Golf Coach 101 Luckier & Luckier


Sonoma County, CA. ~ “The more I practice the luckier I get.” These immortal words of the golfi ng leg- end Ben Hogan ring true through the ages. Practic- ing one’s craft takes time but in this


crazy, mod-


ern world of ours; where do we fi nd the time to practice our craft? Things around us always seem to grab our attention,


disturb


our peace or hijack the best of inten- tions. Sometimes fi nding a way out of


UPBEAT TIMES, INC. • February 2018 • 17 by James Fish • james524@gmail.com


formulas alone don’t always get us there. Sometimes we have to take the road less trav-


this shot laddie!” I decided to listen. The ball was sitting up and I needed 210 yards to get to the fl ag, tucked into the back right corner of the green. It was a dangerous shot. And as the ball fl ew off of the clubface on a hot, piercing


trajectory


towards the left edge of the green, I knew it was a great shot. The ball man- aged to carry the large, greenside bunker


guarding


the maze re- quires listening to one’s intuition or thinking out- side the box.


thought that


Golfers have historically rely-


ing on skills alone would be their best bet for survival. Yet


there are


times when we


eled.


“The more I practice, the luckier I get.”


might all agree that


taking a leap of faith is not such a bad thing. In fact


that very leap of faith may be the rainbow bridge which con- nects us to something as equal- ly profound as our survival; and that my friends is the shim- mering realm of success. Such a kingdom for many does exist, but blueprints, roadmaps and


Indeed I have been accused by some of taking the scenic route on a golf course. Guilty as charged.


Nev-


er-the-less I have found a way to make an ally with the rough. Thick and heavy grass can sometimes be our friend. In my most recent game of golf, I found myself on the tough par-4 sev-


enth hole at Foxtail North in the deep rough after a pulled tee-shot. With a large body of water hugging the entire right side of the hole, a pulled tee- shot into the left rough wasn’t all that bad. The safe play would have been a lay-up shot with an 8 or 9-iron. But when I heard the voice of my intu- ition say, “4-wood, you got


the left front edge of the green and released to about 28 feet above the hole. My intuition


said, “One ball out left.” With my new left-hand low putting stroke I delivered the perfect strike to the putt and watched it as it slowly found its mark to drop in for a birdie. That birdie brought me back to one over- par which is where I fi nished my round. And so the more I listened to my intuition, the luckier I got.


James Fish works as a golf teaching pro at the Foxtail Golf Club and can be reached via e-mail at:


james524@gmail.com


refuge to Hawaiians, open to all who fi nd their way here. The second picture is taken from our patio with a beautiful view of Keahoua Bay. Aloha, Rose and Bruce Lamanna frpm Sonoma County California.


This is a picture from Pu’uhonua o Honaunau (Place of Refuge) National historic park located on the big Island of Hawaii. . On our self guided walk, displayed here is a small wooden Temple with a thatched roof. The legend of the Royal Grounds were claimed to be a center of power, open only to chiefs. Today it remains a beauti- ful park visitors can enjoy, still a sacred place of peace, calm, and


Upbeat in Hawaii!


Available on iTunes and Amazon Joanne L. Mumola Williams, PhD


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Just keep taking chances and having fun. ~ Garth Brooks UPBEAT TIMES, INC. • February 2018 • 17


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