When I learned to play the game at the age of seventeen, I had a hunger and desire to learn as quickly as possible and apply what I learned on the course. I remember playing lots of rounds of golf with my Pro at my home course, Mimosa Hills CC in Morganton, NC. Joe Cheves was my teacher and he was commonly referred to as Pro. Every one called him Pro because in every sense of the word that is what he exudes. When I would go out on the course with him, I was always amazed at the level of focus and concentration he had.
When I would struggle with my swing while playing with him, I would ask for his help. Every time I asked for help, he would hold out his hand in the stop position and say to me, you can’t focus on your swing while you’re trying to play. He would always tell me that I needed to trust my practice, be patient, and wait for it to pay off. I just didn’t get that. How could he leave me stranded out there hitting the ball all over the place and not give me one single tip?
It may have been the best playing lesson I have ever had. He taught me to trust my swing, trust my decisions, and focus on playing the game. I had to learn how to play an undesirable ball flight and learn to score no matter how I hit the ball. At the end of each round, Joe would tell me the two or three things I needed to improve on, and I literally hung on every word he spoke and believed that with all my heart he had the right solutions. I trusted him and the things that he told me always paid off.
Sometimes as golfers we lose the focus of playing the game. Somewhere along the way, the message has been you must swing a certain way, look a certain way in order to play the game proficiently. As it is important to have skill development, it is also important to learn how to take what you know about your game and take it to the course.
I want to challenge you the next time you go out to play, to focus on lining up to your target, looking at your target with intention, and finishing to your target with balance.
Keep your mind quiet as you swing and don’t allow your mind to wander during the swing to find a tip or feel. This leads to poor ball striking and frustration.
Have some fun with the game keep it simple and stay focused on the target, because golf is a target game.
