Arabic Proverb

I’m finding even more examples where a philosophy for life works well on the golf course. Alexander Green in The Secret of Shelter Island says “When we complain, we are focusing on what is wrong with our lives instead of what’s right.” He goes on to say “We also use complaints as excuses.” Green quotes Will Bowen that if you complain “you are making yourself a victim. Victims don’t become victors, and you get to choose which you will be.”

I’ve played with many golfers that complain a lot.

• “I can’t believe I’m in a divot in the fairway!”
• “The sand in this trap is impossible!”

Self-criticism can be even more destructive to your golf game as in “I always miss 3 foot putts.” As Dr. Parent points out in Zen Golf our subconscious doesn’t know the difference between the truth or a lie or a self-criticism. Dr. Parent describes that if the last thing your subconscious hears is “don’t hit it in the lake” your fear makes a clear image of your ball flying toward and splashing into the lake.”

Usually, you won’t get a chance to hit it out of, or off of, the lake. That is why visualization in the preshot routine is very important.  I had a good friend once tell me visualization is stupid, because he thought if he visualizes a pro shot, he’d never be able to hit it.  Visualize a shot YOU’VE hit before, a shot you KNOW you have done before and the right club that you’ve used many times before.  Fill your mind with the positive image, and your non-conscious mind and body will make it happen.

James Allen in As A Man Thinketh:

“Every thought-seed sown or allowed to fall into the mind, and to take root there, produces its own…”

“Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad thoughts bad fruit.”
So how am I to take this concept to the golf course? I don’t complain very much on the golf course, but I do have self-doubt sometimes, and get nervous about the flop shot downhill to a close flag, the deep green-side bunker, or the slippery downhill putt. Alexander Green has some additional suggestions for life that work well on the golf course.

“.. you create your life with the words you choose.”

I have decided that every difficult shot or bad circumstance in my round, I will change from negative to positive as Green suggests. Instead of “I hate this shot” I will say out loud “I love this shot.” Instead of thinking to myself, “I hope I don’t skull this over the green”, I’ll think “I can hit this to tap-in distance.”
Why beat yourself up on the golf course? Why are you out there? Would you really want golf to be that easy? Would golf be fun if you simply walked 250 yards down the fairway and dropped your ball onto the fairway, then picked it up and dropped it 4 inches from the cup? Would you feel thrilled by that birdie? Of course not. The fun is meeting the challenge, overcoming obstacles, and still shooting birdies and pars. Be strong and use your skills to the best of your ability. Don’t be weak, don’t complain.