Ever go a week without playing and wonder where you are when you tee it up again? The club in your hands feels like it’s trying to wrest itself free. Right brain kicks in and, with it, survival mode. Then, while playing nine with Dad, you remember how to set up.

We hopped out of the car, and head to number one tee. That’s the way we do it in our family. Trial by fire commences. The fairway looks like a fettuccine noodle with Broccoli Rabe down both sides. Scraping and slashing it around the first four, some positive images leak in. Fortunately, I found birdies do exist without comfort. However, the driver was naughty until the last.

Clear of the eighth hole and walking to nine tee, Dad reminds me to set my clubface, hands, and shoulders first. “Then get your ball position”. Gosh, that was simple. Then, a foreign feeling of confidence accompanied my best drive of the day, which led to an inevitable bird-dogger to finish -2. It is that simple.

The moral of the story is that we have to get metaphorically clear of the eighth hole before we tee it up, right? It’s no mistake that the best players warm up before they play. I’m sure my nine would have been sharper with a warm-up session… maybe. However, if my brain was in golf mode when I arrived, I wouldn’t have needed the reminder. But, no harm was done.

If we know contact is a given, we can warm up without hitting a ball. If we have a checklist, mental or physical, we can play well. For example, my buddy Tim keeps a piece of paper in his bag to aid his rounds. In 2014, he used it to beat the South Florida Player of the Year by two. Remember – logic rules.

Therefore, and still again… open your stance, and play golf.

John Wright – Founder
The Open Stance Academy