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Back on a golf course – all is coming back

I was away from golf for a few months. I visited Vietnam and Poland. Both countries are not famous for their golfers. Both countries have golf courses, but the saying that golf is an elitist sport for rich people applies to these countries much more than it does to a place like Australia. Take Vietnam for example. An average monthly salary there is about 350 US$, and a round of golf in one of the new resorts will cost about 150US$. Golf is not for the average person there.

I do not spend that much on a round of golf here in Australia. Never have and probably never will, so paying that much in Hanoi is not something I would even consider. $150 would pay for food for the entire month… I did miss golf while traveling, so I checked available golf courses, but I think I would stick to playing golf in Australia. Here I can still afford golf.

I went to my local driving range again to brush up on my swing and realized that all I remembered were lessons I took and the useless instructions I got. All the angles, body shifts, step by step instructions on how to rotate my body, when all I ever want is to get the ball to the hole.

I am happy to report, that after a few buckets of balls I stopped thinking about the useless instructions and just concentrated on my target. And the swing became much more consistent, and the distance increased by a huge amount. Yesterday I hit almost every drive the entire distance of the driving range. Every ball bounced off the fence on the far side. That was satisfying. And all I thought was to smack the ball into that fence. No angles, no body shifts… just a natural swing.

I keep remembering Bubba Watson when I swing. He is one of the longest hitters on the tour. his swing is always criticized for not being the book standard that everyone should have. The commentators are so eager to mock the way he swings for its unorthodox look, but they always have to stop themselves for this is a man who won masters twice, and the commentators can only analyze his swing as they themselves have never achieved anything in golf. It gets kind of annoying sometimes listening to the tv gurus finding countless faults in this mans swing, and wonder how this man even gets the ball up in the air, let alone win tournaments.

I wish I never had any lessons. It’s so difficult to forget the stupid rules that the coach hammered into my head. All I want is to smack the ball in the hole. And if I concentrate on this simple action and forget the countless rules I am rewarded with a great golf shot.

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