My Usual Game: Old Man Par Was Kindly But Stingy This Weekend

Tournament golf in a typical club here in America are events where the ego is on the line, and suddenly the little three-foot rake-ins that are gimmes in a casual round become testers. It is the members' rare taste of a higher level of golf, something I like to call "real golf" that contrasts greatly from our usual Sunday foursomes. Someone once said that there is golf and then there is tournament golf, and to me at least, the latter can be far more enjoyable. Especially when you win, which is what we did this weekend.

It was our annual Spring Member-Member here, and while I cannot boast winning the gross or the net prizes, my partner and I did win our Calcutta (2nd place the first day, 1st the second) as well as second in the club's prize pool the first day as well. In other words, we doubled our entry money in the two prize pools, and for that, we were both happy. It's always good to roll to the house with a few crisp new portraits of Ben Franklin.

You may ask why we were pleased, given a relatively mediocre showing. After all, we didn't win outright, which was our goal (and ending a three tournament winning streak) and there was money left on the table. The answer is simple: we played below our handicaps, which are true handicaps and not bags of sand. We both buckled down, played great partner golf and we made nearly all of the shots and the putts we needed to make to get us into the money. Getting beaten by someone else who played a little better doesn't bother me, all I can do is golf my ball and let the chips fall where they may. You're just not going to beat a 53-55 nets for a dazzling -34 total.

That, and being a good sportsman and a gracious competitor means I slept very well last night and had some thoughts and ideas about how to play even better next time. There's always a stroke or three left somewhere out on the course, and something to work on no matter what kind of golfer you are.

For example: sitting 126 out from the green on "Home" -- the hole I live on -- I pulled a seven iron to make sure I got aboard safely to an island of short grass surrounded by a churning sea of death. That club is normally a 155 yard club for me, but this shot was in a four club wind. I hit a piercing draw that bit into the wind, the kind of ball that feels like butter as it comes off of the center of the club face. The ball flew true, turning left, and then a gust of wind turned the ball around, ballooned it skyward then slammed it one yard to the right of the putting surface and down towards a watery grave. But it didn't go into the coffin. It stopped one foot short and I was able to save par with a nifty up and down.

Now then, why tell you about a bad shot that fell shy of its target? Well, if you have read the early entries from this blog, you may remember that the wind is no friend of mine out of the golf course. I've let the wind get in between my ears and inside that empty chamber there, it has caused some of the poorest games I have had in years.

In the case of this particular shot (and it was critical in the standings,) with a difficult carry facing me and a strong wind challenging my nerves, I hit precisely the shot I visualized beforehand, executed it calmly and got the result that I wanted. At least until the breeze turned a three clubber into a four clubber for the wrong three seconds. That the breeze stiffened and gave me less than I hoped for was a rub of the green that no one can account for and that's just golf.

I did let out a John McEnroe-ish "you have GOT to be kidding me!" when I saw it come up short, but I collected myself and took the next shot that was given to me, and pulled it off. I also made a good shot in a difficult position just before that and didn't let any tension ruin my thoughts or my swing. And the tee after that, I hit my best drive of the day and that also showed me something.

That's a great case of sometimes even when you lose you still win, and that calm before and after is what I plan to carry into the next tournament. All too often we beat ourselves in this game, but this was not a weekend where I let that happen, and that's a win no matter what the final score.

Scientists Say That Not Concentrating Makes You Golf Better

An interesting story popped up in the London Telegraph that claims that "a lack of concentration is the secret to playing good golf."

Personally, I say bullocks and bravo. More on that later.

Research carried out by John Toner, a post-graduate doctoral student located at the University College in Dublin, concluded that "When people feel under pressure they start to focus more on their technique, but this study shows that is exactly what they should not do."

"They should certainly not try to adjust their technique at all and should stick to what they know."

True enough about sticking to what you know, because on a golf course you are supposed to play the course, not your swing and try to limit any adjustments you might be tempted to try. Practice is for the driving range, the course is for putting the ball in the jar in as few swats as possible. Fiddling with your swing on the 7th tee and again on the 10th fairway is quite often the final ingredient in a a recipe for disastrous round.

