While Golf Course Owner Guy was listening to a golf architecture podcast, the host and guest architect raised an interesting dilemma about your brain. Maybe, just maybe, it’s the architect’s fault that you swing scared. It’s a national past time to blame others!
Imagine arriving at the tee and the fairways is 500 yards wide, no bunkers, no water. How would you expect to swing? My guess, with confidence. Without fear, we become offensive. Swings more fluid, decisions more clear. It all translates to speed and better release. The flipside is a fairway that is 25 yards wide. Water all down the left, homes all down the right, how would expect to swing? Fearful swings become defensive swings. In an effort to steer a golf ball, speed is deprived and squareness of strike becomes less likely. The question is…which hole would you rather play?
What Would Your Brain Choose?
Ball bashers might pick the hole with no trouble, but isn’t there some kind of intrinsic toughness that golf is supposed to provide. Part of the game is challenge, and over coming those challenges. More than anything you must overcome yourself. See there is no reason that you can’t swing for the fences on the narrow hole, the problem is your brain won’t let you. As humans, we are programmed to be risk adverse and results driven. One of the impressive things about Tour golfers is that they seem to have the ability to turn this off. They are quite target orientated. Golf is an amazing game, and it’s even more amazing what your brain is doing while you are trying to play it. That’s why we love golf.
