Remember when Tiger won the ’08 U.S. Open on a broken leg. Or when Lindsey Vonn won a skiing championship after a serious fall. Well, I recently returned to golf after a cancer treatment that knocked me for a loop. Mind over matter. Overcoming fear. This blog tells the story of my successful experience.
The Marvelous Mr. Mickelson
Phil Mickelson is truly a wonder, a phenomenon, a likable bloke who, at 48, plays a kind of all-out golf, like a youngster might. Phil takes chances, something we amateurs can relate to. We also take chances because a lot of the time chance, or risk/reward as we call it, is part of the equation […]
Grace + Grit = Brooke
Inspired by Brooke’s win in Canada
Further Thoughts on the Full Swing
So what is the one element of the swing that separates amateurs from pros? Actually it’s a series of elements, which adds to its complication…and mystique. I do not have it all figured out–far from it–but I have observed that recreational golfers know little about getting the sequence of movements right. Pros often learn this […]
Chipping: My Take
You can save many strokes with good chipping. It makes up for less than adequate approach shots, and just about every recreational golfer I’ve come across knows about them. But I’ve rarely come across a consistently good chipper. And the ones I have met are legitimate single handicappers. So what does it take to chip […]
Masters Sunday: Rory or Reed?
OK. Final day at the Masters. Iconic. Historic. Tense. Dramatic. Who will triumph? Reed is a bulldog. He won’t let go of that three shot lead so easily. His game is sharp, decisive, intelligent, in control. As he reports, he is patient. That’s the word he keeps using, and it’s one of the most demanding […]
The Masters: Day 2
Pr0fessional golf is essentially a game of minimizing misses. That’s how Nicklaus won all those majors: played approaches to the middle of greens and let the competition implode. Golf is also a game of uncertainties, like wind, for example, particularly swirling wind, lodged up in tall trees where you can’t really calculate what’s going on. […]
The Masters: Day 1
Good stuff, eh? It’s why this major is the best. Jordan’s in the lead, sure. Kind of expected–at least my brother got it right. But Haotong Li is in 4th. Remember, the Chinese Communist Party banned golf a couple years ago as a bourgeois activity. He taught himself English off his smart phone. And this […]
The Masters: Back to Tradition
Unlike most spectator sporting events, golf is known more for its polite applause than end zone antics. Even at the height of Arnie’s Army or Tiger’s legions, fans would quiet down when a shot was about to be executed. And I’ve been watching early episodes of Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf in the 50s and […]