What I learned about golf

I met an Argentinian professional golfer at a party recently. He spends half his time in Florida, and half in Argentina. He went to the University of Alabama on a golf scholarship, met a girl there (an "Alabamian"), and nine years later, they are getting married. I sat and talked with him for a bit about golf, and I was surprised to learn a few things. Honestly, I've always thought golf was quite boring, and all the usual things, and I guess I still do, but there were a few strange parallels with acting that I thought I'd share with you...

He said that because you have a lot of time in golf - between each hit (or put, I'm not sure exactly what it's called), and during the several days that a tournament lasts - that you consequently have a lot of time to think about all the terrible things that might happen. If things are going badly, you have plenty of time to ruminate and mope and make yourself feel bad. If things are going well, you have plenty of time to get nervous that your luck may run out. The real key, the gift of a truly great golfer, is to stay completely in the moment - for the duration of the tournament. Staying in the moment is difficult no matter what, but I imagine for a basketball or soccer player, it's not as trying, as you have to think quickly and spontaneously. In golf, it seems, you think, you walk, you hit, you go to sleep in your hotel, you think, you dream, you wake up, you think some more...And if you're like most people, you psych yourself out. Sound familiar, my fellow actors?

Because it's so difficult, he works with a sports psychologist on visualisation and self-esteem. He visualizes the shots he will make, he visualizes success, etc. He also works on the art of not anticipating, staying completely in the moment - you can't think about the outcome of the shot before you make it, or you're dead in the water (or I don't know, dead in your pink, plaid pants - which is worse). He told me that sometimes as he's taking a shot, he's thinking, gosh, if I get this, it will mean that I'll make this much money, my career will take off, I can buy the house for my wife, etc, etc, and then he's completely out of the moment and messes everything up.

But here's the most important thing: he said that the main key to success in golf was believing that you deserve to win. That is, if something happens in a tournament that surpasses your image of yourself, i.e., you perform better than you think you can, then you will lose the moment. Your image of yourself has to be in harmony with your playing. That, he said, was the main difference between Tiger Woods and the rest of the professional golfers - his understanding that he deserved success.

To sum up : don't anticipate, stay in the moment, and believe you deserve to win/do well. I suppose it's not just actors that this applies to, but it's funny how much the exact same things have been repeated to us over the years as the major keys to success....

ps: I want to work with a theater psychologist!!! Jeez! Is there such a thing? :)