Words to live by...
Yogi Berra once said, "Baseball is 90 percent physical. The other half is mental." The numbers can become overwhelming in golf as well and sometimes a long round on the course can feel like it takes 140% of you as the shots (and penalty strokes) begin to add up on the 'ol scorecard.
The golf swing requires precision and consistency. For the average golfer, it can be a little more challenging, requiring adjustments to be made, almost constantly. I spent 15 years swinging a baseball bat before I took up golf. So when I try to really lay into a drive, I slice. When I get tired, I slice. When I control it, at least a little, I have a nice high fade into greens from 150 yards and in, because, naturally...I slice. When I can't keep it in check...I find a nice place to take my penalty and drop another ball.
While the physical part of the game can be exhausting, the mental aspect of the game can take just as much energy. It's about risk-reward, managing the possibilities, and executing the shot you've decided to take. Above all, it means taking the best shot, well, somewhat...I'll explain in a minute.
The thing that made Tiger Woods so amazing wasn't that he made some of the most incredible shots ever seen, but that he thought of shots that no one ever thought to try. Golf is about taking the best shot to give yourself the ability to be in the position for the next best shot. Or in some cases, leaving yourself with no more shots and moving to the next hole. Tiger has had his share of both.
Perhaps it makes the game of golf more mentally challenging because we see the impossible, become, well, possible. But more sensible thoughts prevail and we come to the realization that we're not like Tiger, and perhaps the shot we thought about taking for that brief moment might not be the best choice.
But the decision making process is fluid, flowing from shot to shot, flooded with potential as we move to the next tee. Soon, we're making comparisons to John Daly as we survey a wide-open fairway in front of us. It becomes time to "Grip it and Rip it," as they say. And the cycle begins...
You tee up that Pro V1x or maybe one of those new Callaway balls, take your stance and begin your back swing. You're coiled up like a deadly serpent ready to unleash 460cc of cutting edge club head technology on the unsuspecting white sphere. You release...your foursome hears that "whoosh" preceding that sweet ring of titanium striking urethane...and it's airborne...drifting to the right...and some more to the right...Well, that's how it happens to me.
"It opens up over there," says Bob, ever the optimist.
Rest assured, it does not "open up" over where my ball is heading.
I'm muttering to myself about feeling the club turn a little in my hands as I made contact, maybe my grip was a little loose, maybe I didn't swing fast enough to get the face square at impact. No matter now. On to the next shot as I arrive at the ball nestled on pine needles amid the trees.
"It's sitting up nice," Bob offers up as I get out of the cart.
Rolling my eyes, I move to take a position behind my ball trying to figure out a course of action. There's a clear line of sight to the flag. The only problem is that it's between two pine trees about 3 feet apart, with lots of branches up top so I have to keep it low...and oh, yeah. It's about 2 paces to the left of the direct line from where the ball lies. No problem. Piece of cake.
"What's the cart say, Bobby?"
"181," he replies with the information from the cart's GPS.
This can work. I'll just punch out with a 5-iron. Place the ball back in my stance to keep it low. Maybe a 3/4 swing...with my natural swing it'll curl around nicely and leave me in front of the green for an easy chip. Sure, get up and down for par. Simple, right? Not nearly as complicated as Bubba Watson's shot at the 2012 Masters.
All I have to do now is execute this shot that I have never practiced with skills I have not fully mastered. Here goes nothin'...So I feel the club come up and I'm thinking about where 3/4 is and I think I went a little too far, then I come down with the club and I'm just a little excited anticipating the result so I take a full swing, and...there it goes...dead straight. I did hit it low though, missed all the trees...doesn't take long for the ball to come down...still running across the fairway...man, the ball is still rolling, down off the other side. Was there a creek over on that side?
Now I'm back to scrambling, from one bad shot to the next. That's how I used to play golf a long time ago, before I had a very similar conversation with a relative during a family reunion. That's right, Uncle Dennis.
Whether it was a solution or just a starting place to get moving in the right direction, Uncle Dennis always tried to bring everything down to that one point. We'll get into the tangents and everything related to this one simple rule later, but his illustration was spot on as he described my situation, and how I could have handled it.
"You just teed up a perfectly good ball, exactly how you wanted it. Took a perfect stance on level ground, short grass, with a wide-open fairway that was, what 30-, 40-yards wide? And you missed it. So now, you're going to take an uncomfortable stance over an awkward lie and hit this ball from the middle of trees and branches through an opening the size of a postcard because you're trying to advance the ball. More than likely, you're going to end up in more trouble. Find the biggest opening. Just punch out to the fairway. Backwards if you have to. Give yourself a chance for a good shot."
And the Uncle Dennis Rule was born. It seems so simple, but the urge to make that incredible shot, or try to salvage a hole by making a bold move to get closer to the green, can be a powerful urge to resist.
