WOW! What a Soldheim Cup of golfing passion. Just a week following Y.E. Yang's thrilling triumph at the Players Championship, we get treated to yet another display of skilled professionals letting out all their emotional investments in a hotly fought golf spectacle.
I thought golf was supposed to be played in a calm and distraction free environment? ( The above picture is of the first fairway on a n ideally quiet and serene afternoon at the Richmond Golf Club in the SF Bay Area.)
Perhaps not! This summer's tournaments have begged many questions; Can you play golf well in an adrenaline packed, emotionally pitched manner? How do you stay balanced when all your feeling sensations are running rampant through your mind and body? How can you perform with a focused serenity if the surrounding landscape is constantly erupting in spontaneous noise swings from the roars of excitement to the groans of disappointment? And if so, then how do they do it?!
These tournaments have offered a wonderfully fun and vivid stage for learning. Playing golf will provide continual challenges to our skills at managing our passions and our capabilities when there is a lot at stake. Whether in a board room or a family crisis, how we handle our temperament without losing our ideals and intent is critical not only to our success, but to our long-term satisfaction as well.
Golf is often recognized as a difficult mental sport, not just because it requires a multitude of decisions to be made before every swing, but primarily because you are constantly challenged to negotiate through a mine field (read; "mind field")of potentially ruinous distractions.
The value of of a strong, reliable mental game cannot be under appreciated. Practicing, establishing and developing mental toughness is crucial, but at the same time, learning how to be natural, authentic and free in your demeanor and attitude is equally essential to your success.
These last weeks of golf have provided brilliant examples of dedicated professionals that allowed themselves to pursue their dreams while putting their passions out on the line for all the world to see, judge and remember. What can you take from their performance that will enhance your ability to play at your best? While playing a competitive round, what are your most common challenges to maintaining focus and playing with enthusiasm?
This weekend might be the next, best chance you have. Will you be willing to play with passion and pride and still remember to breathe while you stand over that four footer for par?
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