Here's to the Mud on Your Ball!

It's been raining hard lately. But, the course you are playing at has posted the Winter Rules sign, so when you finally find your ball on the edge of the rough, you know that you can pick it up , clean off the mud, replace it and you will be free to hit. No question! Right? Wouldn't you rather play with a clean ball?

The answer to this is obvious for all of us who play. It is so important for some players that they risk health and life by washing the ball in their mouth or licking it clean with their tongue. Yikes! But, it is just common sense that a clean ball will perform best as it is designed, clean from any accumulated stuff. So, why would you choose to hit the dirty ball? You wouldn't, would you?

Our reaction to mud on the ball is immediate and unquestioned. We see it, we clean it. Clean balls work better. Now, take the ball as a useful metaphor for our lives. But, with this metaphor, what is the "mud" equivalent for our lives? Our lives are designed to work well, extremely well, just like the ball. Have I lost my mind? Maybe, but let's play with the metaphor anyway.

Let's coin the phrase, "mental mud." How can we mentally muddy the ball? What is the nature of this kind of mud? Where does it come from? How does it affect the ball? To find answers to these questions, we could be drawn into the dark realms of Freud and Jung. But, instead, let's focus simply on the dynamics of striking a clean ball and the various ways we can "dirty up" our chances of success. Here are some of the most common ways to describe "mental mud;"

Mental Chatter: Perhaps most obvious is all the thinking and analysing that fills our consciousness before we begin our swings. In the moment of action, "thinking" only muddies the process, lessening our effectiveness with the ball. Typical is the temptation of trying to remember the details of swing mechanics. There is no mental room for the ball.

Memory Warnings: How often do you look at a particular golf situation through the lenses of the past? You might notice some of the physical symptoms, like tightness, nervousness or a bitter taste in your mouth as you approach certain lies that remind you of difficulties or even disasters of past rounds. The ball becomes an evil reminder.

Attitude Dictator: Attitudes form frames of reference from which we live our lives. Over time (repetitions), they tend to dictate our moods, physical reactions and patterns of thinking. Especially noticeable on a golf course are attitudes of resignation ("I'll never get this!"), fear ("Oh, my gosh, so much water!"), invincibility ("I think I'll hit from the Tournament Tees"), pride (I can drive the ball farther than he can!"). In these cases, the ball is irrelevant, your attitude is doing the most important work.

Demons of Doubt: Golf is such a difficult sport to master that doubt and uncertainty become our frequent playing partners. Our distrust will interfere with all aspects of playing this game well. Remember trying to hole a six foot putt while continuing to change your mind on the speed and line. It won't matter how clean the ball is, it ain't going where you want it to go.

Great Expectations: Whether driven by ego or by innocent hopefulness, we often view our playing moments (the ball) through a prism of expectations. Golf is a grand game, sometimes tempting illusions of greatness. We all want to putt like Tiger, flop like Phil and drive like Sergio. These images stand in between us and a clean ball, putting far too much pressure on our skill levels. Your ball is built for pressure, but not this kind.

Emotional Baggage: Missing a short putt, slicing a three wood into the lake, "chunking" a "gimme" approach shot, so many different ways during a round of golf that can get us crazy; ie., frustrated, angry, hopeless, etc. Standing over a new shot while carrying this kind of baggage can only interfere with your swing, mentally and physically. You might as well play with a black ball. (Nike got this right with their promotional Black Ball, only it wouldn't be a big seller. I wonder why?)

Create a Mental Mud Free Zone. If cleaning your ball makes common sense, then cleaning your mind should become an even more important practice. As you know, there is an essential connection between the ball and your mind. Why not develop ways to insure, to best of your ability, that you are bringing the clearest and cleanest mind to the game? Make these practices as simple and practical as washing your ball at each tee box. Every shot offers you the chance to succeed in a "mud free" zone. Why not take advantage of it and give yourself a chance to play your best? And,just think about all the money, time and intelligence that went into producing that $4.00 ball. Why waste all that perfection by covering it with your own unnecessary mud?

Think? Feel? Or Not? Playing Our Best.

