Dozens of books have been written about the importance of the golfer’s mind-body connection, i.e. getting your head out of the game, relax, stop thinking and focus on the moment at hand and letting your body play the game. One of the best is Extraordinary Golf by Fred Shoemaker. (You can purchase this book at Amazon.com Extraordinary Golf: The Art of the Possible (Perigee)
In simple terms: to play golf well, you must practice and you must learn to focus in the now moment, in the precise “now” of your golf shot. It takes practice and discipline. And the implications go far beyond golf. But rather than my trying to reword his thinking, here is an interview with Fred Shoemaker presented by WGTF. It’s well-worth the 10 minutes it takes to view.
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This video reminds me of the article “Be Here Now” that was in the edition of “Becoming a Master Student” by Dave Ellis that I used at a community college. “Be where you are when you’re there; be doing what you’re doing when you’re doing it. Be here now!” Great advice for memory skills (which was the point of the article), and even better for everyday life.
Susan… it is great advice… but very hard to follow. Takes a lot of practice to be totally aware. Once in a while I think I accomplish it, but the moment quickly passes… in golf that type of focused attention (say 30 seconds / shot) adds up to about 3 – 5 minutes a hole or less than an hour in a four hour round… probably less time than that… but it is still difficult. I’m working on it though.
Great video,
Some really good insights on the whole mind and body connection.
Thanks for sharing
Cheers