Be a Player

The week after the Masters is known by many as the unofficial kickoff of the golf season for many duffers. With that in mind one of the books I'm currently reading is Be a Player: A Breakthrough Approach to Playing Better on the Golf Course by Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott. This book was recommended by none other than the great Bill Murray on the Joe Rogan podcast.

The basic premise of the book is no matter how good your game or how good your skill, "Tension ruins techniques." You need to figure out where that stress is coming from and minimize it through "Balance, tempo, and tension awareness."

The book reveals that, "In the kinematic sequence of hitting a golf ball, your lower body moves first, followed by your upper body, then your arms, and finally your hands. Slower tempo often corrects faulty sequencing." You need to make your swing and club work together or as we often say, "Let the club do the work."

Nilsson and Marriott developed a system they call their performance routine. "It's based on the idea that every shot has a future, a present, and a past. We named the parts of this performance routine: Think Box, Play Box, and Memory Box. The Think Box is the period before the shot when your evaluating conditions, making a decision about the shot, and then shifting into a sensory shot. It characterized by analytic thought. The Play Box is the time and space over the ball in which you execute the shot. It's a sensory state - in which, for instance, you're feeling a low center of gravity or visualizing your ball flight. The Memory Box is your post shot process."

For most players their "Play Box" needs to get much bigger while their "Think Box" needs to get much smaller. Don't overthink your shots. And let the club do the work!