First, I’ll show you that you are athletic. Please, answer three questions. 1) Are athletically gifted people immediately better at golf? 2) What determines athletic “gifted-ness”? And finally, 3) Are better golfers athletically more gifted? The answers are 1) No, 2) No one has a measurable definition, and 3) Of course not.

Athleticism refers to a trained response. However, we speak of “Athleticism” as “God-given”. As a result, we can put our definition on the highest intellectual shelf. Because, after all, “out of sight, out of mind” is not just true – but convenient. Moreover, a specious definition, made unassailable by misdirection, is also self-fulfilling.

Our bottom line is that EVERYONE is athletic. Because, athleticism has nothing to do with height, weight, vision, or any culturally accepted, proficiency cue. In fact, I created my thesis with one assumption – bilateral symmetry in able-bodied golfers – due to our cultural misdirection. I really believe we need to ask better questions to get better answers.

My research shows the amount of EXPERIENCE we have moving a certain way determines how “Athletic” we seem. Consider highly-trained young golfers. Every swing made is watched, corrected, and owned by their instructor. As a result, kids never learn how to adapt athletically.

Yes, young golfers move proficiently. However, highly-trained youngsters are lost when their swing migrates, because their instructor is absent. Young suffering golfers now either race back to their instructor for help, or blame them for failing. In any case, athleticism is the missing tumbler. I believe instructors have usurped the adaptive experience and, consequently, the athleticism of highly-trained young golfers.

Athleticism cannot be taught, but rather learned by a thinking, feeling, sentient being. For example, legendary tour professionals all possess a self-sufficient ability to make athletic changes, mid round, to remedy poor results. Legends don’t rely on instruction. Legends rely on inherent adaptive ability.

Adaptation is a large part of athleticism and, therefore, cannot originate outside ourselves. Adaptation is an internal reckoning of facts and feedback. And, because we ALL know how to adapt…

Open your stance, and play golf.

John Wright – Founder
The Open Stance Academy