The break in the rain only intensified the golfing opportunity that showed up on the course today. Golfers were excited, keyed-up. The rain had stopped. It is time to play, get on the course before the next wave of storm clouds would drive everyone back into the 19th hole lounge.

Dressed in full compliments of rain gear, umbrellas and drying towels in hand, the driving range was full, tee-boxes, fairways and greens were busy with eager players. What was particularly noticeable though, was the general air of hurried excitement and a strange mixture of impatience and aggravation. People weren't playing well and they were not recording typical scores. You could see and hear a surprisingly foul mood around the course. What had happened to all the enthusiasm, all the hopefulness?

Lower scores are predictable with the unusually wet rough, slow greens and the fresh cement-like condition of the bunkers. Indeed, it is understandable that with these conditions, play would be sub-normal and frustrations high. But, why was it affecting peoples' moods so pervasively? What is really the reason for the lower scores - was it the wet conditions or the way players reacted to the wet conditions? Where do emotions fall on to the continuum of cause/effect? Are scores more reflective of playing skills or mental skills?

One of the cornerstones of a foundation of mental skills is this question of causality. Who's in charge? Who's in control? How much do your thoughts, attitudes and emotional reactions effect the quality of your golf swing? How does your attitude determine your playing mood? We're back to the same question - does your play determine your mood or does your mood dictate the quality of your play?

Thankfully, you and I don't have to be neurochemical scientists to understand how this issue plays out throughout a round of golf. But, take a journey back through the last several rounds of golf you have played and ask yourself some simple questions. You'll likely shed some revealing light on the relationship between what you think and feel and how you play;

What expectations do you have for your performance and what is a typical or common reaction to any shortcoming?

How often are you disappointed after starting your round with noticeable optimism?

How do you react when you miss a third short putt in a row?

How often do you try to analyse what went "wrong" with a miss hit before the next shot?

How often do you demean your abilities or skills?

How do you feel after hitting "good" shots?

How do you feel after hitting "bad" shots?

How many holes does it take you to "get over" a shanked shot?

How often when a round starts to spiral out of control, do you play just to "keep things from getting worse?"

What percentage of your swing strategies are focused on "correcting" previous shots?

Have you blamed the grass or the sand or the wind, for your miss hits?

On a scale of 0-10, how much fun do you have when you play a round?

Do you pay attention to your score while you play? And, if so, why? Identify typical thought and feeling reactions to what you see on your scorecard.


You might notice a theme threading through these questions. As you read this blog posting, your utilizing the same mental faculties that you can use to discipline your mind during any sporting event. But, remember, golf is as difficult as it is because you have a lot of time to fall into the trap of thinking while you play. Now, is a perfect time to think, not while standing over the ball out on the course. However, managing your thoughts and using your ability to focus while you play are basic disciplines that require practice.

So, practice your thinking. Feel whatever you feel. It really doesn't matter what you feel, just feel and then, make sure you practice balancing and letting-go of anything that would interfere with your calm, relaxed and refreshed approach to playing your best. And, when you begin to play well, feel excited and proud and hopeful, but remember to let-go of those feelings as well. We perform best when our minds are quiet , our guts are calm and our intent is clearly in focus. Practice that! Every shot!

Of Golf and Excellence in North Carolina

Even as the plane lifted-off the tarmac, through the scratches in the window, I could identify the pine-lined course that had been my little piece of golfing paradise for the previous day. Delighted to have the chance to see it again from the air, my mind immediately began recalling the one almost perfect shot, the wasted chances while I adjusted to the different grass conditions, the unexplainable hook on the 11th hole, the breaks that didn't break...you know, the usual, engaging after-round reflections.

Within a few minutes, the sky view of my course faded past the tail wing. But, before turning to my morning paper, I spied what looked like another course. Being easily fascinated by flyovers of golf courses, I spent the next half hour fascinated by the particulars of the many courses still visible from my seat. For all the pine forests covering the landscape, every few minutes offered yet another course to view; sculpted fairways cutting through the pine, lakes and swamps highlighting layouts and sand - white sand bunkers everywhere, in every shape. Golf must be very popular in North Carolina.

