit the ball well, especially the irons, crisp all day.

The next day I headed for Scenic Valley, basically my home course, that has a course rating of 70.0 with a slope of 131. The day was completely different. It was chilly with temperatures in the mid 40’s with the wind being pretty strong at times. The wind was really not predicted. First off I was not dressed warm enough considering the wind. I was not that uncomforable during the round but I was not prepared for the wind. The drive on the first hole was perfect right down the midddle. Then I hit the pitching wedge fat. That led to an opening bogey. I parred  the next hole but faulty thinking got me 4 straight bogeys. After a great drive on 10 the rest of my game with South. To make a long story short I shot 84. I can’t say I can blame this on the cold but I completely lost feel for the game. The best was on 16. I hit a nice low 7 iron into a stiff wind about pin high and around 40 feet from the pin. The putt was fairly flat. As I was taking my practice swing my putter literally felt weightless, like there was nothing there at the end of my putter. It was one of the weirdest feelings I have ever had on the golf course. Naturally I could not stop play and say I feel like I am on the moon, but I wanted to. I left the putt about 5 feet short and missed it. The next hole a short up and down par 4, I hit a horrible duck hook and then kind of a sliced 5 iron from a downhill sidehill lie in the rough. But them I hit about a 50 yard pitch about 5 feet from the pin and made a nice left to right putt for a par. That was short lived as I butchered the last hole.

Now maybe this was some kind of delayed jet lag, and yes I did have some physical issues with the round, but my thinking was way off, when on just the day before it was spot on. Like I said before I am not too sure what to make of this, but it was such a contrast in just a 24 hour period. I was playing the same group of guys for the same stakes. This is one of these posts that I will have to think about just a little more to draw any real conclusions if I ever do. The week is not looking great, but the end of the week may be playable. See you next Sunday.