THE QATSPY GOLFER’S PAGE, A Great Quote from Caddyshack
By: Charles W. Boatright
Robin Williams had a great quote about comedy. Comedy can be a cathartic way to deal with personal trauma. Comedy is a great way to shift or divert our attention in order for us to effectively deal with life’s issues.
While attending college, I was unable to play as much golf as I would have liked. When I did play golf, I was inconsistent, and most of the time had no feel for the golf shot. Losing the feel in our golf swing causes the golfer to compensate and start over thinking, or what I refer to as PAS, Paralysis-Analysis Syndrome.
How to Deal with PAS to Improve Your Golf Swing and Game
PAS causes the golfer to do the very thing that the golfer doesn’t want to do during the golf swing and that is to, THINK. While at college during the summer of 1980, some of my friends and I decided to see a movie shown in the Engineering auditorium, called Caddyshack, probably one of the best comedy movies I have ever seen. But like most comedies, it helps us deal with reality more effectively. In the movie was a quote by Ty Webb, played by Chevy Chase. Ty stated to Danny Noonan, played by Michael O’Keefe, Danny, Let me give you a little advice. There is a force in the universe that makes things happen. The only thing you have to do is get in touch with IT. Stop thinking and let things happen, and be the ball.
The Be the Ball quote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWH811TcckU
As the condition PAS infers, the golfer is over-thinking the golf swing, where the golfer loses confidence in his/her feel. Here is how Ty’s quote can be applied to the golf game to improve your golf swing:
FIRST- There is a force- this force is the SUB-Zone, or the golfer’s subconscious mind. This is what athletes refer to as In the Zone. The feel, or the zone, in golf is the golfer’s muscle memory is used to synchronize and preset the golf swing. This must be developed under similar conditions that the golfer will play under. Being on the practice range hitting range balls will not develop a muscle memory performance on the course the golfer is needing. This is the reason in Section 7 of my book, The ESPY Golf Swing Coach, that I developed the 405 Training Drill. This is similar to the scrimmage game in football.
SECOND- Get in touch with IT– IT is the golfer subconscious mind. This is where all our routines, tasks, and instincts, or muscle memory, are located. When you ride a bicycle or drive a car, the person doesn’t have to think about each and every element to perform the task, it has been committed to memory. If the driver develops a zone-like condition, called Driving Hypnosis, or SUB-Zone, the subconscious mind takes over the majority of the driving tasks to the point the driver doesn’t remember certain part of the trip. While this is unsafe for driving a vehicle down the highway, it works great for driving a golf ball down the fairway. Three conditions must be in place for Driving Hypnosis to occur:
- Normal and routine tasks and conditions must exist.
- Rely on a high degree of relaxation, confidence, and muscle memory.
- The conscious and subconscious minds are focused on two different situations, or the SUB-Zone.
Here are the key techniques to develop a SUB-Zone in your golf game- 1) Normal routine- The Force, 2) Relax, be confident, and incorporate muscle memory, presetting the wrists- in Touch with IT, and 3) shift your focus, or Stop Thinking, and just be the ball.
Setting The Wrists for better Power, Speed, and Control.
The proper axis point to preset the wrists. The Carpals in the wrists and not the forearm.
The first three are pretty straight forward- Recognize the Force, Get in touch with IT, and Stop Thinking. The fourth technique in Ty’s quote might be a little confusing for the golfer. How to become the ball? In Driving Hypnosis, the conscious and subconscious minds have to be focused on two different situations, as noted in condition three above. To prevent the conscious mind from interfering with the subconscious mind, the golfer needs to redirect his/her conscious focus. This can be done by how a Major League pitcher focuses on the strike zone and nothing else. The pitcher does not think about his/her mechanics or techniques, the pitcher just focuses on the target in the strike zone. This is where I have my conscious mind become either THE BALL or a forward observer like an umpire, visualizing where the ball will hits in the impact, or strike, zone. Simply put, BE THE BALL or be the ball’s target. This allows the conscious mind, the supervisor, to get out of the way of the subconscious mind that is actually performing the golf swing.
NOTE to Supervisors, if you want to become a more effective supervisor, become a coach, train, set the objectives and expectations, then get out of the way of your team, let your team rely on their training. Your job then becomes more of a supportive role, making sure your team have what they need to complete the project. Don’t think of yourself just as a supervisor, manager, or executive, you are actually a coach to train, teach, and lead, but also inspiring your team. Another reason why golf is a great technique to incorporated into business model and homeschooling settings!
Even if you have non-golfers in your business team, they can be utilized to putt the golf ball once on the green. And if you have new golfers to this great game, play four-man-scramble. This will place less pressure on them and eliminate the intimidation factor. I cover this in my book in Section 11.0, The ESPY Golf Swing Coach for Beginners. This is an excellent way to involve golfers of all levels into the corporate outing, including golfer want-to-bees.
Also please refer to my Developmental Corporate Fitness and Performance Coaching Forum, The QATSPY, Qualitative Analytic Technology for Specific Performance & Yield, please call to schedule an event today 1-888-514-1228 – http://goo.gl/5bdk15.
Purchase your copy of The ESPY Golf Swing Coach to improve your golf swing and game:
The ESPY Golf Swing Book
By: The QATSPY Golf Approach
Charles W. Boatright
Madison, MS
1-888-514-1228
The ESPY Golf Swing Coach:
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E-Book $8.99
Hardbacks, signed if desired, are also available
Purchase a copy of The ESPY Golf Swing Coach on my website, www.espygolfapp.com/store OR at your local bookstore.
You may also purchase my book from one of the following retailers:
Lulu Publishing: The ESPY Golf Swing Coach, Charles W. Boatright
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Once you learn WHY, you don’t forget HOW!
YouTube Videos:
https://youtu.be/ZGVNrIw_wlo (Cam & cam-over elements)
https://youtu.be/K2FDHZ3AX9w (Figuring your proper swing plane)
https://youtu.be/TO82PMO6G8M (Developing muscle memory)
You can make a difference for yourself and your kids by placing a golf club and a copy of my book into their hands. You will never look back, only forward. You should not miss this opportunity for yourself and/or your kids.
A Recommendation for your Golf Game:
I would like to recommend a wonderful radio program that I regularly listen to on my I-Heart Radio app on KARN 102.9 FM, out of Little Rock, AR. They air a golf show called “Arkansas Fairways and Greens,” at 7:00am CST on Saturday mornings. It is hosted by Bob Steel and Jay Fox. Bob occasionally has on his show a guest named Shawn Humphries, a Professional Golf Instructor from Dallas, TX. One thing that Mr. Humphries stresses is the mental part of golf, not focusing on the results but the process.
Until next time– Be Synced, Tee-to-Green, with The ESPY Golf Swing!