HOWEVER, if you are like me and are trying to groove in a new element or even two to your swing, it takes a certain amount of concentration to groove it. Much of that comes from the practice range, of course, but also it comes when real numbers are being written on a scorecard and every shot has some effect on the final outcome.

For example, I personally have allowed my swing plane to creep too high over the years. With it came a dozen bananas per round and a handicap that got me a special license plate and prime parking spot down at the club. In fact, at one point, our official handicap calculating computer listed me as an "ED" -- as in handicapped -- and they had to invent a special flight in any championship we had. That was the "you should quit but we still like you" flight and half the time, I couldn't even win that.

You might ask "why would you do that and why didn't your teacher fix you up?" Fair questions, and the answers are that when the new titanium drivers came out I could blast them 300 yards consistently. For some reason that came with an all-arm high plane swing. Problem was that one day it would be Banana Splits, the next day Captain Hooks and then on a magical day, I would find the fairway all day. I thought at the time on those days I was getting things right, but in retrospect, it was just random distribution giving me a desired outcome and me fooling myself into thinking that was how it was supposed to be done. That's all just so much talk-talk-talk for this: "my swing simply sucked."

Various teachers gave me lessons, but for some reason they never noticed this basic flaw -- that I couldn't possibly release the club or even clear my right shoulder adequately. So I was never taught better. That is, until I met my current teacher, Robert Foxworth, a man who has gotten me well on the way to consistency, and whom I have given high blood pressure or at least an assured income. He noticed these flaws right away, gave me the right drills and most importantly, taught me how to feel the right way...and it is that feeling I take with me out onto the links.

Out there, in the heat of a Nassau or just beating my buddies' scores, bad habits try to return...and the way to keep them in their place (hopefully the depths of golf hell) is to have some concentration and focus on technique. In other words, if I want a good drive, I certainly need to "feel" the right way in my pre-hot routine and to replicate that feeling during the real shot.

So in that way, Toner is wrong. Completely, totally, dead wrong. At least for me. I have to think a little bit about my technique or the Bogey Monster will come out to play and he's not a fun fellow to ride around the golf course with.

Now here's where your mileage may vary:

We've all played with Mr. Serious, the club member or the guy who is hooked up with your threesome that is so serious about his golf he might as well call it his second job. He always has the latest and great best-stuff equipment, because this new driver is going to be his golfing Jesus and those new irons are so good that they make your two year old set not even worth scrap metal. Of course, his handicap hasn't dropped a tenth of a digit in ten years. Usually, in fact, it is increasing, but don't mention that to Mr. Serious, because it is an invitation for a dissertation of his vast knowledge of the golf swing. Somehow, you probably don't want advice from a 22.1 Indexer, but I will admit I am just guessing.

Anyway, Mr. Serious talks about his game as though he were a NASA scientist at a meeting planning Martian landing logistics. Mr. Serious is super-slow as he rehearses the 11 swing thoughts he has written down and reads before every shot. Then he duffs the ball, and comes back to the cart doing his own color commentary. "Sorry fellows, I must have pronated my left wrist only 23.5 degrees when everyone knows that 36.5 degrees is the optimum.

You, on the other hand are looking at your buddies and trying not to laugh. As long as Mr. Serious keeps up, though, he's a good enough guy, but someone ought to tell him that he is never, ever, EVER going to make a living golfing, much less break 85, so perhaps he ought to treat it, well, just a little bit more casually. You know, like a hobby or something.

Mr. Serious is the guy who never stops to smell the roses along the way, as Walter Hagen recommended, and makes a round of golf an ordeal for himself with no hope for a satisfactory outcome.

I think there, that Dr. Toner over in Ireland couldn't have hammered the nail any harder.

So there is a middle ground, and that's where you need to be. Awareness of what you are doing, but not going so overboard you out-think or b.s. yourself. Or make golf something that isn't fun. It's a game and it's a sport, have fun playing it. That's the whole point, right?

After all, in any sport, when you are playing your best, you usually go "out of your mind" and just play...because it seems easy. Golf's no different there.