March 26, 2010

Brutal Winter...finally out playing again.

what i learned golfing with Ben today:

before we started, Ben said, remember that time i hit that awesome shot? playing with confidence is a huge thing, i tried to tell him over and over how good of a golfer he was. on the first hole, his confidence soaring he hit a 45 foot putt literally to two feet. his next putt rolled by the hole by 15 feet....but oh well. you win some and you lose some.

he also had a two footer that he looked at and said: i can really score this one daddy, after he missed it, he looked at his four footer coming back and said: i can really score this one.

i think the biggest lesson i learned today is simply to BE PRESENT IN THE MOMENT. This is so hard for us in life, and especially in golf. always thinking about the last shot we chunked, the bad putt we just hit, the three putt on the last green, etc. etc. etc. golf experts would say: just be present on this shot, don't worry about what is next or what was last. BE PRESENT IN THE MOMENT. Ben does this really naturally, most kids do. he wiffed 5 times, hit the 6th one and got a huge smile on his face, he didn't let the last 5 misses ruin the join of a well struck shot ont eh 6th one. he found a tennis ball on the course and was so excited to bring it home to hank the dog. every time we got in the cart he had great joy just from driving the cart down the path. the kid was living in the moment the entire time.

i was struggling. i was dealing with some emotional issues this day and wasn't really enjoying the moment. wasn't fully present, wasn't really enjoying the time with my Son Ben...i was somewhere else, thinking about other things. distracted and not enjoying the time. i finally turned a corner on the 7th tee...got focused, thought about my shot put everything else out of my mind and hit the best shot i did all day, a three wood that went 215 yards and was tee high about 15 feet from the pin. i wonder how well i would play if i was in the moement all the time. i also hit an incredible 4 iron on hole 9, 160 yards, uphill and into the wind to 15 feet. unfortunately i hit my putt 4 feet past the hole and missed the come back for a three putt. i was already writing the chapter in my head and the pressure got to me. it's hard to know that if you miss a putt, you're goign to have to tell the world about your three putt. also, shot a three wood from 235 out into the woods and lost a ball. mental game.

Ben was finding pinecones, playing wiht animals, eating popcorn and lemonade, having the time of his life because he was fully present in the moment. i was somewhere else, not fully present, and it was ruinging my ability to have a good time, and making it very difficult to play good golf. BEN TAUGHT ME TODAY TO TRY TO LIVE IN THE MOMENT!!!