POWER KEY OF 15th CLUB

1.        Dear golfers , if I ask you to give me the most important invention of computing era..?i am sure you will say , the processing power, Artificial Intelligence algorithms, multitasking, and many more such examples. But, to my mind the most important ability which computing gave us is to delete things which are no longer helping us. Remember the days of typewriting when small mistakes use to be a constant pain and gave enough opportunities to the bosses to scold us in their style. The DELETE key of computing has made our task easier to write and re-write various things numbers of times without mentally torturing ourselves and saving ourselves from those countless unceremonious scolding.  

2.        Now taking this analogy to golf, you will agree with me that while preparing ourselves for a competitive round or for a Monthly Medal rounds, we entirely focus on the combinations of  14^th club which we can keep in our golf bag and rarely focus on what I call a 15^th club. Now you must be wondering..? what is this 15^th club?, and also must be contemplating by saying that No..no as per Rules of Golf one cannot keep more than 14 Club otherwise it will lead to severe penalties.  What I will say is that your apprehensions are true but I have named the Mind as our 15^th club. Guys’ losing always hurts, but it hurts much more when you had your chance and threw it away.

3.        To me victory is always lies in the head and in order to practice and acquire these qualities to become an elite player you will need the 15^th club. The power of this 15^th  club is indefinable and infinite. The mental strength separates champions from near championships. My experience have taught me that the ability to put the failure immediately behind will clean out your mind and re-focus you on the task in hand. Deleting the memory of previous bad shot/ swing or experiences will help you to take meaningful control of your emotions and reactions. I do not want you to dwell upon your bad shots/ swings or their unintended outcomes too long but instead use ‘DELETE key” to erase the immediate memory. DELETE key is one of the most important key of harnessing the power of this 15^th club where we make a space to write things a fresh.  It is this ability of mind to use the DELETE key to help us stay more collected and constructive in our frame of mind during competitive and stressing times.

4.        From my experiences to play better golf and win championships, I have the following suggestions for you to practice and harness the power of your 15^th club. The process to make it happen is follows :-

            (a)       Just before the competition, you have to withdraw into a deeper-self and isolate yourself from the immediate surroundings. This will help you to settle down in your own routine.

            (b)       Achieving Perfection in golf is a remote possibility. So try to scale the peak of your possibilities where challenge lies. Remember, Win should not pre-dominantly occupy your mind during the play instead play to give yourself a realistic chance.  

            (c)       As a golfer you have to cage yourself in a protective armour, turn yourself into a bloodless warrior with no sense of pause to bring all unforced liquidity in your golf swing and immediate task in hand to come out Victorious.

            (d)       Endure with whatever comes your way (slice, hooks, OBs, ball in the water, 3 putts etc.etc.), learn to overcome your weaknesses and inflicting pain, push yourself to the extreme end but never cave in, never give up.

            (e)       Stay alert, be patient, do not be rash in your acts and thoughts. Fight the temptation of over swinging the club. This way, it will help you to keep your impatience or frustrations in check”

5.        Dear Golfers, I want you to observe the picture above very carefully. Did you see something worth learning in it, which can be used on the golf course or may be in your life as such ?. Take no worries, I will certainly help you on this to figure out. Let us take a note of most prominent key “DELETE” and then a second key of “CONTROL” on the bottom side and third key of “RETURN” on the top side in the pic. Essentially, these observations give us three step solution to achieve better mental strength. I want you to consider the following thoughts & also write an abbreviation – (DCR ) with a permanent marker on top of your Golf Gloves in such a manner so that it can act as a constant reminder every time you take a grip on the golf club  :-

(a)       DELETE – delete the immediate memory of bad swing / bad shot and their by-product like bad mood, or break in momentum, or loss of concentration, or self doubt, or may be a feeling of uncomfort.

 (b)      CONTROL – take meaningful control of your emotions /reactions to the happening thereby minimise the level of anger and frustration.

(c)       RETURN – return to your original self and re-construct a positive frame of mind before you make a committed swing.

“Always remember to be gracious in your winning moments”

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Joe