Showing results for "Decks" in Golf

Zen Golf Deck is a collection of brief lessons and exercises drawn from Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game. Applied in actual on-course sessions with golfers, including many PGA TOUR and LPGA players, they will introduce you to a unique perspective that brings together techniques of modern psychology and ancient wisdom traditions. Each lesson in the Zen Golf Deck will give you ways to make your mind an ally instead of an enemy, helping to reduce frustration, increase consistency, and lower your scores.

Golf is so much more than the scorecard and those birdies that are rarely made. It's about the people you meet along the way. From lifelong bonds to unexpected fast friends, Off the Deck highlights the lives and stories built through the game of golf.

There are reactions to good and bad shots that are common to most golfers. If we hit a drive down the middle of the fairway, we might bend down and pick up our tee before the shot has even landed. If we hit a poor shot, we follow it to the finish and get upset. Here’s a post-shot routine that reverses those responses. When you hit a shot that comes out just the way you pictured it, get some emotion going.

Less than one percent of all golfers have completed a round of golf on par or better. That makes it a rather unrealistic target score for all but the most skilled among us. Measuring yourself against the par on the scorecard is a setup for failure for the average golfer. Another problem with par is that it is printed on scorecards and signs. When it was first used, the number set as “par for the course” varied according to the difficulty of the course conditions under which a competition was played.

Sense perceptions are necessary for creative imaging of the shots we intend to play. Our senses collect information that we use to direct our mind and body in executing a golf shot and everything else we do. Therefore, it is very helpful to practice awareness of our sense perceptions and how they are experienced.

Many years ago in Japan, a student came to a master swordsman and said, “If I become your devoted student, how long will it take for me to master the sword?”

The master replied, “Perhaps ten years.”

“That’s a long time,” said the student.

“If I try really hard, how long would it take me?”

The master replied, “Oh, maybe twenty years.”

The student was shocked. “First you said ten, now you say twenty years. What if I try as hard as I can?”

Shambhala is a legendary kingdom that is a model of enlightened society, like the story of Camelot and its ideals of genuineness, confidence, and dignity. Shambhala warriorship is not about conquering others and wreaking destruction. It is about having the bravery to overcome aggression, to manifest fearless gentleness. The fundamental training of a Shambhala warrior is based on the Buddhist practices of mindfulness and awareness in action.

The best preparation for any shot is to have an image that is as complete and precise as possible. For putting, imagine the ball rolling the full distance to the hole. See in your mind’s eye the way it will change speed and direction. See the path it will take all the way to the exact point on the edge of the hole where the ball will fall in. In the following pages are techniques, exercises, and routines that will help you feel confident over any putt.

Once a man wanted to get to a particular island just outside the harbor. He went to the dock and found that two boats moored next to each other were both leaving for the island at the same time, but taking different routes. Not being sure which would be better, he stood with one foot in each boat trying to decide. He still hadn’t made up his mind as the boats pulled away from the dock, and still couldn’t decide when the boats started to go their separate ways.

The key to getting the distance right on long putts is getting a good feel for the speed of the green. Here’s a putting drill that will quickly give you a feel for the pace of the green. On a level area of the practice green, line up several balls about 20 feet away from the fringe. Set up to the first ball and focus on the distance from the ball to the fringe. Then make your regular stroke, putting toward the fringe.

I’d like to congratulate you. You have a perfect swing. Now, you’re probably thinking, “What’s that about? He’s never seen my swing.” Well, I don’t need to, because I didn’t say the perfect swing (which, by the way, doesn’t exist, since we are all as different as snowflakes). I said a perfect swing, and everyone has one. Your perfect swing is the best one you can make today.

To deal with last­-minute thoughts, those internal conversations about the shot right before you swing, I suggest an approach taken from body surfing. If you want to swim out where the wave starts so you can ride it in, you have to get past the breakers. Fighting through these breakers takes a lot of strength and energy, and more often than not the waves knock you back.

Playing the game of golf can inspire us to embody gentleness, inquisitiveness, and fearlessness. Gentleness means being kind to ourselves and considerate of others. We can take delight in conducting ourselves as gentle men and gentle women in golf and in life. Fearlessness means being more curious than afraid, trusting in our basic goodness and manifesting unconditional confidence in every situation we encounter.

Simple yet powerful keys for keeping your composure and the mental edge over your opponents, and will help you play with more consistency, experience less frustration, and shoot lower scores.

Simple yet powerful keys for keeping your composure and the mental edge over your opponents, and will help you play with more consistency, experience less frustration, and shoot lower scores.

Simple yet powerful keys for keeping your composure and the mental edge over your opponents, and will help you play with more consistency, experience less frustration, and shoot lower scores.

Simple yet powerful keys for keeping your composure and the mental edge over your opponents, and will help you play with more consistency, experience less frustration, and shoot lower scores.

Simple yet powerful keys for keeping your composure and the mental edge over your opponents, and will help you play with more consistency, experience less frustration, and shoot lower scores.

Simple yet powerful keys for keeping your composure and the mental edge over your opponents, and will help you play with more consistency, experience less frustration, and shoot lower scores.

Simple yet powerful keys for keeping your composure and the mental edge over your opponents, and will help you play with more consistency, experience less frustration, and shoot lower scores.