Balanced Living Magazine - July-August 2007

Golf: The Fine Art of Playing Awake
By James Ragonnet

Having spent three decades dissecting the game of golf, I have come to realize that growth is the unspoken mandate for all golfers – and for all human beings. Applying the classic teachings of the Buddha to the game, I discovered that all golfers, regardless of background or skill, need to explore and master the transformative qualities of awareness, balance and unity to reach their full potential. The most dramatic and direct way for golfers to grow is by “playing awake” – a term from the Buddhist notions of waking up, paying attention and sharpening awareness. But unfortunately, most golfers essentially are sleepwalking and daydreaming. If they were awake, they would confront their unchallenged habits, eliminate their recurring mistakes, improve their performances and maximize their joy. Instead, the vast majority grind away year after year while their handicaps remain unchanged.

In The Zone
When you get in touch with your inner being, a special energy will flow inside you. You will feel one with everything around you. This is what sports psychologists call “being in the zone.” Being in the zone means becoming one with something large. Golf becomes large when you let go of reasoning, thinking and conscious effort. You surrender to the spirit.

But what is the spirit? It is an energy field within you. It is an inner force that makes you grow. It is the great dynamic stillness where you can rest and relax. When you are in the zone, you will glimpse the spirit of golf. You will encounter something sublime both inside and outside yourself. You extend your boundaries and golf's boundaries. You no longer see yourself in the world of golf. You see the world of golf within you. After years of success and failure you will hear the inner voice of the spirit. If you listen carefully and sensitively to it, you will develop discernment. Without discernment you will never enter the zone.

Discernment means listening carefully to yourself. For example, listen to your pre-shot questions: What club should I use? How can I relax? How can I swing smoothly...stay focused...follow through...make solid contact? The answers you seek do not flow from any prescribed set of laws or principles. The answers flow from discernment – from listening and surrendering. Only by listening openly and attentively to yourself can you become yourself.

Listening to your feelings is how to experience your body. By listening to your fear, tension, anxiety, or anger you will discover your confidence, courage, contentment and calmness. Listening lets you know what to let out and what to let in. By listening, you can determine the direction of your golf thoughts. Suppose you and your partner are exactly 150 yards from the green. Your partner needs only an eight-iron. You, however, need a full seven-iron. So what do you do? If you ignore yourself and listen to your ego, you hit the eight-iron. Your ego will not let your partner outperform you. Naturally, you over-swing and yank the ball hard left. Unfortunately, you listened to your ego, not to your inner voice.

The zone is synonymous with peace of mind. To enter the zone is to revel in the sublime – in golf's magic. A chip-in for an eagle. A curling sixty-foot putt to save par. A birdie from a green-side bunker. A quiet stroll together up eighteen.

The Ritual of the Six Golf Tees
Before you play your next round of golf, sit quietly and ask yourself this question: What are the six most precious things in my life? Think long and hard about what six things make your life wonderful. Do not prioritize them; just list them. When you are done pondering, write them down.

Next, take six golf tees from your bag, each one a slightly different color, size or shape. Then associate each tee with a particular precious aspect of your life. For example, a red tee may represent the love of your family or a pink tee may represent your health. In the palm of your hand, hold these six frail tees. Make sure that you know exactly what each tee represents. Then put the six golf tees in your left pocket and head for the golf course.

Starting on the third hole, reach into your pocket and pull out all six tees. Choose the tee representing the thing you cherish least of the six on your list. Put the remaining five tees back in your pocket. Then tee up the ball, hit your shot and toss away the tee (or place it into a separate pocket of your golf bag). As you work your way to the sixth tee, tap your pocket to feel the five remaining tees. Start thinking about the thing you least cherish that you will have to surrender next on the sixth tee box. Do the same on the ninth, twelfth and fifteenth tees.

By the time you reach the eighteenth tee, there will be only one tee in your left pocket – the tee representing the thing you cherish most. Tee up your ball, hit your shot, then toss away the tee. The ritual is done.

Depending on the order in which you gave up your tees, the ritual will prioritize your value system, put your life in perspective, and remind you to appreciate what you now have and what you someday will not have. This ritual, a call to go inside yourself, may not teach you any lasting lessons. (Life does not impart many lasting lessons.) But the ritual will give you a few small clues about how to walk your path, loving what you already have. What you learn along your path is up to you. When I performed this ritual, I learned that I needed to stop grasping for more stuff and to enjoy what I already had. I reminded myself that someday all six tees will be gone.

It is fine to understand golf's many theories, principles and mechanics. It is fine to play at the highest level. It is fine to have the utmost confidence in your swing. It is fine to shoot a low number. These things are important. But these things do not represent the totality of golf. Unless you enter the zone, you will remain a golfer with a small g.

When you, a golfer, practice the fine art of playing awake, you embark on a transformative journey to better understand and appreciate the game and yourself. Frustration and stagnation are not random. Rather, they are the inevitable results of complex systems you have not yet identified. Simply stated, there is only one imperative, one cure, one path for all golfers at all levels: play awake!

James Ragonnet is an award-winning English professor at Springfield College in Massachusetts. He has researched, taught and coached golf, and for several decades he has studied and observed a wide range of Eastern precepts and practices. He also has a consulting firm that targets corporate executives and college faculty interested in enhancing their teaching, learning and writing. For more information, visit www.golfsthreenobletruths.com.