Jul 14 2006
The Causes and Effects of Playing un-Enlightened Golf
The world is full of golfers who play un-Enlightened Golf. Playing Enlightened Golf means playing with ‘awareness, presence, and command;’ all of which are qualities you have seen in the eyes of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. The qualities of an Enlightened Golfer are taught, learned, practiced, developed, and refined; these qualities are also mental aspects of a game which has oft been called 90% mental. And, they aren’t for everyone. Developing mental mastery is easy, but requires desire and commitment; otherwise, there will be little incentive to learn something new.
The fact is that humans mostly think that they are right; and none of us knows what we do not know. This combination leads to a condition we talk about in the Enlightened Golf workshops called a ‘resistance to new learning,’ or a ‘learning-allergy.’ One unfortunate effect of these learning disabilities is that, instead of trying and benefiting from something new and different, most people sit around complaining and saying really smart-sounding things like, “I ain’t ever heard of that before.” Or proclaiming their lack of insight with such declarations as, “I don’t see how…” or “I don’t see why…” Enlightened Golf can improve your hearing and seeing by teaching you things, and by showing you demonstrations, you have never heard or seen before. Your vision will be expanded; you will be informed. Learning-allergies can be cured.
To remain uninformed is the definition of ignorance. The definition of Enlightenment is ‘freedom from ignorance.’ There are many things about your body and mind which you have never been taught, and of which you remain uninformed. Francis Bacon said, “Knowledge itself is power.” The absence of knowledge is to play with less than full-power. By full-power, I mean with the full use of your Mental Skills; the truly valuable golf equipment is not in your golf bag. When you play at less than your full potential, balls go in the lake, get lost trees, bury themselves in sand, and do other tricks.
After one of those ‘stupid-ball-tricks,’ most people are too busy doping-up on their emotions – some just for an excuse to drink another beer – to notice what happens as a result. What happens is Stress; the bent clubs, thrown bags, embarrassment, cussing, drinking, and other unbeneficial (but easy to understand) behaviors are simply warning lights on your dash panel – the bigger the display, the greater the stress your body is trying to cope with. Breaking things doesn’t make you a better golfer; and it really doesn’t make you feel better, either – it’s just a sign of stress.
But when your body is coping with stress, you are in the Stress Response. There are some things which ALWAYS happen in the stress response, and none of them are good for you unless you are actually running from a ‘real’ Tiger or something like that… The AMA estimates that up to 95% of all doctor’s visits are due to stress-related complaints; and we know that stress causes weight gain, high blood-pressure, heart disease and heart attacks, impotence, and every other symptom known to man. Each time you play golf, you are either relaxed & happy, or you are STRESSED. Relaxed & Happy plays good golf; Stress ‘sucks’ at golf. Stress also kills; and playing un-Enlightened Golf is guaranteed to cause Stress. Playing Enlightened Golf could possibly save your life!
Pete Koerner, Sports Performance Consultant