Month: September 2015

During a recent two-day Ryder Cup match play event, it was interesting to witness what thoughts and emotions arose in this stressful money-on-the line situation. When the tournament word enters a round and prize money is on the line, watch out! Usually it’s easy to remain focused on fun and detach from the score during an everyday round. It took a while for me to settle down, trust the Angels, hear the Angels and most importantly, relax.  I even asked them to turn up the volume on their messages a few times, for clarity. The Angels reminded me that if I was having fun, I would win in more than monetary ways.

As the round progressed, I saw chapter titles of the book float through my mind’s eye. Always good reminders to surrender to the moment, accept what is, there’s always hope, to scrap the score, and oodles more. In tournaments, I tend to try too hard, which tenses me—and my swing—and disconnects me from my fun self. Being aware of this prior to the start, I was able to nip it at first sight.

I did, however, find myself focused on score, since we were playing as two person teams, in various formats (alternate shot, best ball, captain’s choice). It was important to know where you stood, who got strokes, and if we were still in the hole. It was a lot to keep track of and was energizing the mental analytical aspect of my mind. Something I’m not used to, especially on the course. I’m typically living in the right side of my mind, where creativity, visualization and imagination reside and also the angelic connection. It’s almost impossible to hear the Angels clearly if you’re stuck in the mental processing side. As they continuously remind me, struggle, stress and strain makes the angelic connection wane.

I find it best in this situation to fully focus on the shot in front of me and do the best that I can with conviction. Trying to determine, if I do this on this hole, or that on the next hole, is taxing and takes me out of the present moment.

This is what the Angels have to say about tournaments…”When you bring tension in, your sense goes out…sixth sense that is. If this happens, we’ll certainly try to lighten you up with the array of tricks and doohickeys we have up our wings. We won’t share those with you now, since we want you to be surprised. Oh, the lengths we go to dazzle and delight. Can we get a pinata to the fifth hole to celebrate a hole-in-one?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s astounding how soul’s growth transpires shot by shot. Emotional reactions are certainly provoked during a round, usually mirroring daily life and providing insight. Finding yourself through golf is empowering. I appreciate my humanness and ego too, just not on the course.

The angels want to add their two-cents’ worth from their vast view . . .

“We understand having trust and faith is a colossal challenge. It’s certainly the biggest one for Denise to conquer. Even though she asks for our assistance, there is still an “I want to do it my way attitude” sometimes, and sometimes she does. Recently she asked for a club selection on a par 3 and we recommended a 7 iron. Boldly, she told us, “I realize a 7 is probably the correct club, but I really want to hit my 8 iron.” So she did, and her ball landed 15 yards short of the pin. When she approached the green and saw her ball, she remarked “I knew you were right, I just wanted to prove it!” Oh, the human dilemma!

On the tee box, we were eagerly encouraging Denise to use her driver and be fearless. Laying up on this par 4 is typical due to the topography. It becomes habit and routine to play smart course management, which at times is necessary, although we find it very boring. With exceptional ball striking and us in tow, we had an inconceivable upshot calculated to top any previous expectations and were masterminding magnificence.

Breaking out of the (tee) box is empowering and breeds confidence. Well, doubt set in and she elected to lay-up stifling her mojo and ours. After the triple bogie, she decided doggedly in the future to heed our advice and shatter preconceived notions, for that undoubtedly would have been more fun. And in hindsight, going for(e) it would have resulted in whopping joy, translating to a lower score too. A win-win!

Humanness is a trait you can’t negate…embrace your uniqueness!”

 

 

 

During today’s round, I realized how much I’ve changed during the years of working with the Golfing Angels. As I think back to the old me, I have trouble recognizing that person. I’ve become more peaceful, confident, carefree, focused, determined and courageous.  A genuine metamorphosis has occurred for sure…I’m shedding the cocoon.

Walking the course with the Angels on my bag and feeling the Earth under my feet is magical. I felt incredibly relaxed and more present than ever, giving each shot my full attention and executing with conviction. This made the round fun, while also detaching from the score. In the past, I was very attached to the score and the outcome was more important than enjoying each shot. Now, as soon as I catch myself thinking about score or adding up a hole’s score before it is over, I immediately stop and return my awareness back to the now and focus on the present.

