“He played with the body language that shouted, ‘This next shot is going to be the greatest shot you have ever seen’.” -Tom Lehman commenting on Seve Ballesteros. Fearlessness is a byproduct of confidence in golf. Each shot has the opportunity to be the “greatest shot you have ever seen.” Managing our ever-present self-sabotaging ways is the practice. Doubt, tension, […]
No matter what time of year, tis’ always the season to practice “non-reaction” both on and off the golf course. I recently read a translation of the Sanskrit word “vairāgya” as “non-reaction”. (Viarāgya is one of the two pillars, along with practice, abhyāsa, listed in Patañjali’s famous yoga sūtra I:12.) What interested me most about this interpretation was […]
I recently had a student proclaim in a short game clinic that the shot he was choosing was the “pitch-and-pray.” While summoning a higher-power to hit over a Maverick’s sized bunker could be helpful, wishing and hoping is not a powerful strategy for any delicate pitch shot. To encourage confidence and eliminate risk, try these […]
When times get tough on the links, recall your authentic reason for taking on this emotionally adventuresome sport. Why do you play golf? An attitude of gratitude goes a long way. Dodie Mazzuca is the author of “Golf Sutras: Lessons for Transforming the Mental Game with Yoga’s Inner Wisdom” and founder of Golf PROformance. She […]
Too Many Swing Thoughts? . . . Get a “Thought-o-meter?” “It’s best to have no thoughts, but if you’re going to have a thought, make it positive. . . and for sanity sake, take on one thing at a time.” -Baba Hari Dass What if rather than tracking the number of steps we took each day, […]
Certain moments in life, just like distinctive golf shots, have heightened vividness and intensity. They stand out in our memories and we are more awake to them. These events cut through the illusions as our entire life experience presents itself in a singular point in time. These are the “atha moments.” -Excerpt from Golf Sūtras: Lessons for Transforming the […]
There is a certain feel and vibration when we strike the golf ball in the center of the clubface. The sweet spot feels effortless and “buttery,” similar to a warm knife cutting through butter. One of the basic fundamentals of the game, most technical work focuses on consistently making solid ball contact. Almost all swing mechanics can […]
“The putter is to the golfer what the brush is to the artist and the pen to the poet.“ -Unknown With the inexhaustible data and scientific technology surrounding putting today, we can often lose sight of the artistic perspective of this valuable skill. Trapped in statistics and details, how can you make your putting experience more creative? […]