Norman Vincent Peale

It is a Matter of Choice

/ The Grateful Golfer / 10 Comments

Choose to be Happy

I believe that being grateful and happy is a choice. For years I have changed the way I thought to help shape the life I want to live. Has it been easy, no, but definitely rewarding. Some days the light I see at the end of the tunnel feels like a train, but as I continue to shape my thoughts, my world changes shape as well! Every day is a better day.

Change your thoughts, change your world – Norman Vincent Peale

I also believe this mindset is transferable to golf. Golfing is a game of immense concentration for short periods of time. The rest of the time I spend enjoying my surroundings by soaking in its beauty, enjoying the company of my playing partners, or just being in the moment. All this has help me be a better golfer. I feel more relaxed, in control and just plain happy.

I am grateful for so many things and I count my blessing every day! I make it a point of using positive affirmations at the beginning and end of each day. For me, it is a perfect way to start and end my day.

What techniques do you use to positively improve your golf game?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

The Best Part of Playing Golf

/ The Grateful Golfer / 8 Comments

Well it is 02 June and my scores officially start to matter. I have one game under my belt and I can honestly say that I am not near early season form. I have really struggled this year and I am not sure exactly what the problem is…..YET!

Today was a typical round. This is how my round went.

  • 3 bogies
  • 4 pars
  • 2 bogies
  • 1 par
  • 2 bogies
  • 1 par
  • 1 double
  • 2 pars
  • 1 double
  • 1 birdie
  • for a grand total of 82!

I cannot seem to put a string of 6 or so pars together, I count of 2 or 3 birdies a round and I cannot stop shooting double bogies. I realize that…..wait, wait, wait.

Fixing a Swing

Change your thoughts, Change your world!

As Norman Vincent Peale said: Change your thoughts and you change your world!

Well, as a grateful golfer, I need to heed this statement. Golf is about having fun, interacting with like-minded people, and enjoying my surroundings. Although my round looks bad, I actually played better than my score would indicate.

The best part of playing golf is remembering the positive things from each round. Today, for instance, I played golf with 3 nice gentlemen. One was a usual partner, the other two were strangers until, through chance, we played golf together. I hit my driver well and the last hole provided plenty of hope for my next round.

The last hole on our course is a 463 yard par 5 that plays longer than it is measured. I hit my driver about 260 yards, but was left with about 225 to the green. I hit my three wood into the wind and my ball rolled up to about 20 feet from the pin. I was putting for eagle! My putt was perfectly on-line, all 4 of us thought it was dropping for sure, but unfortunately it lipped out to 2 inches and I was left with a tap in birdie.

Golf is an amazing game. No matter how I play, I can always focus on something positive and build on it for my next round. I am officially changing my thoughts and changing my world on the golf course!

What was the highlight of your last round of golf?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Golf Attitude Factor – GAF

/ The Grateful Golfer / 10 Comments

GAF is a new golfing term I developed today on the golf course! My Golf Attitude Factor was on a sliding scale today! I started out as a 10 – dropped to a 3 – and finished as a 6! For those who are staring at the screen with a puzzled look, please let me explain!

Unfortunately, I have not swung a club in a week because of work! I hate it when life gets in the way – especially work! However, all amateurs must bare that cross! So, this morning as I approached the first tee box I was a 10 on the GAF and was looking forward to an excellent time on the links. I was playing with my usual group and their light-hearted approach to golf always make me smile!

As my game progressed, my GAF dropped to a 3! I actually chipped over the a green today….twice! I drove the ball fairly well, but my short game was reminiscent of 20 years ago, but that is life when I do not play for a week or so. My scoring was the worst to date and I was frustrated on every shot….and I mean every shot! Until….

Fixing a SwingOn the 13 hole, I stopped; yes just stopped; I changed my thoughts and changed my game. (Norman Vincent Peale) How this happened was actually very easy and as I look at it after the fact, obvious. My first step was to putt everything out! I know, most of you are saying that I should be doing that anyway, but when frustration kicks in, I have a tendency to stop following my proven successful routine!

Routine is my saviour on the golf course. I score my best when I follow my routine without exception. To help make sure my success, I have to do the following things:

After realizing that my game was not what was expected, I focused on what makes my game better – and hopefully great. After focusing on success, but GAF raised from 3 to 6!

6 is a good GAF considering how I played today. I was happy with my game, thoroughly enjoyed the company, and finished strong. In the future, I am going use the GAF to keep me focused and understand that my steady state should be at least a seven!

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

 

 

Build Confidence When Putting

/ The Grateful Golfer / 8 Comments

DSCF7149Knowing how to putt does not guarantee that a player will be a confident putting.  In earlier posts I presented a 5 part series on putting.  This process works for me and I have been very successful through the years.  Just recently, I realized that I was failing in one very important aspect of putting.  I am not teaching myself to be successful all the time; therefore I am slowly eroding my confidence.

Teaching success is not really that difficult.  “Repetition of the same thought or physical action develops into a habit which, repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex.” (Norman Vincent Peale)  This quote applies directly to putting and here is how.

Putt out every hole!

That is it.  Looking back at last year, I realized that in none tournament play I wasted at least one putt per round because I was not in the habit of putting out every hole.  I know, but when you are chatting with your buddies, I was lax and my focus was not as it should have been.  So during competitions, as the pressure rose on three footers, I probably missed more than I should.  Talk about the Freddy Couples’ Syndrome! 

So this year, I will putt out every hole.  I expect to increase my confidence in my short putts and thereby reduce my handicap.  Any thoughts?

I am a grateful golfer!  See you on the links!