Confessions of a technoholic...

"Good morning...my name is Tiger and ... I'm a technoholic. I'm not sure what came first, probably the obsession then the blog followed. I've seen other cases on other blogs of those that have become immersed in all things technical with regards to their golf. Many descend into tales of woe, which from the surface is fairly inexplicable given the hours of dedication these guys tend to ply into their game. These guys...I guess that's another denial. I am one of those guys.

I didn't want to admit it at first. It was something other people suffered from. Not me. I'm different. I'm aiming to reach my full potential and to do that I surely have to analyse my game. The stats, the practice regimen, the focus, the analysis, the lessons, the training aids, the video clips, the magazine articles, the theories, the list... Is.... Endless.

I guess admitting I have a problem is the first step, but what do I do know. Two years, well nearly two years and I have nothing to show for it save a web archive of narrative and a 0.6 handicap cut. None of it makes sense. I hit the ball pretty long. I have the ability to hit it pretty straight. I predominantly get it airborne. I know my wedge distances. My chipping is fairly good. My putting is solid. Yet I rack up golf scores that rival Alastair Cook's innings in last winter's Ashes.

I can't let go of the analysis though, as the phrase goes it has paralysed me. I don't play golf with freedom and bravado. I don't throw caution to the wind to have fun, have a blast and whack it round the course. I become over cautious, protective of my score desperate not to let an error seep in and ruin a good card, or compound a bad one. I hit 4 iron when I should hit 3 wood. I still don't own a driver. What in the name of the illustrious Seve Ballesteros am I scared of? Feck knows. It's just a bloody game.

Maybe it's time to draw an end to this blog, forget about any form of challenge and/or aspiration and just play for feck's sake.

This is my confession. I am a technoholic. It has done me no favours. It has been a curse rather than a blessing. Don't make the same mistakes as me. Enjoy your game without pressure. Set yourself goals if you must but don't enshrine them in metaphorical tablets as a set of commandments or they may well become your golfing epitaph. Whatever the weather, whereever you are, swing free, have fun and enjoy. I'll try to do the same."