Developing Feel : The Discovery at Banyan

Everyone knows that to play the golf of your dreams, it is essential to master the "mental" side of the game. Deepak Chopra, the new-age-alternative-medicine-golf-enthusiast guru tried to encapsulate the discipline with three points : 1) Clear Perception, playing a shot fully concentrated without distraction; 2) Mastering Emotions, as fear and tension are severely amplified in golf; 3) Ideas, as no two shots are the same and creative thinking is involved in every shot.

But how does one develop the mental game?  Its not as if there is an equivalent of a "mental" driving range to hone the mental game.  Or is there?

In one of my sessions with Philippe, we spoke about improving the short game.  He asked if I was an "analytical" or a "feel" player.  I said I wasn't sure, but I was convinced that a "feel" player enjoyed better results in the long run.  He agreed.  He handed me a club and told me to put the ball into a nearby tree.  I asked him how far the tree was and which club did he want me to hit.  He smiled and said I was being analytical.  Those questions did not matter if I was a feel player.  I looked at the tree and with a pitching wedge in my hand, fired away. (The tree was about 40 m away). The ball went clean through the centre.  He smiled.  This was what he wanted me to do for the short game.  See the shot and hit it.  He said that he was at a practice range with Paula Creamer with her coach hitting balls to flags.  The coach was giving her targets and reading off distances from his Bushnell.  The coach showed the readings to Phillipe.  They were all wrong!  It did not matter. For an hour, Paula did not put a single ball more than three feet from the pin. The distances were irrelevant.  She looked at the pin, saw the flight and made the shot.  Like a basketball player.    

But the greatest discovery is that the removal of mechanics and the development of "feel" is the biggest contributor to having a great mental game.  Of course, you do need to have a good basic game first.  But once this is in the pocket, without the crutch of distances, a golfer can develop a feel for a shot with any wedge that gets the ball to a particular short game distance - just by "seeing" and "creating" the shot. (Chopra's Point 1 and 3). Also, developing feel removes fear because you "know" in your gut how hard to hit the ball.  There is no tentativeness.  (Chopra's Point 2).  What was surprising was the effect this has on the long game too.  The discipline of seeing the shot, and then feeling the shot in the hands removes mechanical thoughts from the head.  All the mental chatter - staying in line or in plane - quieten down.  Just see the shot and fire.  

This was the recipe for my best game this year when things just came together.  On a magical Sunday morning, on the first hole at Banyan Hua Hin, I hit a fading seven iron approach shot which came to rest against the flagstick for an opening eagle. On the third, I collected a birdie.  Four bogeys in the remaining 6 holes closed out the nine for one over.  But everything clicked mentally on the back nine.  On every tee box I curiously "felt" the club in my hands.  I saw the shot. I "knew" I could choose to hit a fade or a draw.  Absolutely no mechanical thoughts. On the closing holes, I called for the club without asking the caddie for the distance.  It just felt right.  On the last, I hit an iron stiff to the low side of the hole and closed with a birdie to record 37 for an overall 74.  

I know I will not do this every week.  But I will remember the lesson.  Forget the mechanics whilst on the course. Develop feel.  See the shot and hit it.