The action of focusing on the ball not only provides a point of concentration but also keeps the head still.

When Aubrey and I were playing a lot together, we were often congratulated, upon the deftness of our short game—and the congratulations were usually followed by the comment, “How long you keep your head down after the ball has gone!” Their idea was obviously that I kept my head down because it enabled me to “keep my eye on the ball.” But what I was really doing was to keep my head down in order to retain the feel of the swing and to keep my controls going even though the ball had been dispatched. Few spectators realized that I often hit these shots with my eyes shut; yet I did so.
But by playing with my eyes closed, my senses are wide open. My main concern was to see that my general muscular feel and sense of balance continued right through to the end. Not until finishing the follow-thru did I look up to see where the ball had gone. I never miss a shot through looking up too quickly; I do sometimes miss one through fear of missing it! The primary fault is not in looking up but in losing the feel of the swing.
Incidentally I have taught many pupils to play beautiful pitch shots without looking at the ball. One very well-known golfer to whom I taught this brought out his “better-half” to watch him “do his circus stuff.” He played some beautiful shots high in the air over gaping bunkers, dropping close around the pin every time and all the while looking me straight in the face. His wife was utterly astonished; then she saw the funny side of it and laughed herself nearly into hysterics!

My view is that the good golfer can only see the ball when his swing is working smoothly, and then it looks as big as a tennis ball. The beginner sees the ball in another way, and because of this, more often than not he misses it. His attention is so concentrated upon seeing the ball that he cannot feel the action of his swing. The business of seeing the ball occupies him too exclusively.

Do I mean by that that the beginner needs to learn how to see the ball? That is exactly what I do mean. He must learn not to see the ball to the exclusion of all his other senses. So when I tell a pupil to keep his eye on the ball I at once go on to the work of building up a swing that makes looking at the ball a necessity. Of course every pupil “looks up” badly at first to have the pleasure of seeing where the ball has gone, but this is a primitive stage and soon over.

In the next stage, when I am impressing him more with the importance of swinging correctly, I find that he often becomes so engrossed in the swing as to be unable to remember to keep his eye on the ball. But in such a case I believe the cure must come by making the “head down” a natural outcome of the swing. If I simply insist upon “head down,” I run a risk of getting my pupil all stiffened up, “frozen on the ball” as we call it, and consequently only able to make hacking, chopping movements.

Some people get plenty of entertainment when they simply play the game of golf. But it can be made so much more fun when you put twists on regular games. You can modify the way you play and get a lot more enjoyment from the game.

For example, why not play a game of “monkey golf”. For this game, you put slips of paper in a hat that bears the name of each club in a normal bag. Players pick out a slip of paper and they have to use only that club for the entire round. The entertainment possibilities here are endless as you can imagine a person driving off the tee with a putter or chipping with a driver!

You can find great entertainment in the golf game when you play a little night golf. Golf courses aren’t lighted, but you can get glow in the dark balls and have grease pots on the greens so you can see where you’re going – well, sort of. It’s great fun to drive your ball and then have to navigate in the dark to see where it went! Let’s hope you didn’t slice into the woods!

A friendly game of Wolf is hilarious entertainment. With this game, you have the option of picking players to be on your team based on how they hit the ball. Teams can change often. But the most fun of this game is when a player is putting to win the hole. The other players are allowed to do anything they want as long as they don’t touch the ball. That leaves the field wide open. You can cover the player’s eyes, place obstacles in front of the hole – the possibilities are endless – and great fun!

Some friendly side bets can also increase the entertainment value of the golf game. Try making these bets with dares instead of money. Wouldn’t it be funny to make your opponent play with his or clothes turned inside out if they don’t make that putt? Use your imagination and be creative – however, keep it G-rated. The golf course is, after all, a public place!

Finding entertainment on the golf course is actually quite easy when you think outside of the proverbial box. Just remember that the whole point of a friendly game is to have fun. So go out and do it!

When you are conducting business on the golf course, you have the luxury of sharing a common goal – to beat each other.  Yet at the same time, when you are playing with business associates on the golf course, you really need to practice some decorum as you compete against each other.

So how do you balance business with sport on the golf course?  Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this question.  Just as with any decision in business, you have to weigh the outcome with what is happening.  If you are trying to land a big account, you probably won’t want to make fun of your potential client’s missed chip shot.

However, you won’t want to gain a reputation as a suck-up either.  If your potential client makes a 7 on a par 3 hole, you really don’t want to whoop and holler because it will be obvious you are just trying to stroke his (or her) ego.  Conducting business on the golf course is a delicate proposition, so start with a plan in mind.

DO NOT – (and this can’t be stressed too much) – DO NOT begin your golf match with a declaration of what business outcome you hope to accomplish by the end of the round.  If you want to insure that you will be landing that big account, don’t put on your golf glove on tee #1 and declare your intention.  The idea behind conducting business on the golf course is to make friends first and then do your business.

As you are playing, keep in mind that you will want to bring your “A” game as much as is humanly possible.  Sure, you might be playing against a person who is head and shoulders above you, but if you are the better player, DON’T let them win just because you want to gain their business.  Play golf like you mean it and you’ll gain the prospect’s respect.

There is much business that is done on the golf course every day of every week.  You won’t find a better place to make a business deal than on the links.  However, you will want to use some form of decorum to insure that your business goals will come to reality.  Taking business to the golf course could be the best business decision you ever make!

Golfers constantly monitor the weather and if the temperature is over 50 degrees, we wonder what shape the course is in.  We have The Weather Channel website as number one on our favorites list and check it daily.  The ten day forecast is our friend as we plan out our golfing days based on the weather.

We wear the label of golfers with pride and it is reflected in our clothing, our vehicles, and the items we use to decorate our desks.  Golfers want the world to know that they love golf and they are not ashamed to admit it and put it out there for everyone to see.

The Golf Channel is a necessary part of television for all golfers.  If our cable package doesn’t contain The Golf Channel, we switch cable carriers.  If they charge for The Golf Channel, we gladly shell out whatever price they ask with no questions.

On Saturdays and Sundays during golf season, golfers are watching whatever tournament is on television that week.  That is, after we’ve already played a round or two.  We know that the Masters is one of the most important PGA Tour events, but we also know that it’s just as much fun to watch the Pebble Beach Celebrity Pro-Am as well.

Golfers always know what the new driver is that has been released by Callaway and we often have heated conversations about whether to use a balata ball or a noodle.  Golfers always have golf tees in their pockets and we don’t often take them out before the clothes are washed thus wreaking havoc with our washers and dryers.

Golfers know how Freddie Couples swings through on his chip shot.  We know that Jim Furyk has a great back swing and that John Daly can drive the ball 400 yards pretty consistently.  Golfers can tell you what year Arnold Palmer won his first major and how old Tiger was when he turned pro.

Yes, golfers are a specific breed with their own quirks and personalities.  But golfers are proud of who they are and will never apologize for their obsession with golf.  Golfers know that golf is a way of life – not just something you do.