GOLF

Useful Language The teacher said, “Take the good ones and put them in a circle, (she was alluding to good experiences). When you are experiencing nega- tives, step into the circle. Become refreshed! The circle holds things done well.” The Eastern Indian woman was giving a class in 1991, for the WPGA (Wisconsin Professional Golf Association) on Neurolingistic Program- ming for golf professionals. “Does your student learn through hearing mainly, or is she/he visual, or kinesthetic, like in golf? “, she asked. “ Which one of these three predominates for you? What’s your read on your students? Will you learn the subtleties, as you figure your students out?”, she continued. At Transcendental Golf the artifical golf mats are circular. One does- n’t have to imagine the premise. The physical presence, “circularity”, in this undertaking is there. However, the circular golf mats have not cornered the market with “ball-striking” pecfectly! They have offered two positive entries however, which linear mats have not, correct alignment procedure and club path. At this juncture, in class, there was a twist. An interesting question about how to handle a student out of sorts before the lesson begins. Manuel asked, “What if my student came into the first lesson of the morning after experiencing a near collison on Range Line Road just outside the entrance to the club? What do you do in fractured situa- tions?” Jack was sitting next to Tom Befera, Kenosha C.C. Tom said, “Yup, I’ve had that situation!” Jack said, “Put ‘em in the bunker. You and the student get two for one that way!” The class roared, but there is more truth than fiction about this one. This is “finding center” in continuum. How can environmental devices counter imbalanced situations in other life activities?” The bunker’s environment related to the arena of golf and the emotions of the moment. Why? Because of golf’s diversity, of course. You wouldn’t be doing three foot putts even if they were a failing aspect of ones golf game at that moment. Staying present moment to moment we can use our golf experiences by ourselves independent of the group or within a group, and mirror what the Danes had developed over centuries called livskunst---the art of living. In the magazine Science & Spirit, an article, Conspiracy of Good, renowned resilience researcher Emmy Werner conveys an interesting fact that 99% of Danish Jews were still alive when World War II had ended. The entire Danish people were awarded the title of “Righteous Among the Nations”. Doesn’t golf’s environment manifest what the Danes society have developed? It’s a society where people cared about one another, where individual differences were respected, and where self-reliance, cooperation and good humor highly valued. Testing good humor vs bad taste; freedom of speech and respect for all religions, is happening right now! A cartoon depicting many things for many people has found its underlayment difficult to remain neutral. At the moment this is a painful experience. People lined up quickly. Some have used the incident to further their own cause. Civil liberties and the Patriot Act are in question in the USA. Freedom of speech in a Danish cartoon tested the Islam culture and the Danes. What was considered an act against the Koran, as viewed by Islam - held Denmark at fault, not the Danish publisher. Could it be that understanding different cultures may become more complex, and more and more urgent? Are we to experience speedy indiscre- tions as cultures clash? Can cultures reduce isolation, tension,.and keep a balanced pace sharing the art form golf? If not golf, what will the world stage look like? In 1999, after King Hassan of Morocco died; knowing his love for golf, and not wanting Moroccon enthusiasm for golf to diminish, the Pyramid Tray and Stacker System was shipped to Morocco’s golf professional, at the King’s course as a symbol of brotherhood. . “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.”, Robert F Kennedy. “It would be a more peaceful, harmonious world if the various religions and religious denominations ceased condemnations of paths different from their own.” If we are peaceful, If we are happy, We can blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, In our entire society, will benefit from our peace.” Thich Nhat Hanh Question: Does language change golf? Does golf change language? Golf’s equipment has changed through the years. It follows, the lan- guage has changed for obvious reasons that coincide with equipment changes. Some change proves difficult - an example being the oxymoron “metal-woods”. What of the not so obvious? What of the performance of a golfer who had used old clubs vs a golfer with new equipment? Did the word “swing” evolve because of the equipment - the feathery ball and hick- ory shaft, and had 1920’s products caused golf energy to be swung? Joe Torcaso and I were talking about this at his shoe repair shop. Joe asked, “If Bobby Jones had steel shafted golf clubs in the 1920’s, and Ernest Jones was teaching golf in the 1930’s with contemporary equipment of today, what words would have described their activity? I think the performers performance to be different and therefore change the words. How would they have communicated the force? Does a weak person in the contemporary age swing, and a stronger person swing and hit, or throw energy? How do tools change words? In the 1920’s and 1930’s when Bobby Jones was “swinging” and Ernest Jones was teaching “swing the club”, what influence, and in what proportion would one establish the art form golf as a “swing” and how would one choose the words to describe the player moving the golf ball around the golf course? The players agility would be dependent on the tools: weight, flex and firmness. These character- istics would energize timing, balance and speed. When the terminol- ogy is changed in golf because material used to produce the equip- ment in golf changes, does golf need to change terminology of the players performance because of those changes?