How many people are there in North Carolina? And, do they all play these beautiful courses? My trip to this area was for business, but I did manage to schedule a day to play at one of the many courses in the "Research Triangle", the Finley Course of UNC. Not surprisingly, it was a tough choice, mostly because of the strong inter-school rivalries and passions of the Duke/UNC crowd boosting the greater appeal of their school's course.

I will play the Duke course on the next trip, just to maintain the health of my local friendships. And, I know when I do, I'll need to consider all the other options that are the "not to miss" favorites of anyone else (seemingly everyone!) who has played golf in this area. I have even spoken to some folks here in the Bay Area who have their own lists of their favorite places to play in North Carolina. What is with this passion for golf in North Carolina?

Granted, I spent only one week and only played one round, but here is why I'll go back. The abundance of good-to-great public or semi-private courses is amazing. The price to play ranges from cheap($25) to expensive($300) but, mostly affordable ($30-$60.) And, there aren't that many people that actually live here! Get out of the city or corporate park sprawl and you are in the woods! Except for the high-end tourist resorts, the courses are easy to book tee times.

The natural appeal of this area plays well beyond the endless forests of pine trees. Whether on the coast or in the mountains of the west, North Carolina offers a variety of tracts that tempts any mood for landscapes or difficulty. But, one element of the course you play will most certainly be sand. Sand is a natural and integral aspect of course design out here, as are the swamps and sand grasses. The pine trees grow straight and tall, with branches only on the upper heights of the tree so any off-line shots often have chances to be rescued, albeit on piles of soft pine needles.

In these parts, course maintenance is an art and highly respected. You can see the signs of that professional attentiveness with the quality of the surfaces and the care taken with the landscaping. Course superintendents often come from long held family traditions, breeding a network of professionals and staff that see their work as part art, part science, but always a source of pride. For example, after chatting with the course superintendent, I was not surprised to find a detailed grass description in my mail upon arriving back home. He sent the above picture as well, with an explanation and a schedule for when the colors turn. That is dedication!

What does this all have to do with the mental game of golf? Everything! The environment of golf in North Carolina clearly reflects some of the fundamentals of a sound mental game of golf. Here are two essential points of mastery that were demonstrated at the UNC course; 1)a clear and genuine sense of purpose and 2)a rigorous dedication to upholding standards of excellence.

Apply a purposefulness to your practice, to your every shot, even to the cleaning of your equipment and you will start to see that attitude emerge into new results out on the golf course. Attitude is everything. Of course, talent, skills and practice are necessary, but, you must practice standards of excellence with a discipline and rigor in order to earn the pride of a champion. To "be" masterful at anything, you must "act" masterful. "Being" and "acting" are are essential co-dependents.

Beautiful courses like they have in North Carolina don't happen by accident. Nor, do champions excel by DNA or luck alone. They are made. They are nurtured. And, they are coached. Inspired by a passionate caring for creating something truly remarkable, it is easy to see why courses and champions are made to be shared with the many of us and to be cherished by all of us.

A Champion's Heart

Just what is so special about the heart of a champion? After Lance Armstrong finished his last triumph on the Champ d'Elysee there was much talk about how Mr. Armstrong's actual heart was bigger than normal, thus allowing for more blood to be distributed to his body during peak performance demands. Do all champions have larger hearts? No, probably not. But, in any event, it would be a useless concern for those of us that are endowed with only normal sized hearts, because we still aspire to perform like champions. So, is there any hope for us? Of course!

But, rather than ask a question of physics and physiology, as golfers, let's consider what it might mean to play with the "heart of a champion." Let's put aside the physical heart and look into the meaning of the metaphor, "heart." To define heart in this manner, we need only consider all the adjectives or modifiers that usually describe a champion's performance, words like; passionate, determined, gutsy, fearless, unwavering, unconditional or perhaps, uncompromising. Think about all the times when you have referred to someone's performance and described it "full of heart." What have you recognized in their behavior or demeanor that has made such a strong and definitive impression?

A champion's performance is visible for all to see and admire, but what is not obvious is the more personal, underlying motivations that "drive" the player to excel in the way that they do. We could say, this is really the "heart" of the matter. Perhaps the vital question is always, one of "intention." Not, the intention such as "a plan" or a set of "hopes," but a question of powerful and uniquely personal inspiration that combines vision, motivation, desire and will to excel at something. This intentionality is often deeply intertwined in the fabric of our life's history and is often expressed with or without our even being very aware of it. But, for champions, this intention is an underlying force of their dedication. It is very much a primary force in their lives.

