Ed's Blog

Practice, practice, practice

I've taken a little hiatus from blogging because I've been goofing off, or you could say "working" on my game or practicing. Our club championship is this weekend and since golf is a difficult, complex sport/game, one really, really needs to practice and get ready to play your best.

Golf is such an involved game, when you play there is a tendency to get totally absorbed, which is good, because the game becomes a great distraction or break from reality. You get so involved in your 4.5 hour round of golf that all of your other concerns are put on the back burner. So, it's a great escape.

On the other hand, golf can be time-consuming as you attempt to improve or play better. I think there's a tendency by some people to put too much emphasis on golf while the rest of their life suffers from lack of attention. Many guys at the club plan their retirements around golf: buying condos in Florida, etc. Many of the guys who are retired enjoy playing the game 4 or 5 times a week (or 6 or 7). Keep in mind that some people drive a 1/2 hour to the course, warm-up and practice for a 1/2 hour, play for 4.5 to 5 hour round, go to the locker room and record your scores, go to the bar, relax, have lunch, etc. It's an all-day affair.

I try to keep a balance, but, as a professor, I don't have to be at work like many people do. I set my own schedule.

But, this week (and the week before), I've played a lot. I'm anxious for the tournament weekend to conclude so I can resume a more "normal" lifestyle. Has all of this warm-up and practice helped? Well, I played decent this summer but, my last 2 rounds actually were really bad. Hey, with golf, who knows? With many activities there's a definite linear relationship ... weightlift more - you get bigger, run more at the track - you get more endurance, etc. With golf - play more - and hope.

Golf Competition: golf is an addictive game. You get some random rewards, and you play more to get those little pieces thrown at you - the perfect shot, the great low round, ... perhaps the biggest thrill - winning a tournament. That's why there's quite a buzz around the club as everyone scrambles to practice. Now, since it's a tournament - your scores go up on a big, big leaderboard for everyone to look at. Therefore, you have a big desire to play your best this weekend - on the other hand, golf is very fickle and unpredictable. You may play just terrible despite the practice. Like an old car, some things that are held together might come un-glued at the last second. This leads to one type of pressure for the players - the potential for embarrassment. A second pressure is the fear of actually winning - when you come down the final hole a grandstand is set up and there's a crowd of beer drinking, rowdy people waiting for you to make a great putt or flub it up. Unless you've played golf, you never know the potential fear this places in the back of one's mind.

There's so much more I could write about the psychological aspects of the game. In a sense, it's a microcosm of life - you have good shots and bad shots, good holes and bad holes, and your emotions ride up and down like a rollercoaster during a competition. Total absorption.

But, there's more to life, I know. But for a while you just get absorbed. I'd write more, but I have a tee-time. Gotta go.

posted by Unknown @ 6:48 AM