Tiger recently made a comment about his 142-consecutive cuts made in his diary. He says, "Mostly, the streak represents good execution down the stretch or good, old-fashioned luck." Instead of "or," I would have used "and." His streak is definitely good execution on his part and in one of my earlier posts I talked about having luck when playing golf. It's nice to see that a player of his caliber can admit to having some lucky bounces now and then.
His other thought was, "You never know what can happen if you keep trying." That's a great reminder for us in whatever endeavor we are in. Whether it's getting ten no's when cold calling or trying to beat your personal best golf score, keep trying and you will get a different result. It might not be the one that you want, but it'll be one that you can learn from.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
No Cheating Here!
Yesterday I had a great time playing in a scramble. The woman who invited me is a bank vice president and included in our foursome was her husband and a member of the country club that they are all members of. As a fundraiser for a local college, they, of course, sold mulligans and raffle tickets.
We each had two mulligans for the entire round. It was such a delight to play with this foursome because there was never a hint of cheating with the mulligans. I've played in others where some of the other players were a little generous with how they used their mulligans, and even though I said something about it, it still happened.
With my foursome yesterday, we kept count of the mulligans and when we were out of them, we were out. On our 17th hole, we could have used a mulligan because we ended up shooting a bogey on that hole. But, there was never any question and we took the bogey on our card.
In a business golf round, I'm less apt to call someone when they're cheating whether out of ignorance or intentional. I keep a mental note of it though. But, in a tournament, I don't want to be a winner when I know there was cheating. We didn't win yesterday, but it felt good to know that our two under was legit. Although we didn't win in golf, two of us won some nice raffle prizes--enough of them for each of us to take something home. So we each left as a winner, most importantly, with our integrity intact.
We each had two mulligans for the entire round. It was such a delight to play with this foursome because there was never a hint of cheating with the mulligans. I've played in others where some of the other players were a little generous with how they used their mulligans, and even though I said something about it, it still happened.
With my foursome yesterday, we kept count of the mulligans and when we were out of them, we were out. On our 17th hole, we could have used a mulligan because we ended up shooting a bogey on that hole. But, there was never any question and we took the bogey on our card.
In a business golf round, I'm less apt to call someone when they're cheating whether out of ignorance or intentional. I keep a mental note of it though. But, in a tournament, I don't want to be a winner when I know there was cheating. We didn't win yesterday, but it felt good to know that our two under was legit. Although we didn't win in golf, two of us won some nice raffle prizes--enough of them for each of us to take something home. So we each left as a winner, most importantly, with our integrity intact.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Golf Leads to Leads
On Friday, I played in my club's team event with two other players I had not previously known from another club. Even though I had laryngitis, I was still able to talk some during the round. Eventually, the conversation turned to what type of work I do, and I shared that, besides being an attorney, I speak to corporations and associations about using golf to develop and enhance business relationships and to increase sales.
By the time we had lunch with four others, my voice was almost gone, so I didn't say much. When the conversation turned to someone's work schedule, one of my opponents excitedly said, "Listen to what she does!" as she pointed to me. Despite the lack of my usual strong speaker's voice, I shared what I did. As two women asked if I'd be interested in referrals to two different major corporatons in the area, I thought even without my voice, golf is a great networking tool!
Get out on the course! You never know who you will meet whether for friendship or a business relationship.
By the time we had lunch with four others, my voice was almost gone, so I didn't say much. When the conversation turned to someone's work schedule, one of my opponents excitedly said, "Listen to what she does!" as she pointed to me. Despite the lack of my usual strong speaker's voice, I shared what I did. As two women asked if I'd be interested in referrals to two different major corporatons in the area, I thought even without my voice, golf is a great networking tool!
Get out on the course! You never know who you will meet whether for friendship or a business relationship.
Friday, May 13, 2005
A Streak to the End
Tiger failed to make his 143rd consecutive cut today at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. It's a hard number to even comprehend. Tiger played in 142 consecutive PGA tournaments and made the cut to play on the weekend in each of them. Given the struggles with his swing over the last couple of years, that's a testament to his mental perseverance and will to win. When will someone break Tiger's record? I doubt it'll be in my lifetime, if ever.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Byron Nelson - The Legend Lives On
Ninety-three years young, Lord Byron, as he is known, is hosting this week's tournament. He commands the presence of Tiger, Phil, Retief, Earnie, and Vijay as if his tournament was a major. And, each player pays homage to him at his throne just off the 18th green. Sixty years ago, Lord Byron won eleven straight PGA tour tournaments and eighteen tournaments in that year. He deserves every player's respect as a living legend in the game we love. Watch this tournament as the fate of the #1 golfer in the world is again at stake!
Monday, May 09, 2005
More than Just a Pretty Swing!
Vijay Singh won again yesterday in a playoff against Sergio Garcia and Jim Furyk. He's not my favorite Tour player, but I certainly respect his game.
Someone I know insists that the player with the best technical swing will win because his swing won't fail him. I think that it is an inane comment. First of all, having a technically-correct golf swing discounts the fact that playing well in this game also means having a good short game.
In addition, saying someone has a good swing and, therefore, will likely win the tournament is like saying the candidate who was selected for the job got the position he was the best looking. It discounts one's experience, confidence-level, intimidation-factor, and a host of other factors.
I think it's possible to have the most technically correct swing and not win in pressure situations. Perhaps the player gets the yips or tenses up, and he isn't able to come through with the proper swing. According to the CBS commentator, Vijay has a hundred books on the mental side of the game. It's no surprise given how he handles the pressure in each tournament.
Besides, would I mind having an unconventional swing, like Jim Furyk? It can't be too bad. He's in the top one-half of one percent of all golfers in the world and has won twenty million on the Tour.
Someone I know insists that the player with the best technical swing will win because his swing won't fail him. I think that it is an inane comment. First of all, having a technically-correct golf swing discounts the fact that playing well in this game also means having a good short game.
In addition, saying someone has a good swing and, therefore, will likely win the tournament is like saying the candidate who was selected for the job got the position he was the best looking. It discounts one's experience, confidence-level, intimidation-factor, and a host of other factors.
I think it's possible to have the most technically correct swing and not win in pressure situations. Perhaps the player gets the yips or tenses up, and he isn't able to come through with the proper swing. According to the CBS commentator, Vijay has a hundred books on the mental side of the game. It's no surprise given how he handles the pressure in each tournament.
Besides, would I mind having an unconventional swing, like Jim Furyk? It can't be too bad. He's in the top one-half of one percent of all golfers in the world and has won twenty million on the Tour.
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Soar with the Eagles
In the New York Times, an article talked about how Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam have become good friends. It's fitting that the best players in our lifetime on their respective tours can talk about golf, the pressures of their success, and life in general.
When I speak to groups, I always encourage beginners to find players of slightly more advanced skills. I have often noticed that my game is lifted to another level when I play with golfers that are better players than I am. Whether it's watching the tempo of their swings, or picking up on their confidence levels, it just seems to happen.
It's not to say that I don't want to play with players that aren't as good as I am. They can be fun to play with simply because of their personalities. I just don't want beginners to think they have to play with only beginners. Instead, they need to soar with the golf eagles, and improve their games!
When I speak to groups, I always encourage beginners to find players of slightly more advanced skills. I have often noticed that my game is lifted to another level when I play with golfers that are better players than I am. Whether it's watching the tempo of their swings, or picking up on their confidence levels, it just seems to happen.
It's not to say that I don't want to play with players that aren't as good as I am. They can be fun to play with simply because of their personalities. I just don't want beginners to think they have to play with only beginners. Instead, they need to soar with the golf eagles, and improve their games!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)