Going Low

For many decades golf pundits all over the globe have weighed in on what it takes to be a champion. Youʼve probably heard them all: natural ability, perfecting swing mechanics, physical fitness combined with sound nutrition, time spent in quality practice, expert coaching, good attitude––all of these factors have been put forth, in various combinations, as contributing to high levels of performance in golf. While these, and many other factors, are all relatively valid, they still do not account entirely for why some golfers achieve the heights of greatness while others are destined to mediocrity.

Consider the question: how is it that an relatively low ranked but competitive PGA/ LPGA golfer, can, during any Major, any venue, any time of the season, arise out of obscurity and ascend to great heights of play by outdistancing the competition with a phenomenal four days of performance? Is it luck? fate? divine intervention? We now have enough information to account for these demonstrations of athletic brilliance––it is called FLOW. The good news is that we now know how to condition and cultivate the mind, emotions and the nervous system to increase the probability that an athlete can have a greater access to FLOW, enabling them to compete and perform consistently over diverse conditions of play involving enormous athletic and emotional challenges.