[Ira Fishman]

As I entered my 60s, I committed to trying to improve my never great game. With the encouragement of many of you, I started working with a TPI trainer, invested in custom fitted clubs, and took lessons. All of these steps helped, and as A.G. emphasized, the exercise has been good regardless. I have realized though that I do not have the mental toughness or whatever you want to call it to concentrate well enough for 18 holes. I am not going to go to a sports psychologist, but do you have any recommendations on books that have helped you?


It is one month until our next big trip so immediate impact appreciated


Thanks,


Ira

[Tommy Williamsen]

I hear ya. At 72 my mind wanders all the time. The only way I have found to keep my mind on the game is to make every shot worth something. Sometimes it is the match. When I am not playing for anything I will play games that I did when I was a kid. I'll hear in my head, "Tommy Williamsen needs to stick this close if he is to have any chance at beating Palmer today." I makes me bear down a bit. On the other hand, I can focus standing over the ball and just go to sleep on my swing.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

I have the same problem. This reminds me to reread this book by Fred Shoemaker:


https://www.amazon.com/Extraordinary-Golf-Art-Possible-Perigee/dp/039952276X


Or attend his school:


http://extraordinarygolf.com/


I met him at a Shivas Irons Society outing at Ridgewood years ago.

[David_Tepper]

Bob Rotella's Golf is Not a Game of Perfect is certainly a good place to start.

[Thomas Dai]

Interesting subject.
On one occasion I followed Jack Nicklaus close-up at The Open. Chatting away with playing partners etc between shot. Get near the ball and it all changed. Super-concentrated until after the shot then back to chatty mode.
And then there's Walter Hagen's comment about smelling the flowers along the way and Bobby Jones' quote about the inches between the ears.
atb

[Mike Sweeney]

Back in the old days, I trained for Olympic distance triathlons by training for them at 120% of distance. If the swim was 1.5 k, I would train for 1.8 k. A 40 k bike became 48 k, and so on. The theory was on race day, the race seemed short, and I would say that I went from top 50% to top 33% in my age bracket. You still need talent, but I would finish feeling fresh and recovery was easier.


The complexity in golf is it would be an extra 3 or 4 holes. But you have to treat it like a 22 hole match, and not 18+4. Set par at 88 for 22 holes and play that. Obviously that adds in facility and partner issues to deal with. At Yale, I could play an afternoon round and then team up with some late day players to play the first 4 holes after coming off 18. The 4th green is pretty close to the clubhouse.


My guess is it would take at least 5+ rounds for the mentality to shift. Yes, you could just do 27 holes, but that could be a grind physically, and I think adding 4 holes is better than "playing an extra 9".

[Jon Wiggett]

Keep it simple. Decide what shot you want to hit. Hit it. When you get to the ball and decide what shot you want to hit. To many people fret over the result of a shot which is a waste of time..

[Jim_Kennedy]

60's are a revelation  , I can't wait for the 70's, which are only a couple years away for me. My routine for the past decade has been to never hit more than a dozen balls warming up / roll a few 30' putts and a couple of 15's, but never any short ones / remembering that I don't have to concentrate for longer than 20 seconds or so at a clip / leaving my expectations in the trunk of the car, and possibly adding CBD gum to the mix when I do reach 70.   

[Tim Martin]

60's are a revelation  , I can't wait for the 70's, which are only a couple years away for me. My routine for the past decade has been to never hit more than a dozen balls warming up / roll a few 30' putts and a couple of 15's, but never any short ones / remembering that I don't have to concentrate for longer than 20 seconds or so at a clip / leaving my expectations in the trunk of the car, and possibly adding CBD gum to the mix when I do reach 70.   

Jimmy-You still breathing through your eyelids on green side bunker shots?

[Jim_Kennedy]

Jimmy-You still breathing through your eyelids on green side bunker shots?

Yes I am Annie Tim, yes I am. 

[Peter Flory]

Keep it simple. Decide what shot you want to hit. Hit it. When you get to the ball and decide what shot you want to hit. To many people fret over the result of a shot which is a waste of time..

I agree with this philosophy.  When you're on the course, try your best for each shot (pick shots that you're most likely to pull off) and then live with the result.  That should free you up in between shots and you'll conserve mental energy. 

Don't worry about messing up the next one and don't beat yourself up for bad execution. 

One weird and personal trick that I've implemented a few times that could help you- pretend that you're playing alternate shot.  In this case, your partner just happens to be you.  The reason this sometimes helps me is because then I try to put the ball in a considerate spot for my "partner" and then when I'm in a tough spot, I view it as just trying to bail my partner out for the bad shot he hit. This trick isolates you into the present shot only.  You might actually have to play some alt shot first to really get into the mindset. 

[David_Moorhead]

Zen Golf by Dr. Joseph Parent.  It's simple, short, and relatable.

[Colin Macqueen]

Ira,


"Why don't you go wi' yer pretty swing? Let the nothingness intae yer shots. And beware the quicksands o' perfection. We're all kites in that wind."   Shivas.


Cheers Colin

[Mark Buzminski]

As a great sage once said,

"I'm going to give you a little advice.  There's a force in the universe that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with it, stop thinking, let things happen, and... be the ball."


"na na na na na na na na, fuhnuh nun na,buh buh buh buh buh buh, ta da..."

 
Sorry, I couldn't resist.

But seriously, to extend an earlier post, I do like watching decisive golfers on television, and I try (and often fail) to emulate them.   Full commitment to a shot is always required.   I also find it easier to accept the end result, good or bad, when I have fully committed to it.

[Kevin_Reilly]

Remember that there are about 7,700,000,000 on the planet, and 7,699,999,999 don’t care a single bit about how you played.  Just enjoy your game and hope to do better on the next stroke than you did on the previous stroke.   

[Ira Fishman]

As a great sage once said,

"I'm going to give you a little advice.  There's a force in the universe that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with it, stop thinking, let things happen, and... be the ball."


"na na na na na na na na, fuhnuh nun na,buh buh buh buh buh buh, ta da..."

 
Sorry, I couldn't resist.

But seriously, to extend an earlier post, I do like watching decisive golfers on television, and I try (and often fail) to emulate them.   Full commitment to a shot is always required.   I also find it easier to accept the end result, good or bad, when I have fully committed to it.

I have “Be the ball.” stitched on the side of my bag. Alas, easier said than done.


Ira

[Ira Fishman]

Bob Rotella's Golf is Not a Game of Perfect is certainly a good place to start.

It turns out that a member at our club gets credit as a writer on Golf is Not a Game of Perfect. I ran into him into the bar yesterday. He is a steady player so seems to work for him.


Ira

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()