With a 7-Day forecast like the one we are facing here in Kansas City, any chance of getting out for even a quick nine holes is not a realistic possibility. In my quest to make 2018 MY BIG GOLF YEAR, I will do a little indoor putting and continue working out on the elliptical and treadmill this coming week. That's about all I can do in the physical realm for my game while the weather refuses to cooperate. That leaves me to deal with the mental side of the game, which is not always my best side.
I think I have a tendency to overload on minutiae from too many sources - golf instruction books, golf videos, Instagram and Facebook golf posts, golf blogs, golf magazines, etc. In this past week, the February issues of Golf Digest and Golf Magazine arrived. I immediately went on a seek-and-learn mission.
LPGA player Gerina Piller tried to put whoosh in my swing; teaching pro Adam Kolloff told me I could use a hybrid out of the rough, but if I did, "grip it (the club) firmly with the last three fingers" of my glove hand; a GolfTEC VP wrote that topped shots could be eliminated by developing a tour-pro follow-through; Top 100 Teacher Dom DiJulia said that if I wanted
to consistently pull off a high-lofted, high-spinning pitch shot, then I had to learn his "unique left-arm move," and Director of Golf Instruction at Westchester Country Club, Gary Weir, had a FIVE-STEP SETUP PLAN that would "put a smile" on my bunker game.
Well, I thought virtually everything I read made sense and I even highlighted in yellow the key points of each article. Then reality set in and I remembered that I could barely remember the basics that Andy Fisher, our head pro at The Kansas City Country Club, has been teaching me since 2011: 1) Closer to the ball. 2) Left shoulder under chin. 3) Hip turn. 4) Right elbow in.
So rather than trying to add the magazines' playing lessons into my repertoire of shots once the weather breaks, I came to the conclusion that I would be better off focusing on the cerebral part of my game. I am hoping that I can actually take simple, cheery and encouraging BIG THOUGHTS to the course. Bottom line: A 12-handicapper like me is better off with a decluttered mind. I am hoping that a few BIG SIMPLE THOUGHTS will bring magic to my game this year.
to consistently pull off a high-lofted, high-spinning pitch shot, then I had to learn his "unique left-arm move," and Director of Golf Instruction at Westchester Country Club, Gary Weir, had a FIVE-STEP SETUP PLAN that would "put a smile" on my bunker game.
Well, I thought virtually everything I read made sense and I even highlighted in yellow the key points of each article. Then reality set in and I remembered that I could barely remember the basics that Andy Fisher, our head pro at The Kansas City Country Club, has been teaching me since 2011: 1) Closer to the ball. 2) Left shoulder under chin. 3) Hip turn. 4) Right elbow in.
So rather than trying to add the magazines' playing lessons into my repertoire of shots once the weather breaks, I came to the conclusion that I would be better off focusing on the cerebral part of my game. I am hoping that I can actually take simple, cheery and encouraging BIG THOUGHTS to the course. Bottom line: A 12-handicapper like me is better off with a decluttered mind. I am hoping that a few BIG SIMPLE THOUGHTS will bring magic to my game this year.
SIMPLE BIG THOUGHTS
* Focus on the outcome, not the obstacle.
* Wherever you are, be there totally.
* Don't decrease the goal. Increase the effort!
* Fear is heavy, let it go.
* Simple rarely breaks.
* Do it with passion or not at all.
* Deep breath, then quiet the mind.
Play Away,
Allan (a 12)
* Focus on the outcome, not the obstacle.
* Wherever you are, be there totally.
* Don't decrease the goal. Increase the effort!
* Fear is heavy, let it go.
* Simple rarely breaks.
* Do it with passion or not at all.
* Deep breath, then quiet the mind.
Play Away,
Allan (a 12)
Simple Big Thoughts: 1- Chief’s football season is over….. 2- Royal are not even at spring practice. 3 – Snow and cold weather in KC doesn’t help local skiers. 4 – Arthur Bryant’s sounds like a good idea this weekend. 5 – At least the stock market has started 2018 as our friend !!!!!!!
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