Here’s what the Angels have to say…”As silly as this may sound, the score is the least important aspect of your round. We know humans find their score a significant part of the game and a way of charting their progress and comparing themselves to others.  Our advice is to embrace fun and joy first and foremost, for that will accelerate the plummeting of your handicap.”

Before the Angels were on my bag, I would effort to make things happen and golf became work. If my drive didn’t find the fairway, I would give up on the hole before leaving the tee box and would give myself a double or triple on the hole.As I look back at my old obsolete give-up-attitude self, I realize this was a frequent occurrence. Golf being a game of recovery, it warrants flexibility with the circumstances and awareness of self.  It’s funny to remember as well as embarrassing too.

You’ll be singing a different tune, and change in your own unique way, as you navigate the terrain with the Angel caddies on your bag, as they transform all avenues of your game. Change is a beautiful butterfly thing!

Trust is an issue which surfaces throughout the round, and at times on every shot, especially when you first start communicating with the Golfing Angels. Over time, this will diminish with experience. When you ask for their assistance in reading the greens and they provide the sink line and speed spot, it will undeniably push the trust button. With their inside information, they have all the components calculated and all that remains is your faith to execute the shot with conviction. Easy, right?

This concern surfaces especially when I’m in a tournament and standing over a two foot putt, feeling the sink line and/or the speed spot isn’t quite right. Once I told them, “do you know that this putt is important?”  At which they fell over in hysterical laughter. When they regained calmness they told me it doesn’t matter if it’s a tournament or a fun day playing with the girls, their guidance is guaranteed to be genuine.

Trust was undoubtedly the most difficult aspect I had to overcome. There would be many times during a round I would dismiss their advice, whether it was help with reading the greens, providing target lines, club selection or shot selection, because I thought it was incorrect.  Needless to say, they were always right, and over the years I’ve learned this arduously with many anecdotes to prove it. Here’s one told from the Angels perspective…

“After an errant drive left into the adjacent fairway’s rough, we convinced Denise to hit a low punch shot under the bushes, back into her fairway, which worked out nicely.  On the next shot, we gave an aggressive target line to the pin, which is guarded by water on the left and out-of-bounds on the right. With a slightly downhill lie, physics dictates the ball would go right. We had all the complex concurring components in place and knew this shot was in her bag.

However, she elected to aim ever so slightly right of the target line, feeling uncomfortable with the water left and thinking “what would a minuscule right of the target line do.” This lack of faith caused her ball to hit the cart path and ricochet out-of-bounds. We intuitively knew she would hit a straight shot, otherwise, we would not have given her this aggressive target line.

She immediately realized what she did and thought, “What’s the big deal about going in the water anyway. It would have been better than being OB.”  Another triple bogie lesson learned the hard way, which makes them experiences you’ll soon not forget.

All is a day’s play…it’s so much easier to just give way!”

Determining the speed of the greens, or the speed spot as the angels call it is a cinch. This technique has been developed over many years with much success. Here’s what the Golfing Angels have to say on this subject in their own words…

“On the practice green we’ll sharpen your focus and clear the clutter to get you and your putter perfectly polished. Since you’ve already mastered the sink line (earlier post) and are familiar with that process, we’ll get right to the technique for determining the speed of the greens, and detecting your speed spot.

First you’ll need to discern if the putt is uphill or downhill. Walking the line of the putt is sometimes helpful to feel it in your feet or scrutinize the topography for clues. Once you’ve established this vital piece of information, we’ll point out a spot either past the hole or short of the hole. If the greens are running fast or the putt is downhill, the speed spot will be short of the hole. If the greens are slow or you have an uphill putt, the speed spot will be past the hole.

When you ascertain this key ingredient, you’ll laser in on the speed spot as your feel, to gauge the distance and putt away with conviction. This spot will be a discoloration in the grass or a mark on the green that is brought to your awareness. It may even been a leaf, a butterfly, or another player’s ball or ball mark. Always go with your first instinct, cause getting the mind involved will nullify our communication.

With your new sink line and speed spot skills you’ll be unstoppable. This meritable technique also works at the practice facility, as well as, out on the course, of course!”

Success during a game of golf most certainly starts—and ends—in the mind. It’s a series of calculated decision-making, measuring, correcting and over-correcting. But, as it should be with every other sport, the game should bring you joy. Too often, golfers’ furrowed eyebrows and perfect posture give off the impression that they’re taking themselves far too seriously.