What is it? Can we buy it, drink it, inject it? No! But, maybe then, certain special people are just born with it? Yes, but...all of us are born with it as a fundamental power of our lives. Recognizing, accepting and harnessing that power is key to how great champions create extraordinary results in any game. For you and me, the process is just as simple. But, if it isn't happening naturally already, then work must be done to access and then direct that power towards the important goals and ambitions of our lives.

Now, to golf. On a golf course, there are 60+ times when you must ask yourself a simple question about intention, "what do I want?" Most often, this seems like such a ludicrously simplistic question. Of course, we all want to put the ball in the hole with the fewest strokes. If only it were that simple! But, it is! To have the best chance of putting the ball in the hole, you must constantly eliminate anything that would be in the way of the ball going into the hole.

What? Hold on, now. Such gibberish! Most people would think this is nonsense and I know it sounds like it. But, your suspicions, cynicisms and doubts are typical of the sort of things that are in the way of the ball! Test yourself. Go out on the putting green, stand over your next important putt and focus on doubt, mistrust and uncertainty and watch how far off-mark your putt will be. Or, stand on the tee with a new, expensive ball and and only think about how the spectators are going to judge you if you slice into the water or top the ball into the rough in front of you. What will happen?

Herein lies one of the keys to the intention game; you are the boss! It is your choice to play. It is your vision that compels your desire. It is your mind that focuses on either what is important or on all the other distractions. It is up to you to decide how serious you will be about the perfection of your play or how accepting you will be of the inevitable failures. It is up to you to put in the practice hours, hire the coach, buy the appropriate equipment, understand the slope challenges and all other aspects of the game. In all regards, you're it!

Champions get this. That is why they are so often described as totally committed and passionately dedicated. This emotional and mental state is no accident. They are clear. They are free. They are true to themselves. And, they are present and engaged with their lives' commitments. We can all learn from their example because we all have the same abilities and the same capacities. We may never equal their accomplishments or reach their level of performance, but we all have the chance to live and to excel with the passions and the whole hearted enthusiasm that is our birthright.

Daily Golf Thoughts about Life

A thought a day! I was asked recently to identify the key thoughts that exemplify the value of studying the mental game of golf. That doesn't sound like too tall an order, so I enthusiastically embarked on writing two sentence capsules of mental game topics. After thirty keypoints, I thought I might have something. After forty-five points, I became a little more concerned as to how deep the well could be. At forty-six, I was sure there wouldn't be much more left to haul out of my well. I considered throwing the shovel down the hole.

But, as I uncovered just a few more jewels of insight, I began to consider that golf really does present an abundance of parallels to life, revealing endless lessons. The well was deep! And herein, was one of the mental game keys: Be open to discover what you don't already see. An open mind encourages an open heart. An open heart allows the body to be naturally relaxed and poised to act. A free and loose body is essential to a powerful and balanced swing.

Consider: every stroke offers an opportunity to learn. The flight of the ball has built-in feedback value. It can tell you much about how you hit the ball. Rather than react in judgment and emotion, use the ball flight as a learning tool. Direction, spin, loft and distance are all produced by your swing mechanics and perhaps even your mental attitude. For example; I might slice hook a drive simply because I am trying too hard to smash a long ball like my playing partner just did. Or, perhaps I have subtly allowed my grip to slip over time, leaving my clubface open at contact with the ball. But, I must be willing to learn from the information, not just react.

What am I really talking about is essentially, an "attitude," a basic way of viewing or a stance from which you react to the world. One fundamental aspect of a sound mental game is having an attitude that nourishes openness and sustains a genuine enthusiasm for playing the game. You are not born with an attitude, you develop one. All of us interpret everything that occurs within a round of golf. What is crucial is the effect of that interpretation on our mood or our emotional and physical temperament.

It turns out that after reflecting on this life phenomenon, suddenly I began to discover still more mental game thoughts for golf. Maybe it is really is all about "attitude?" My goal: one a day, for a year - only 294 left to go!