Read Online The Natural Golf Swing by George Knudson, Lorne Rubenstein - Free Book Online Page B

though, you’ve neglected to organize your morning schedule so that you can arrive at the course in plenty of time for your game. Come 10:30, you scream out of your office and tear along the highway to the course. You’re pulling off your tie as you drive into the parking lot, and putting on your shoes with five minutes to go before your tee-time. Of course, you haven’t given a moment’s thought to your strategy for the first tee. You jog out there nearly out of breath, say hello to your friends as you grab the driver from your bag, stick a tee in the ground, and whack your first shot out of bounds.
    Foolish start, wouldn’t you agree? But we’re all guilty of it. And yet when we hit our opening shot poorly, we still tend to blame our swings. Sure, the swing was the culprit, but it’s only a reflection of the imbalances we allowed ourselves to feel beforehand. The swing reflects what was going on in our nervous system. Errors in the swing often begin with errors in the mind.
    Balance means
setting up an environment in which you can do your best work
. This comes from knowledge, application, and preparation. The golfer who doesn’t have a clear idea of what he is trying to do will be one scared golfer. He’ll be jerky and out-of-sorts.
    In the mid-sixties, I was playing an exhibition not far from Vancouver. We were flying into Seattle in a little amphibious plane when we ran into trouble. It looked like the thing would go under, but somehow we gotto the dock. I got my stuff together, raced to the car, and made it to the course just in time. The starter was giving me last call to the tee. And what did I do? Exactly what you might think. I knocked the ball out of bounds.
    That’s not the way to balance. Preparation
is
. I normally get up three hours in advance of my tee time and do everything in a nice leisurely way. When I played the U.S. tour, I’d even drive to the course at fifty miles an hour in a sixty-miles-per-hour zone. Never would I exceed the speed limit. Along the way I’d think about how the course might play that day, the shots I’d need. Then I’d go to the range and play every shot I could anticipate. It didn’t matter what club I had in my hands because I was working with the swing motion. It wasn’t that I hit a driver on the range and then a four-iron, as if I were playing the first hole. My mind was on the swing itself, and so I could work with a wedge or a driver. The point was that I was working creatively, not just banging balls. I had a purpose.
    By the time I got to the first tee, then, I’d reviewed the course on my way to the club, and then played it in my mind while on the range. I was giving myself a chance by preparing properly. I didn’t want to self-destruct because of poor preparation. It was all in the interest of balance.
    I can hear you say to yourself: “This is all very well for Knudson, this business of getting up three hours before his tee-off time to prepare for his round. He plays the game for a living. But I don’t. I’ve got things to do at home and the office. I can’t take that much time. I’m lucky to get to the course in time to have a coffee, never mind a leisurely warm-up session.”
    Fair enough. I appreciate that you may not have the time I do. But I make the point anyway. I don’t want you to do anything at the expense of balance. Maybe you shouldn’t plan a golf game if you know you don’t have the time to prepare properly. Better to take care of business, then practise a while and play nine holes. Why exasperate yourself? Do it right and you’ll be further ahead in the long run.
    You don’t play golf, you see, to relax. You relax to play golf. I don’t think you’ll find a balanced, relaxed state on the course if you haven’t brought it with you. You may still want to play, but don’t be surprised if you can’t perform as well as you’d like. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Assess your mental and emotional state. It’s easy but disastrous