Well today I felt that frustration in my waking hours. I went to the golf course this afternoon feeling pretty fine! It's been a nice day weather wise and I was looking forward to a good Nine holes. Off the first tee I hit a pretty solid shot. My second shot felt just as nice. That, sadly was the end of the Rock'n'Roll Goodtimes. From then on, I could not even put the club on the ball. It was awful. I knew what to do. I had the tool to do it in my hands. No matter how hard i concentrated I could not make my body do what my mind had planned out. I lost three balls within the first two holes. They just vanished into the ether. I swear I couldnt have hit them more that twenty yards....watched them go....and when I got to where I THOUGHT it was.....GONE! GRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!
God decided to bail me out though. Four holes in it started raining. The perfect excuse to call it a day. As I walked toward the club house, a little wet and ALOT upset, I began to gather my composure. I was passing the practice green when I decided to tempt fate. I hit about twenty balls into the tiny little green. Nineteen of those I hit VERY well. Solid, high, well struck. I have no idea what, if anything I was doing differently. Golf is such a mystery! My final shot landed about a foot from the flag. A nice finish to a rotten day.
I have played poorly many times but never have I felt so frustrated. It was definitely my mindset. I may not be able to fix my swing but I can relax and enjoy myself. That is sort of the point of it after all. So that is now my lofty goal! Have more fun!!! Sounds easy enough.
It's the Zen of golf.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of like Kyudo, the Japanese archery Maggie and I take. There are 8 basic steps to shooting and if you do them all well, then you hit the target. If one step is out of sync, then the shot goes awry, and the shot never lies. The thing is though that it’s more about balance then anything else, if you concentrate on just one of the eight steps or if you neglect any of the steps, then everything else suffers. To be good at Kyudo you have be able to do each step equally well and with equal concentration. To be great at it you have to learn the process then forget everything and just do it. I’m sure the same goes for golf.
Awhile back I started thinking about how that’s pretty much life. All these different components and to be happy you have to keep them all in balance. And it’s the same for everyone. Kind of comforting to think we are all trying to master the same process.
So in the words of mob bosses everywhere “forgetaboutit”.
I think you nailed golf right there. I try to work it out as a progression rather than thinking of all things at once. It is all a house of cards though. And even though mobsters like to say Fagettaboutit.....for some reason I think that they never do. I know I wouldn't cross one.
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