I just got back from a wonderful trip to Half Moon Bay Golf Club where I embarked on another tournament competition. There is just something about teeing it up in competition that raises your awareness to how your body moves and what your reaction is going to be in regards to the turn of events during the course of play. This is what I found out. I would first like to say that with two small children, between the ages of 2 and 3 1/2, I was unable to prepare the way I was accustomed to preparing for such events when I was a more serious player.
This would be the first time I played an 18-hole round since August 1, my last tournament. This in itself makes for some real excitement for me, because I really am hitting the ball into the unknown.
Things started out well that morning, no arguments with my sweetheart of a wife. I know better, don't poke the bear in the zoo. After all, she has the kids for five hours at Half Moon Bay while I am about to grind my day away at the golf course. After a nice Jacuzzi with my son and daughter and a swim, or should I refer to it as a piggy back ride in the pool, I was able to get my wife to drop me off 15 minutes prior to check in.
My wife just loves me so much she can't stand to be without me, I'm a lucky guy. This is a bit late for most, but being a superstar like myself, I decided to chock it up to a minor diversion from what I was really there to do, hit the ball into the unknown. I was told due to my late arrival that my group was changed. Instead of playing in a group of professional players I would be with several amateur players and a pro from the Canadian Tour.
I was unable to find them or my bag because of the mix up but things worked out just fine when all the carts had left for the shotgun start. There sat my clubs on a cart all to myself, perfect how it worked out. I love to ride alone.
I think I will try this tactic again in the future. I made it to my hole in perfect timing and off we went. The amateurs were great guys and the other pro warmed up after he saw he was trailing me by a few shots on the front nine. The first little hiccup I had come after one of the amateurs walked straight down the line of my 15-foot birdie putt on the seventh hole of the day. It was as if he was walking on a tight rope. He then offered his helpful tip after I stuck the putt, "Go, go, go! Too bad. Never up never in!"
After the putt bounced down to the hole finishing in the lip, trying to be a better Christian Guy, I let the situation drift on by. It seemed rather pointless to create any embarrassment over someone stepping in my line. With all that is going on in our world today I feel funny about even bringing it up again. But it's funny to write about.
I would like to offer this advice to those readers that don't get to play much golf with better players -- always watch out for the line of your playing partners and don't talk to their ball. That one might sound strange but it messes with their focus.
After finishing my front nine -- birdie, par, bogey, birdie -- I felt very good about how I was able to let go of the tension that builds up from thinking. I discovered that thinking is just bad. You just have to do a somewhat accurate appraisal of the shot and get oblivious to what is about to take place. Funny to think about it that way, yet the more I found myself trying to get focused, the worse the shot would come about. The less I cared about the outcome, the more relaxed I could be throughout my swing. It was a spot on the way to develop the rhythm and timing of my day.
We finished in the dark. I hit my first errant drive of the round out of bounds on my last hole of the day, and I finished with a par on my second ball. To be frank, I really hit the first drive well just in the wrong direction. The double-bogey gave me a 76. I have found a new path with this stuff and although that doesn't sound like any great score, I have decided to frame it differently. It was a fantastic learning experience with how to deal with adversity. I am developing into a Bruce Lietzke type player. Not by choose but instead by design of being a good husband and father. And that is my goal -- to enjoy myself and the people that I play with under all circumstances. I want to develop my own complete and constant imperturbability and the swing that I teach really does work just as long as I was able to stay aware to my surroundings. If you would like to learn more on the swing they really use on the PGA Tour go to 7mythsofgolf.com.
Bill Bondaruk is a PGA Class A member. After traveling the mini tours, Bondaruk taught for a few world-renowned golf schools, including John Jacobs, Jim McLean and Scott Sackett's Resort Golf. He was Director of Instruction at Arizona National and swing instructor for the University of Arizona men's and women's golf teams. He has worked with a list of tour professionals as well as collegiate stars.
