FRANK'S WALL
I had a playing lesson with a student the other day — we'll call him 'Frank.'
While Frank had taken a few lessons from me, we'd never teed it up before.
He was a five and working on getting down to that magic 'scratch.' He wanted to play a round with me because he was getting ready for one of his club's important tournaments.
'Surge, you gotta help me. Last week I was playing my best golf ever. Then, wham, I felt like I hit this brick wall. I was leading by three strokes. And this guy I play with, he's about a 10, birdies three straight. I just fell apart and I don't know where it came from!'
This had happened to him several time recently and he wanted me to see if I could 'see' his brick wall.
I have him the honors on the first tee and I immediately saw his 'brick wall.'
Frank, a captain of industry, president of a company ' successful even in today's economy ' that employed thousands of people, a guy who made decisions in the blink of an eye that would affect millions, was stiff as a board.
The weather was perfect.
His Blackberry was in his car.
His setup was near perfect.
But I wasn't sure he was breathing.
'Frank,' I said. 'Step away from the ball for a moment, would you?'
Frank stepped away from the ball. He immediately loosened up.
'A little tense, Frank?' I asked.
'Well sure. I'm playing with my pro!' he, the captain of industry, said.
I had to chuckle a little.
'Frank, here's what we're going to work on today. Staying relaxed is a must to play good golf. The key is to not overdo it. You sure aren't. Mentally, you need to stay relaxed to reduce or hold in check anxiety and tension. If these get out of control, you start making bad decisions, and your heart rate increases. This faster beating heart ruins your swing tempo which ruins shots. Remember, anxiety and stress breed tension and tension breeds speed. The key is to keep your mind relaxed but still sharp and in the moment. For the body, you must relax your muscles to keep tension away, yet they must still perform in maintaining a good dynamic setup and swing.
'So, be relaxed, but don't lapse into a blank mind and limp, loose and lazy muscle tone that can't produce a fine-tuned, precise swing. Take a couple deep breaths, get into the moment, and show me that beautiful swing you have.'
Frank smiled, walked over, addressed the ball properly … and that wall came tumbling down.
You can smash through that same wall as Frank.
After you relax, the next step is to use a dynamically balanced swing that lets the laws of physics and gravity (which never change) do the “heavy lifting” for you — so you can hit the ball farther, straighter and more solid every time.
Even when under grueling pressure.
It works for my son DJ and my other PGA Pro students.
And it can work for you, too.
The Surge!