I went to TopGolf last Sunday and was atrocious. I’m couldn’t hit the ball remotely close to where I was aimed. Every drive was slicing into the parking lot. 1 round of target shooting with 10 golf balls I scored a 3. That was at the red target! An exaggeration, but I stunk. So we played yesterday and I had no idea what to expect. Thoughts go through your head like you’re not even sure you’ll make contact. So I get up to the first tee box and hit a draw into the left rough. Then I proceed to hook the next 6 drives in a row. But I was supposed to be slicer!
I made it a point to start my hips which leads to varying degrees of coming through the ball, but it’s not a slice. Did that subtle change to the swing alter results? Probably. I ended up playing golf as I am accustomed to and all those pessimistic thoughts were for naught. It’s just life.
I’ll bring one more quick experience before I provide a life altering explanation. I rolled a bunch of games at North Bowl Friday after work which was great because no one was in the alley. I start off with a 160 and then Adam oils the lanes. For 5 games in a row I averaged 230 and then the pattern seemingly instantaneously changed. I was back to 160 for about 20 throws and then it clicked again. I rolled a 279 (11 out of 12 strikes) and averaged 230 again for about 5 straight games. I did adjust moving 5 boards to the left from where I started, but I knew that when I was rolling a 160 and it didn’t work. What changed? I don’t know, but there must be a scientific answer to it.
Why is consistency so difficult to obtain? I’m going to go for a run today and I want to run better than I did the last time. What happens after 15 minutes on the treadmill and I don’t have it? Was it the breakfast I ate? Did I not drink enough water? Are my legs tired from golf? There are a thousand variables I can go through to did I sleep on my back or stomach? It’s endless. Yet it makes a difference or else you’d always be as good as you’re supposed to be which isn’t the case. It’s accepting that replicating past performance is not guaranteed. This is why you hear that practice makes perfect except that unless you’re a robot, there is no perfection with humans. It’s like Nick Anderson missing 4 foul shots in a row. Or Dottie Hinson dropping the ball at the end of the game. If you’re read the Black Swan by Nassim Taleb, you’d understand that these seemingly once in a lifetime events are not as unlikely as you think. Pandemic wiping out civilization? Been there. Volcano wiping out an entire town? No problem. Louis Oosthuizen winning a tournament? You never know. I have Louis, Scheffler, and Brooks today from pre-tournament. Also, don’t forget Ja’Maar for 1st TD. Good luck out there!
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