Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools instead. Decades of swing coaches and psychologists and fitness trainers, and what have you got: athletes who tear a knee ligament stepping out of the shower, golfers who can't tie their shoelaces without a routine, and twenty-somethings with the demeanours (and frazzled nerves) of old men. Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, even Ben Hogan: they knew it was a game, and the kind of a game that, once you'd learned the fundamentals, was elegant in its simplicity. It isn't complicated, or even very hard: you step up, you see the shot, you settle in, and you hit it (all in about 15 seconds): drives, approaches, chips and putts. All the rest of the time/effort is just comprised of "stories": stories that we tell ourselves to avoid the simplicity (and randomness) of the game, so frightened have we become of not being in control. And the coaches and psychologists and fitness trainers encourage these stories, and try to make everyone believe they are true, because that's how they make their livings. Never mind that Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead played golf to stay in shape to play golf (and played forever and never got hurt); or that there's no way Jim Furyk or Dustin Johnson or Webb Simpson makes as many important putts as Billy Casper or Lee Trevino or Bobby Jones did. No, never mind all that: the stories are what's most important. Luckily for the "wise", however, the "fools" are making so much money now that they can keep them employed and spinning their tales for years to come.
Peter
PS - It seems that Brent has left us, as he is now a guest. I am sorry to see him go.