Whether you’re a pro, a driving machine, a hacker, a weekend warrior, or someone in between, every round of golf is either lost or won because of each player’s state of mind. But just like in any other sport, almost all that tension can be eased with the right guidance. Some athletes rely solely on the guidance of their coaches, or a player they aspire to be more like. . .but every golfer has far more support than anything they could ever dream of.

If you’re a golfer, you need to know that you have full access to a team of golf specialists, helping you line up your shots, guiding your putts, and even helping you choose your clubs. This team of professionals does exist, and they’re just waiting for your invitation to help. They lovingly refer to themselves as The Golfing Angels.

For the first time ever, golfers are now being given access to a succinct, fairway-worthy guide—usable for golfers at every level of experience. You’ll learn tips, tricks and anecdotal evidence in this blog (and future book) illustrating how to ask for—and receive help from the angels—and how to identify when the angels are trying to get your attention. This trusted team of experts has inside information and all they desire is to show you how to play the best—and most enjoyable—game you’ve ever played each and every time.

In short, anything is possible, especially on the golf course with the angels’ help. . .but golfers don’t take full advantage of the guidance, fun, and support that the angels provide them. Showing golfers how to take full advantage of additional inside information and help from their birds’ eye view will not only change their games, but it’ll change their lives. The angels have unlimited minutes, free texting and are just a “help me angels” away.

 

When the Angels brought to my attention that golf should be named recovery–for that’s what you do most of the time–it dramatically changed my outlook on the round. It lighted me up by realizing I didn’t have to be perfect and I wasn’t expected to hit perfect shots, all the time. The game was designed to have areas of trouble— bunkers, rough, woods, adjacent fairway—to keep things interesting and amusing too! When my ball is in one of these less than desirable places, I now have a different mindset and see it as an opportunity to muster up courage and dig deep or whatever is needed to extricate my ball. This, interestingly, turns out to be an obscure gift which is satisfying and empowering too–when you get the ball out that is!

Here’s a recent recovery round conveyed by the Angels…

“With intentions set for a fun and fabulous round, Denise left the house feeling positively confident.  She stopped by the driving range to hit a few (successfully) for confirmation that we are practicing on her behalf. Yes, we can practice for you too—more on this in future blogs.

On the first tee, her drive went left, hit a tree branch and landed in the rough. With her firm conviction, she was determined not to be deterred from a fabulous round and hit a good second and third shot with a ten foot putt for par, which just grazed the hole. No worries or concerns, she thought, all is well and remained positive. This continued throughout the round just missing the hole from chips and putts. It seemed as if every hole had a challenge and hence an opportunity for greatness, giving her many chances to use the fourteen tenacious tools in her bag.

On the walk home, she thought, what was the message?  We showed her a big carnival type wheel in her mind’s eye (imagination), spinning and landing on the word recovery, which turned out to be the theme of the day’s round. This made her giggle and she thought it certainly was a recovery round  Sometimes, we present a theme for the day to bring what’s most needed. It’s best to change your perspective and look at trying situations as opportunities for growth, confidence building and gratification. Surrendering and accepting what is, as well as doing your very best, will get you through the thick of it—and a thank you Angels is warranted too!”

Calling for miracles has become a routine request on anything from putts to fortuitous bounces. At first, I would only use them sparingly on select shots until the Angels advised me I had an unlimited account. Just for fun I imagine an infinitesimal miracle account number and when I ask for a miracle, the number reduces by one. It assures me the Angels heard my request and a miracle is on its way. Oh so reaffirming!

Here’s an example from the Angels’ outlook of how things unraveled, reminding me there are hidden messages in everything and learning junctures with every roll, rotation, and revolution…

“When Denise landed on the green in regulation and had a thirty foot putt, she called for a miracle. You may be wondering why. Well, the greens were stressed from the hot weather with thin and bare patches, making them roll ragged.

With the greens being a rough ride, hitting the ball firmer was typically better. After getting the sink line and speed spot, her first putt ran past the hole leaving a five footer. This happened yet again since she failed to see the putt was downhill. Even though she had the speed spot, she ran it through the break and was left with a three footer which then lipped out.

Okay, so what’s the message?  It’s more important than ever to discern if the putt is downhill or uphill with erratic greens, which play havoc with feel, and hence trust. By taking additional time when the greens are unreliable, to scope the sink line from different directions gives a purer perspective to perceive the speed spot.  Four putt no more!”