An unfortunate occurrence in golf is a player losing his or her temper. Getting angry because of what happens on a golf course, no matter what or who caused the anger, is plain nonsense if it destroys what is supposed to be an enjoyable experience. Negative actions by one golfer can spoil not only his or her own pleasure, but also damage the fun for the rest of the group.
What are the benefits of eliminating temper? I play better golf; my friends and family have rejoined me and, best of all, I feel good about myself, I truly do experience joy when I play golf. If you want to eliminate temper from your personality while playing golf and, incidentally, enjoy the benefits of that absence that carries over into the rest of your life, take a good look at the following:
1. Make a decision right now to commit yourself to the conviction that you are in charge of yourself.
2. Subscribe to the concept that you and you alone own your feelings. Nothing outside of yourself can dictate to you how you feel, unless you give it or them permission to do so.
3. Temper in all forms, including hostility, irritation, anger at yourself, and anger at others ( persons, things or circumstance), will be eliminated from your personality.
4. On each round of golf you play from now on, mark a T on your personal scorecard at every hole where you become even slightly perturbed.
5. Temporarily stop playing for scores. Your new game is to play for zero Ts on your scorecard. If you have even one, you lose the round. If you have none, you win!
6. Continue playing for a total absence of Ts until you accomplish at lease three T-free rounds. Then resume your usual score-conscious efforts.
7. Never let a T occur on your scorecard again.
All you have to gain is the joy of golf in its real sense. All you have to lose is your temper.
Golf is a simple game, knock a ball from here to there with a stick, and hole it out. Simple, yes but not easy. It just looks easy, particularly on television when one watches the greatest players in the world hit incredible shots in routine fashion. When the show leaves the air, what happens? The golfing viewers are out the door and flocking to their courses immediately after switching off the set. They have spent two hours watching professionals who have practiced exhaustively since they were in grade school, who have the finest teachers in the world, who play with the best equipment, who compete three out of every four weeks during the year, and who feel that par is a bad round.
In comparison, the TV viewer is lucky to squeeze in two games a week, practices infrequently, takes too much of his instruction from friends, and uses clubs that are not matched to his swing. Yet this golfer somehow expects to perform like those players he saw on TV. How much more healthy and enjoyable it is to have a reasonable level of expectation. The over-competitive mindset is unrealistic and puts too much pressure on what should be a more relaxed experience. No player is ever going to be perfect, so golfers should become familiar with the words of a very well-known player, "Missing simple shorts is part of being human. Golfers are going to err so you should be prepared for it.
"All my life I wanted to play like Jack Nicklaus, and now I do." These are words spoken by Paul Harvey, a news commentator, after Jack Nicklaus shot an 83 in the British Open.
TOM HEYWARD is a PGA Master Professional. He writes a monthly column for The Sun News.
Contact Tom via e-mail at tsheyward@aol.com.
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