But we're going to let this logic carry us to find the best way to get from the first tee to the clubhouse with more enjoyable rounds of golf. Welcome to your new golf conscience, the Uncle Dennis Rule.
The golf swing requires precision and consistency. For the average golfer, it can be a little more challenging, requiring adjustments to be made, almost constantly. I spent 15 years swinging a baseball bat before I took up golf. So when I try to really lay into a drive, I slice. When I get tired, I slice. When I control it, at least a little, I have a nice high fade into greens from 150 yards and in, because, naturally...I slice. When I can't keep it in check...I find a nice place to take my penalty and drop another ball.
While the physical part of the game can be exhausting, the mental aspect of the game can take just as much energy. It's about risk-reward, managing the possibilities, and executing the shot you've decided to take. Above all, it means taking the best shot, well, somewhat...I'll explain in a minute.
The thing that made Tiger Woods so amazing wasn't that he made some of the most incredible shots ever seen, but that he thought of shots that no one ever thought to try. Golf is about taking the best shot to give yourself the ability to be in the position for the next best shot. Or in some cases, leaving yourself with no more shots and moving to the next hole. Tiger has had his share of both.
Perhaps it makes the game of golf more mentally challenging because we see the impossible, become, well, possible. But more sensible thoughts prevail and we come to the realization that we're not like Tiger, and perhaps the shot we thought about taking for that brief moment might not be the best choice.
But the decision making process is fluid, flowing from shot to shot, flooded with potential as we move to the next tee. Soon, we're making comparisons to John Daly as we survey a wide-open fairway in front of us. It becomes time to "Grip it and Rip it," as they say. And the cycle begins...
You tee up that Pro V1x or maybe one of those new Callaway balls, take your stance and begin your back swing. You're coiled up like a deadly serpent ready to unleash 460cc of cutting edge club head technology on the unsuspecting white sphere. You release...your foursome hears that "whoosh" preceding that sweet ring of titanium striking urethane...and it's airborne...drifting to the right...and some more to the right...Well, that's how it happens to me.
"It opens up over there," says Bob, ever the optimist.
Rest assured, it does not "open up" over where my ball is heading.
I'm muttering to myself about feeling the club turn a little in my hands as I made contact, maybe my grip was a little loose, maybe I didn't swing fast enough to get the face square at impact. No matter now. On to the next shot as I arrive at the ball nestled on pine needles amid the trees.
"It's sitting up nice," Bob offers up as I get out of the cart.
Rolling my eyes, I move to take a position behind my ball trying to figure out a course of action. There's a clear line of sight to the flag. The only problem is that it's between two pine trees about 3 feet apart, with lots of branches up top so I have to keep it low...and oh, yeah. It's about 2 paces to the left of the direct line from where the ball lies. No problem. Piece of cake.
"What's the cart say, Bobby?"
"181," he replies with the information from the cart's GPS.
This can work. I'll just punch out with a 5-iron. Place the ball back in my stance to keep it low. Maybe a 3/4 swing...with my natural swing it'll curl around nicely and leave me in front of the green for an easy chip. Sure, get up and down for par. Simple, right? Not nearly as complicated as Bubba Watson's shot at the 2012 Masters.
All I have to do now is execute this shot that I have never practiced with skills I have not fully mastered. Here goes nothin'...So I feel the club come up and I'm thinking about where 3/4 is and I think I went a little too far, then I come down with the club and I'm just a little excited anticipating the result so I take a full swing, and...there it goes...dead straight. I did hit it low though, missed all the trees...doesn't take long for the ball to come down...still running across the fairway...man, the ball is still rolling, down off the other side. Was there a creek over on that side?
Now I'm back to scrambling, from one bad shot to the next. That's how I used to play golf a long time ago, before I had a very similar conversation with a relative during a family reunion. That's right, Uncle Dennis.
Whether it was a solution or just a starting place to get moving in the right direction, Uncle Dennis always tried to bring everything down to that one point. We'll get into the tangents and everything related to this one simple rule later, but his illustration was spot on as he described my situation, and how I could have handled it.
"You just teed up a perfectly good ball, exactly how you wanted it. Took a perfect stance on level ground, short grass, with a wide-open fairway that was, what 30-, 40-yards wide? And you missed it. So now, you're going to take an uncomfortable stance over an awkward lie and hit this ball from the middle of trees and branches through an opening the size of a postcard because you're trying to advance the ball. More than likely, you're going to end up in more trouble. Find the biggest opening. Just punch out to the fairway. Backwards if you have to. Give yourself a chance for a good shot."
And the Uncle Dennis Rule was born. It seems so simple, but the urge to make that incredible shot, or try to salvage a hole by making a bold move to get closer to the green, can be a powerful urge to resist.
But we're going to let this logic carry us to find the best way to get from the first tee to the clubhouse with more enjoyable rounds of golf. Welcome to your new golf conscience, the Uncle Dennis Rule.
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