The ART in FIRE

IT IS A BEAUTIFUL TIME OF THE YEAR FOR GOLF

Private Lessons

by Darrell Klassen
Hi Golfers,
We chatted just a bit last time about the change in the weather, and it is now
here.  This is the time of the year to forget about hitting the golf ball longer and simply work on your swing.  I believe I shared with you that about thirty-five or so years ago I committed to hitting at least one if not two or three extra clubs into the greens. That discipline did wonders for my game.

I was already playing to a +5 or +6 at the time, and it seemed that every winter I would
lose something from my game. I could never quite put my finger on it, but when spring
would roll around I knew I was not as sharp as I had been on the late summer and early
fall.  The only thing I could finally attribute to it all was hidden in the fact that I had always attempted to continue to hit the golf ball as far in the winter as I had in the summer and fall. I was fully aware of the fact that I had to swing with both feet  on the ground in order to get it accomplished, but I was able to control my shots quite well and it worked for me.

This particular season I had given a lot of thought about doing my best to gain ground
during the winter, rather than losing ground, so I made up my mind I was only going to
swing at a pace somewhere between 60% to 70% of my energy.
It was not an easy thing to do, even for a player of the ability I possessed in those
years. It really took a lot of discipline to carry it through for the entire winter, but I
managed to do it, and have been grateful for it ever since.

At the start I tried to make it into a fun guessing game. Which club should I take to the
green and how much energy will it take with that club? Soon I began to see something
about the way I personally played the game and it gave me yet another measuring tool
for my students progress.
When I was swinging the club with all my might for all of the years prior to this one, I
was not able to really focus upon my golf swing. All I could do during the golf swing was
to focus upon striking the golf ball and attempting to keep it on the line I had chosen.
When I spent the entire winter swinging the club as softly and smoothly as I possibly
could,  my focus completely left the golf ball and became something completely new and different for me to experience.
I finally learned how to keep my mind on the feel of my swing, rather than upon the golf
ball and doing something with it. What a revelation that was for me.

All of these things I took the time to store both on paper, as well as in my mind. At the
time I began this experiment I had no clue it would be a part of the things I would use in
order to become a Certified Golf/Sports Psychology Instructor.
When we play a sport, no matter which one it would happen to be, we like to play “out of
our mind” or “in the zone.” for some reason in golf we really like that tern “in the zone.” I
guess it sounds like we are really cool and accomplished.
Nonetheless, in our next issue I am going to discuss with you what IN THE ZONE really
means, and how you get there nearly every time you tee it up.

Have fun.
Darrell