Minds and Battlefields

Hello, friends. As I sit here watching the smoke rising off my keypad (wishful typing), I am reminded about the amazing journey of a lifetime that the game of golf creates. Starting at an early age while just trying to hit the ball off the ground to advancing into the professional realm, pressure is something you always have to deal with. Half of the battle is external, playing the course and dealing with your game. But I believe that the greater path to success lies within conquering the internal half found between your ears. Faith in yourself and discovering who you are on the golf course will take you farther than any set of lessons. My definition of beating pressure is the opportunity to overcome fear with execution, founded in trusting yourself. You can be your own worst enemy; you are your own best encourager. Only believe!

Way back in the day I actually caddied at an LPGA Tour Q-school event. This tournament carries a pressure unlike any other. There are usually one or two stages that you must first pass, and the level of play gets better and better as you progress. You are actually playing for the next year or two of your future, and you must finish in the top 25 or 30 of the field that week (out of approximately 120) to earn your playing card. I worked for a young girl named Jody Rosenthal, but my job that week was fairly easy. She was an All-American college player so we just had to avoid a crash and burn. This is caddy talk meaning that her college ranking and talent should enable her to easily pass her golf test. I helped her to think conservatively, to avoid any large numbers and to remember to breathe! She played well and finished top-10, earning her playing card. It was the first time I have ever been hugged and kissed on the 18th green of a tourney.

Another really cool thing about golf is that you can learn some amazing life lessons during the hunt. From chasing your Tour card to enjoying a good walk with friends, this unique game allows a place for every level of skill, or lack thereof. I love this game, I hate this game. To quote a fellow survivor, “ I quit! I never want to play this game again but I can’t wait to tee it up tomorrow!”
Golf is:
“…a puzzle without an answer.” –Gary Player
“…a game of expletives not deleted.” –Dr. Irving Gladstone
“…a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an even smaller hole with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose.”-Winston Churchill
“…a game of endless predicaments.”-Chi Chi Rodriguez
“…not a fair game. It is a rude game.”-Fuzzy Zoeller
“…an awkward set of bodily contortions designed to produce a graceful result.”-Tommy Armour
“…20 percent mechanics and technique. The other 80 percent is philosophy, humor, romance, melodrama, companionship and conversation usually resulting in tragedy.”-Grantland Rice
“…a game where the ball always lies poorly and the player always lies well.”-Anonymous
“…a game where I don’t have a handicap. I’m all handicap.”-President Lyndon B. Johnson
“…the most over-taught and least-learned human endeavor. If they taught sex the same way they teach golf, the human race would have died out years ago.”-Jim Murray

Enjoy storming the fairways of your mind …
Scotty

Thinking Like A Pro

It's been nearly 10 days since I last connected with you. I've been traveling about Europe experiencing some great friendships. But now it's time to head home and play some golf.

I've been talking about the enjoyment I experienced at QSchool and now I head home to start my 2012 season and put some of the things I learned at QSchool into action.

Action is a key word. I was talking with a good friend and life coach, Gary Cockroft, about how I need to move ahead. He was commenting on the importance of moving past the technical aspect of playing and move into a place of action, or playing my game.

I realize I have been centering my blogs around this for a while and it's mostly as a reminder to myself to move into that place and not let others talk me out of playing my game...even if my game is a lttle riskier than the normal game. A little out of the box...off the map...around the corner...even some might say over the top.

I can hear the nay sayers, "Why can't you be like everyone else?" This is why I'm writing so often about moving into this because it's hard to step outside of the norm and put to the test 'your game.' What if I fail? What if after all this talk I fail to make the cut?

I will have done it with a smile on my face and a happy heart. I will, God willing, have encouraged someone else along the way to step into their bigger self and I will have walked into a place I've never been.

I head home to Cali tomorrow. Waiting for me are my clubs, my desire and my next tournament to open my 2012 season.

Here's to you and I walking into our bigger self this year!

Hit'em hard and look up,
Byron


To visit Gary Cockrofts coaching site go to: http://path-ways.net/Pathways/WELCOME.html

Remember!

Today my mind began to wonder towards the next tournament. We are presently in Bornholm, Denmark a small island with approximately 40,000 residents in the winter. To drive around the island is 60 miles and has 4 golf courses. But today it is 30° and snow covered. It would be a great place in the summertime to practice though.

Back to my mind wondering...

I think it's been good to take a break from golf. I guess this is like the off season for me as I am in forced exile with my clubs in Phoenix, me in Europe with snow and ice all around. I should do something 'Rockyesk' and run down a country road in snow boots and a heavy coat yelling something...golf appropriate.

It's interesting to take breaks. I've had a number of folks look surprised like I'm not allowed to rest and that I must always be in the midst of it all. It's not until you take a break that you realize how important and valuable they are. To much of a good thing is still to much!

It also shows me how much I love this silly little game and look forward to my return.

Here's a little picture from Alvor, Portugal near our qschool course.

Hit'em hard and look up,
Byron

PS. The knee seems to be healing fine. I arrive home February 25, just in time to prepare for a Champions Tour qualifier.

Totally Whinning...

Crystal and I are in southern Germany at the moment, attempting to stay warm as we didn't come prepared for the cold snap. I'm totally whinning. But I have some right if you look in my suitcase and see lots of golf shirts. What was I thinking.

My clubs went home with Matt where they wait expectantly for my return. It's been a week since qschool and I'm very excited about getting home to work on the game change. To stand over each shot and see it the way I would desire to play it. It's that time in my golf career when I get to step into a place of sheer fun and even enjoyment.

Which is part of the joy of playing tournaments. To create shots and then pull them off. On our practice round, before we left Portugal, it was a busy day with many people waiting on tee boxs so, Matt had me call my shot or tell me what kind of shot he wanted me to hit. By the back nine the other groups around us are starting to bet if I can pull off the shot. (I don't think there was money involved...I'm sure there wasn't).

That was great fun. It was creative, unique to how I love to play the 'game' and part of my personality. I'm looking forward to this years tournaments and all that lies before me, because I took a little risk to go where my heart suggested going.

Crystal and I have until February 25 here in Europe. It's a much needed break as my knee is starting to feel better as I rest it. But I am looking forward to being back out there.

Thanks again for all your kind words of encouragement, prayers and thoughts.

Hit'em hard and look up,
Byron

The Drouthers

Now comes the tedious bits. Preparing my schedule for the year. Having missed the cut (I don't like having to say that) it's now time to consider where, when, what kind and how many tournaments I can play in 2012.

If I had my complete drouthers, I would play the Sunbelt Senior Tour for the remainder of the year. It's an excellent tour with great players (but that's true of any tour) and all full events. And a drouther has to be worth something!

I'm not the administrative type. I'm more than a little challenged in that way but I do my best and push on through. And it doesn't hurt that I'm in Lisbon, Portugal waiting to join Crystal in Germany as I follow after her as she speaks in Germany, Italy, Denmark and England. Woohoo!

If my drouthers are going strong then I'll be home February 25 and will go play a tournament five days later. That would be great.

I'm going to put up my dream schedule for the year over the next few days. In the mean time I'm going to try and stay warm while in Eurpope as it's not California right now.

Hit 'em hard and look up,
Byron