Walking on Water

This is just simply.. too cool for words.. watch...

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More Golf

I'm finally back from too much business travel and hoping to get some rounds in shortly. My P.O.S. bag by Acuity that I bought about a year ago cracked at the bottom, so I went to buy a new bag tonight at Golf Galaxy. While I was there, I traded in 3 clubs for some fast cash. Gone are my 3 and 4 irons which I never, ever hit along with my lousy driver. RIP TaylorMade R580...

I picked up a stiff shaft TaylorMade R7 fairway wood which is now my default driver. In talking with a club fitter, he is convinced the stiff shaft will make a big difference for me immediately when using this club. Now let's see how it all works out on the course.

I realize that I'll eventually need a driver in my bag, but for now, I'm hoping I can hit the new fairway wood about 230-240 yards which would be a perfect compliment to my 3 hybrid which I hit about 200 yards or so.

I am hoping to get up early tomorrow and get 9 holes in before work, so we'll see soon enough!

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Book Review and Notes: The Seven Principles of Golf

Not only is this one of the best golf books I've ever read, it's one of the most useful life books I've come across as well. Check out reviews on Amazon and buy it if you feel so inclined.

(Full disclaimer: I received an e-mail from the publisher asking if I wanted to read and review the book... I'm a sucker for a free read so I said yes).

I'm thrilled to have had an opportunity to read this book and took extra time on this post to make sure I captured some of the more important ideas I'm taking away. At the end of the day, I feel like I get it - I really think golf is a direct reflection of how I live my life and I intend to use it as a tool to keep improving myself and learning to live in each moment fully. I'm far from perfect, but I am getting better at both golf and life, I hope.

If you've seen Randy Paush's "Last Lecture" or read his book, you'll know about head fake learning. That when we think we're learning one thing, but in reality, we're learning something totally different, and perhaps even more important. That's what golf is to me - a life lesson head fake. Learning to play each shot and live in the moment and translating that to the other aspects of my life is why I play and keep on playing. It's why I don't care too much after shooting a 105 or worse.

Learning to live in the moment means taking my game and my life off autopilot and taking the controls. it means I have to trust each decision I make and commit to my choices and decisions large and small. I used to think Baseball was the perfect game, but I was wrong... it's golf all the way.

Darrin Gee's book is really not so much about golf, it's more like a book about how to live life and I really, really enjoyed every page of it.

One practical golf lesson Gee talks about in the book is the importance of rituals. I have the basic parts of a golf ritual (line up, deep breath, practice swing and then  hit it), but after really thinking more about rituals, I think I can do better. I'll be working on a specific breath technique that I'm using in my life off the course as well. I said it earlier but I just have to say it again... I LOVE this book!

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Mentally Tough

I know, I know... pathetic showing of blogging lately. Been busy!

I played 9 holes last weekend and shot 44, dispelling my earlier notion that I'd continue to get better through the summer.

Here's a great video to tide you over:

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Hunter Mahan's Golf Magazine Interview

Mahan is an up and coming golfer on the PGA tour. His recent interview in Golf Magazine is OK but his answer to one question in particular caught my eye.

Question: Mentally, you have had your struggles on the golf course. Is that a result of your father always demanding perfection?

Hunter's answer is a signpost (thanks Mr. Tolle) to greater awareness in life. Simple replace "golf" with "life" and add water...

Answer: No, that's just me. That's been one of my weaknesses: trying to be perfect. And then I realized golf (life) has nothing to do with perfection. It has to do with getting the ball in the hole in the quickest time possible (add your own life metaphor here). I haven't seen anyone play perfect yet, and I don't think I ever will.

Golf continues to amaze me.

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The Best Partner... Ever

I played two 9 hole rounds this weekend with the best partner a guy could ever ask for. Way better than playing with Tiger or Bob Hope or any chummy celeb for sure.

I'll take this partner over any in the world, in a tournament or just for fun. She's a joy to be with, hits the ball straight just about every time and never loses her cool.

My 8 year old daughter is an absolute pleasure to play with - she's so calm and funny. She plays quickly, lines up her shots and really watches what's going on. It's amazing to see her learn quickly, avoiding stepping on peoples lines and thinking through her club selection.

We played with two different pairs this weekend - both father/son duos and I know they were blown away by my kid. Not because she's so great, but because she seems to be having so much fun.

I'll take her as a partner any day and am looking forward to the day we can hit a full size course together.

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A Smart Course for Data

Like many of my readers, I'm not a professional golfer. I make my living as a marketer working for Microsoft. My current role has me managing a web site for CIOs (if you are a CIO, drop me a line). In order to keep up, I read trade magazines like CIO and InformationWeek.

This month's issue of CIO has a terrific article on how the PGA does data management. There is a ton of great insights in the article, but the thing that jumped out at me was ShotLink's accuracy:

ShotLink averages about 27 inches of deviation (i.e. ShotLink is within 27 inches of being exactly right on the fairway). On the green, the deviation is 2 inches. Think about those numbers and then remember that a golf ball is an inch and a quarter wide. That's amazing! The system manages more than 32,000 shots over a typical 4-day tournament resulting in some errors of course - but the team prefers to have the data flowing as fast as possible.

The article also points out that players have full access to the system and are able to use the data to refine and understand their game.

Separately, while I'm on the CIO/Golf connection, if you are wondering if Golf is good for your career, check this out.

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