Recently I played a round of golf with an 85 year old woman and she beat me. Easily! I drive the ball a fair distance, at least 30 yards further than my companion, but for accuracy she had me beat. I watched her as she played the round. Long game, short game, it didn’t matter. Each shot landed perfectly, just where she wanted it to go.

For my part, I was playing what they call “military golf.” Left, right, left, right— I was all over the place. I would set up carefully, check my feet, my hips, my shoulders to be sure they were all in alignment, perpendicular to the target. My stance was correct for each shot, with the ball either forward or back a bit. I was really trying to focus and concentrate on making the best shot I could. And then, when I was finally set,  I “thwacked the ball” with all my energy, and #$%@!, off it went to the right, to the left, —the ball sailed down the golf course to land anywhere but the spot at which I was aiming. My game was a disaster. What was I doing wrong? How could this 85 year old woman beat me so badly?

After our round of golf, I asked her to join me for lunch in the country club grill so I could go over my round and ask her advice. The first thing she told me was that she had been playing golf for over 50 years! That gave me some comfort as I am comparatively new at the game. The fact that she had several Club Championships under her belt also helped. But what was the secret to her accuracy?

“Your set up is fine. You’ve got all the fundamentals right,” she told me. “But I was watching you swing. Your swing is so fast that your club can’t keep up. And you swing too hard, which throws off your set up. The secret is to relax and swing easy. Don’t try to push the ball, or scoop it up, or even help it get where it’s going. Just swing.”

“You make it look so easy,” I said. “Every shot seems just right.”

“One thing you might try in order to slow down your swing is to come up with a phrase or a rhythmic pattern you can say to yourself. Something like, one-two-three, with the one-two as you lift the club and the three as you swing. Sort of like a waltz. That might help. Remember, less is always more when it comes to the golf swing. I used to try to slam the ball like you did today. I learned long ago to stop trying so hard. Just let the club do what it’s designed to do.”

This from an accomplished 85 year old golfer, it sounded like good advice.