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The Fairway Of Life
Simple Secrets To Playing Better Golf By Going With The Flow ~
Rand Scott Marquardt
Life & Mental Golf Performance Coach 
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FacebookTiger Woods Gives Putting Tip To Sean O’Hair
Day one in the final match of the Fed-Ex Tour Championship on The Golf Channel found Sean O’Hair at the top of the leader board leading Woods, Padraig Harrrington, and Stewart Cink by one shot. And to think on Wednesday’s practice round Sean got a putting tip from Tiger to help sharpen his putting stroke.
Imagine someone helping another while competing with or against each other for the same prize. Well, in my new world I know now that my own toughest opponent is myself, and in ultimate reality I’m really not playing against another. However, competition can stimulate our own desire to become better. All the while we help ourselves by helping others – that’s called the infallible formula. I write about these kinds of concepts (and more) in my new book, The Fairway of Life. Tiger practices mentoring and helping others to become even better themselves. As he does, Tiger naturally becomes better himself. I suggest that you practice this wisdom from the ages as well. Cause another to become what you desire to be even more.
The Putting Lesson
“De-lofting” was Wednesday’s lesson and seems to be the key to O’Hair’s newfound confidence with his flat stick. “I tend to deloft the putter and take it a little too square going back,” O’Hair explained, after telling reporters that Woods’ tips were “a little too complicated for you guys.” Woods suggested that O’Hair add loft to the putter for a freer release through the shot. “If you take it straight back and you deloft it,” O’Hair noted, “you’ve got to hang onto it going through or the ball is going to go dead left.” You have to open up the blade going back in order to properly release the putter blade coming through. *Hint – one of those putting arcs from your local PGA professional will help guide you, unless of course you’re tight with Tiger :).
O’Hair says he has much work to do to elevate his putting. “I’m not even close to doing exactly what [Woods] told me to,” he said. “Let’s face it, [my putting] is kind of what’s held me back for a long time.” The guy has a point. While he’s 17th on the PGA Tour in birdies and scoring averages, O’Hair’s 29.61 putts per round has him languishing in the 159th position.
When asked what’s it like taking tips from the world’s best golfer? O’Hair responded, “Getting advice from good players is obviously awesome,” O’Hair said. “But getting it from basically the greatest of all time is pretty cool.” Woods’ good will was no surprise to O’Hair. “We all know how…great of a player [Woods] is,” O’Hair said. “But I think the thing that impresses me more is the quality of guy he is.” The fact that his golf guru is also his opponent was not lost on O’Hair. “I mean, I’m his competition, and for him to help me out like he did was very classy,” he said. The teacher, for his part, was happy to assist. “It’s very simple,” Woods told reporters. “You always help your friends.”
Having Fun
…And did anyone else pick up on Sean’s comments about taking golf too seriously after the putting tips dialogue? Seems everyone wants to write and talk about Tiger giving advice, which is obviously very cool. O’Hair went on to say that for the last 6-7 weeks he wasn’t having as much fun, kind of down on his game. He said, paraphrasing, ‘after all, this is my profession and I’m supposed to take it seriously [he thought]. Yet when I arrived here I decided to let it all go and was just going to relax more and have fun.’ Sean allowed himself to relax and have some fun with his golf. That’s the big reminder to all of us. How easy it is to fall into the trap that it’s serious. Next thing you know we’re not having fun and our scoring reflects that. So, lighten up and have fun with it! Even professionals have to catch themselves from spiraling downward with the fun quotient. All it takes is a simple shift in perspective and many will not allow themselves to “go there” and have fun – they want to take it sooooo damn serious until it kills em. Have fun and lighten up for God’s sake!!! When you’re having fun, the scoring will take care of itself.
Charles Barkley – The Swing vs. The Mind
The man speaks his mind…openly and candidly. Charles Barkley is an icon of epidemic proportions. Charles is a fun character to observe. He shows up big wherever he goes, sometimes too big…and now he’s a case study for one of the most brilliant golf instructors in the world. He’s the Hank Haney Project, golf instructor to Tiger Woods, as seen on The Golf Channel. Will Hank succeed in his quest in making Charles Barkley a better golfer?
I think the answer to that question is certainly “yes,” at least to some degree by sheer exposure and routine. Hank seems to believe that the problem is with his swing plane, not his mind. However, others like Padraig Harrington thinks that it’s all in Charles’ head and says he “needs a shrink.” Which is it? Is it all swing or all in his head?
Perhaps it’s a little bit of both. Let’s face it, Charles’ has been seen in celebrity pro-ams…and he can be downright dangerous. His swing is awkward and out of plane…so a correction is part of this process. He can also use some redirection with his beliefs and how he talks to himself. Perhaps he’s sooooooooo candidly open and honest to a fault. Keep thinking what you’ve always thought and you will get what you’ve always gotten.
Charles says he’s not getting any better when it comes time to play the course…hence a self-fulfilling prophecy. Or he tells himself that he’s not very good. Another obstacle to him playing his best is that he keeps yapping his trap about how he’s going to beat others. His ego gets the best of him, which takes him even further out of his natural zone or flow. Charles is a piece of work and he gets what he’s asking for…it’s a perfect match.
Now, if he really wanted to get better, I would suggest that he set his intention and begin acting as if it is already so. In other words, Charles, start telling your self a new story instead of the reality of “how it is.” I would invite Charles to return to dreaming his dream, like when you were young and ambitious with visions of being your best as a basketball player. We gravitate toward the picture we are painting. I see doubt and negative thoughts and self-sabotage, along with his thoughts of playing against another (a big ego) being the real culprit or obstacle to him playing his best. It will be interesting to watch Haney perform his magic and see if this mind-memory connection to his golf swing will click and work for Charles on the course when it counts. However, I know that golf is more than just swing plane. Swinging on plane in a repetitive manner must help with some degree of confidence…you would think?
I would go back to the drawing board with Charles and have him set a new intention to the kind of golfer he desires to be. Golf and life will proceed out of your intentions you set for them. I would suggest that he invest the time to begin creating and building a new champion’s self-image within his subconscious mind, “…the five-inch space between his ears,” Bobby Jones. Because our self-image of ourselves runs everything in our life, including our golf game. It’s up to Charles for him to believe in himself. That’s the real key. There’s a balance and harmony between mind, body, and spirit in order to be our best. We gravitate toward the picture we are painting of our self. Charles is his own worst enemy. “We have met the enemy, and he is us,” Pogo. What do you think, Charles?
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