The golf brain… and the 17th @ Sawgrass
My overall brain is in relatively good order. My golf brain is not so healthy though, nor has it ever been. Periodically, I stand over shots, and my golf brain says “You’re gonna hit this good.” And guess what, I do. Then again, I stand over shots, and my golf brain says “This shot is not gonna be good, or even worse, this shot has disaster written all over it” And what happens? I think the answer is obvious. I’m afraid my golf brain has sent more not so good messages than good ones in my career, which I’m pretty sure has contributed significantly to me being permanently suspended in golf mediocrity.
What made my overall brain think of this was watching the infamous 17th hole at the TPC at Sawgrass during the Players Championship coverage this week. This hole looks like such a daunting task on TV doesn’t it? This small parcel of land, surrounded by a Pacific Ocean type body of water. You can “see” why it’s so scary to pros and mere mortals alike. Golf brains better be on full battle alert to tee it up here.
Well... I have actually had the “opportunity” to play the TPC @ Sawgrass, and face the 17th. I had to play it. It was right there, between the 16th and 18th holes. Even before I got there, I was getting nervous about the “task ahead.” When I took my ball out of the hole on 16th, it was time to meet the demon. The demon was certainly “as advertised.” Completely intimidating, the green looking distressingly tiny amid all that H20. The shot from the tees we were playing was about 135 yards, slightly downwind. I removed my 9 iron from the bag, put the tee in the ground, and the ball on it. What would the golf brain say??? Well, I’m afraid it had “spoken” long before the moment of truth, and my first two attempts on 17th made their predictable journeys to watery graves. I was going full Roy “Tin Cup” McAvoy, and went to the bag for another ball, committed to making the shot. Fortunately, I didn’t have Roy’s caddy to argue with me! Did I have enough balls in there to ever hit the green? Well, ball number three produced a pretty nice, high golf shot that finished about 18 feet of the pin. Two putts later, and a nice, clean, 7, was recorded on the card. As I departed the demon, I looked back at the tee and thought, I shouldn’t have let that darn golf brain do me in! Nice thought…a little late.
So... what have we learned here? It’s abundantly obvious. Once the golf brain starts talking trash to you, you’re in trouble. It has been well chronicled what a “mental game” golf is. Working on one’s focus and “committing” to hitting a good shot are imperative to playing successful golf. Any professional golfer, basically any good golfer, golf instructor or sports psychologist will tell you so. I don’t need to give anybody a check to tell me this. But why in the heck won’t my golf brain stop tormenting me? It is indeed a demon, like the 17th @ Sawgrass.
Enjoy the Players Championship on TV this weekend and think of me when they show the 17th. Play the hole in your mind and think how your golf brain would handle it.
Note: On the Friday the 10th round @ The Players, 50 golf balls found their way into the drink on 17 firmly eclipsing the previous record of 45, established in 2000. Hey, now I don’t feel so bad…………….
