Theory and practice

Up until now I've got things a little wrong. I have been operating under the misconception that learning how to hit a golf ball and learning how to play golf are one and the same thing. In my defence this simple, though perhaps slightly naive, misinterpretation is understandable. Hitting a golf ball a decent distance in a straight line is nothing more than a small miracle. That said it is the equivolent of learning to play football by doing 'keepy uppies' in the garden or aspiring to become a great cricketer by only playing in the nets. Here you can learn a decent technique but how you use that skill whilst playing the game is an altogether different proposition.

For starters the 'hitting a golf ball' approach fails to accurately replicate the situations you find yourself in on course. Comedian Robin Williams sums up the sheer harshness of the sport rather succinctly in the clip below (apologies for the slightly harsh dialect assault in the prologue).

So there I am in the rough, in a bunker, under a tree, behind an obstacle and I make a bad choice, execute a poor shot or a combination of both. Hitting a ball just doesn't prepare you for the situations and scenarios that playing the game does. Don't get me wrong 'hitting the ball' is an important part of the process a sound technique will help you avoid trouble, hit fairways and greens in regulation. But as Rotella asserts, 'Golf is Not a Game of Perfect' and I frequently find myself in trouble, sometimes through a rather unfortunate rub of the green.

I understand my swing now and have a better understanding of what felt wrong on a poorly struck shot. I am now beginning the process of separating my analysis and practice mindset from my playing psyche. But crucially I have been hindering my development by going through the 'hitting a golf ball' process on course rather than 'playing the game'. There are people with butt ugly swings, a fraction of my distance that significantly outscore me because they know how to play the game of golf.

My learning starts now...