Every morning I rise early from my slumber and slowly amble towards the kitchen. I prepare the coffee, have a small snack, and set up my computer to check the news (not just golf stuff) and of course the weather. This time of year offers some unique challenges to playing golf and each morning I like to think about my golf game and of course the activities I will do before or afterwards. It is a solid routine that allows me to wake up slowly and develop a plan to accomplish something during my waking hours.
I really enjoy this quiet time because it affords me the opportunity to reflect on my happenings for the day. Additionally, I can revisit my plan for the previous day and slide unfinished tasks forward. It really helps me accomplish the many things I like to do over the space of a day, week or month. However, with a focus on golf, the time of introspection helps me develop a focus for that day’s round of golf.
Take yesterday for example, I was scheduled to play at 1:30 pm and follow that up with a 9 hole Men’s Night. This fits our routine of when to play and I was excited to tee it up since I had not played the day before. As I look at the weather map, I see that we were expecting a fair bit of rain over the course of the morning, but it was going to be clear for our 27 holes.
That means the course was going to be wet and soggy. This piece of information impacted what I was going to wear, the the extra wet weather gear I might of had to carry. Additionally, I thought about how I was going to pick the ball more because of the wet conditions. The greens would be slower and the roll off the longer clubs much less. All of this were factors I used when developing my ‘golf game plan’ for the day.
As you read this, I am sure some thoughts run through your mind about over thinking things. Well, actually what this time of reflection does is allows my to stay focused on life matters. I do not just think about golf, I plan when I will accomplish my chores, set priorities, and basically count and offer the blessings in my life. The time, early in the morning, is important to my mental well being and I enjoy pondering about what is going happen next.
Over the years, I have been inspired by a phrase I hear when I was going through my first round of treatments. Not matter what happens, I have the ability to “Create the day I want!” Simply put, my thoughts and actions will shape my day, positively and negatively, so my time in the morning helps me mold my day into something positive and enjoyable (on and off the golf course).
Yesterday, as I sat and pondered my day, I realized that life is fantastic and I tried to embraced every moment with a positive attitude. Besides, I was going golfing with my friends and that is always a good thing.
I offer you positive thoughts for a fantastic day and hope you can ‘create the day you want!’
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 
A wonderfully positive attitude- thanks for reminding your readers.
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My pleasure Linley.
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The most critical distance in golf is the 6 inches between the ears. I don’t know who to credit with that axiom, but it fits every player. If I’m up, I need to stay grounded. When I’m down, I must remember that golf is not a game of perfect!
Thanks again for your sharing your thought and reminding me to enjoy my day!
George
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George,
Thanks for the kind words and yes, golf is to be enjoyed for sure. I totally agree with view on the 6 inches of real estate between our ears being the most important to our game.
Cheers Jim
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I just watched this video and had to share.
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Kevin
There is a great deal of info in that video. I think his points are important for the more advanced player who has more of a grip on their swing and understand the relationship between swing plane, stance, grip and club face. Sometimes that is just too much for most to take in at one time. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers Jim
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You could be right about that. This video makes it much simpler. He breaks it down as swinging high to low (fade/slice) vs swinging low to high (draw/hook). The lesson is to help correct slices and hooks, but it also teaches fades and draws in the process.
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Kevin,
I like the first tip about keeping my back to the target just a bit longer. It is another way to create that torque between the upper and lower body that is needed to hit the ball far. It is more challenging the older I get.
Cheers Jim
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Right back at ya Jim.
Well the weather wasn’t as cooperative as I’d hoped, but we got to play. It was a lift clean and place kind of day out there though. So scoring was harder and I was pretty happy with my one over round. There are bad swings and then there are really bad swings. I only had one of the latter and it was my second swing of the day so forgivable. Had I aimed for it, it would have been fine, but I faded that shot right into trouble. I missed two fairways with my driver, but both were playable and I hit one too high, but again, it didn’t stop me from making the green with the next shot so, no real problem. Twice I pulled shots more than expected while playing from angles on the sides of little mounds. But I was playing pretty safe and that didn’t hurt me in the end either. And I hit some real quality shots out there today. Yesterdays work on hitting center face paid off quite a few times today. Not the least of which came on the last hole when I got to try for eagle positioning. My 3 wood approach landed on the front of the green and the ball ran off the back maybe 6 yards. I haven’t been in position to try that in a long time on that hole. The lob shot I tried for my eagle attempt came up 6 feet short, but I did drop the putt to end with a birdie for a 2 over round. And when I got home, I found that the new golf hat I ordered from Tilley’s arrived. A bonus I wasn’t expecting for days. A rather good day all in.
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Kevin,
Great to hear that you had a fun time on the links. It always makes for a better day when there is very little drama. I really enjoy those days.
Cheers Jim
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