How To Find Romance
On The Golf Course

In a competitive match in my early golf days, my opponent commented right before I hit my shot, “That sure is a narrow opening up there between those traps.”  Fortunately, I put it on the green in spite of her jab.  Not sure why it is so, but women players can be pretty wicked to beginners.

When I decided to take lessons and improve my golf game, I made a specific plan to get my game into shape.  I loved to practice.  Being at the chipping green at the end of the day and honing my shots was heaven on earth to me.  The women at my club pretty much thought it was odd that I actually practiced more than I played. continue

Image from http://Golf.com

Over the years I have learned a lot from the guys I play with.

No, I don’t run off to pee in the trees, nor do I put as much on the line in the money games like they do.  But I have had some great times out there being the only girl in the group.

When my now hubby and his best friend invited me out to play in the weekly game, there was only one requirement.  They didn’t want it publicized because while one woman was ok, they didn’t want it to become “Couples Day”.  I think that was because I take the game seriously and scoring in the 80’s doesn’t hurt.

Once while vacationing in Door County, Wisconsin with three other couples, the women wanted to go shopping and guess what I wanted to do. That’s right.  The guys were playing golf and I was invited to go along.  Even though my presence created a fivesome, we got the okay from the pro shop and headed to the first tee.

It was a spectacular October day and the fall colors at their peak. Even the best sales at the hottest boutiques couldn’t tempt me from spending this day on the course.  My favorite part of the day came on a slightly down hill par 3.  One of the guys said, “Buck for closest to the hole.”

Each guy took his turn on the tee and most had good shots, three of four on the green.  Then it was my turn.  I stepped up…..

Now I have to say, there was a time when feeling the eyes of four men on me as I attempted to get on a par 3 would have paralyzed me and I would have either shanked or topped the shot.  When my game was improving, I wanted my husband at the time to see how well I was doing.  I was taking lessons and practicing nearly everyday.  I fell hook, line and sinker for this game and couldn’t get enough of it!

The trouble was, every time we played together, my nerves and my desire to perform blew me apart on the course. That is when I started to read books about the Inner Game of Golf.  I scoured the golf psychology world and learned to calm myself and to access peak performance at will.  I created a new goal.  I wanted to USE my nerves with my husband to practice the techniques I learned.

Flipping my target from scoring well to maintaining my calm focus worked and my index fell from 33 to 7 within three short years.  Woohoo!  And now….back to the story.

I stepped up to the tee and calmly hit my ball three feet from the hole. Truthfully, I always felt a deep sense of relief and personal achievement when I pulled off a shot like this…..I still do.  When I turned around to face the stunned guys, they all took their dollar bills out, wadded them up and threw them at me….even my hubby.  I was grinning from ear to ear!

The icing on the cake?  When we got to the green I realized there was another spectator.  The greens keeper was sitting on a mower at the green.  He made a big deal of complimenting me and teasing the guys.  Like I said, I love being the only girl in the group!

This message was sent to my http://Meetup.com group The Law Of Attraction and Soul Mates. We meet in San Diego and have a meeting this Saturday. For more info check out http://LOAinLove.com

Enjoy:

“My firm belief is that when a MAN meets a WOMAN that HE really, *really* likes, then HE will move heaven and earth to be with HER.

A quick phone call to say “hi” will not be a task HE has to try to find time to fit into HIS incredibly busy day of working and sitting through meetings HE doesn’t even want to attend, but an exciting, joy-filled moment purposefully snatched to bring sanity and reason to why HE is putting up with all the other BS.

Spending some time together will be something that becomes a priority simply because it brings HIM great happiness. No other reason needed. HIS need and willingness to shower HER with love, affection, and attention (or just be in HER space), to make HER feel special and cared for (liked, loved, whatever), will be in the forefront of HIS mind throughout HIS day, because seeing HER smile and hearing the happiness and excitement in HER voice is a measure of success HE lives by.

HE will be HER greatest cheerleader in life, certain SHE can walk on water with beauty, grace, and ease and HE will forever stand by HER side reminding HER how talented, brilliant, and accomplished SHE is and always will be.

And simply looking in HER eyes will remind HIM how special HE is to HER.

And, without a doubt, for ALL OF THE ABOVE, SHE will be all of that and more to HIM.”

Beautifully written, Thanks Tom!

I remember the first time I went to the golf course by myself to “pick up a game.”

It felt very weird to walk up to the desk and sign up as a single.  I had seen lots of people do it, primarily men.  Being paired up with random singles was part of my golf experience.  But ME, going out alone without a golf buddy in tow was uncomfortable.

I started by going to the driving range alone. I came to LOVE my solo practice sessions.  I love the feeling of a clean golf shot.  Some say a shot on the sweet spot feels better than sex.  I will let you deal with that one on your own.  Suffice it to say, the golf swing does feel really good when it is honed and practiced.

When my kids were young,  I would escape to the area range when my husband got home from work. It was a GREAT escape.  I could hit dozens of balls with no interruptions.  Time for myself.  Occasionally guys would stop by to admire my swing and many would volunteer free tips, even though my swing was better than theirs!

But going out to play alone was foreign and unappealing. I decided that was ridiculous and made a date with myself to pick up a game.  Isn’t weird how we make such a big deal out of nothing?  I had a fantastic time that day!  Acting as if I had done it a thousand times before, I walked up to the cute young pro behind the desk and said, “Greens fees for one please.”

To my immense relief, he didn’t look at me like I was a loser who couldn’t get a golf date. He just quoted the price, took my card, handed me a score card and pointed me in the direction of the first tee.  I felt wonderful.  I went out and introduced myself to the three men I was joining and got ready to tee off.

The guys were great.  They didn’t know each other either! We all had our share of bad shots and good shots and chatted about this and that.  It is easy to say “Nice shot!”  And everyone has a golf story to tell!  A golf pro buddy of mine says it takes about 3 holes before people loosen up and start to engage with one another.  I think she is right!  By the end of a round, there is a nice rapport within the group.  Settling into the 19th hole for a beverage and recap puts just the right finish on the day.

I love meeting new golf friends. There are even golf meet up groups (http://Meetup.com) in many cities.  If golfing alone intimidates you, all the better reason to get out there and do it!!  Golf is the best confidence builder ever and if you don’t think so….get out there and get some lessons.  If great golf really IS better than sex, you don’t want to miss out do you?

If your self confidence needs a boost, check out this free telecall on November 10 at 6 pm pacific: http://ow.ly/AISt

Yeah Baby!!

One of the reasons I LOVE golf is because it stretches me like nothing else! Ever since the days when I used to whiff, (yikes, what a shock that is!) fear of failure in golf has haunted me.  I am a pretty decent player these days (yay!) but deep inside the fear of embarassing myself is still there.

I played golf for 15 years before I actually started to play well. My scores ranged right around 100 for eighteen holes and I LOVED to play!  Imagine how fun it was when my scores dropped into the seventies!  I worked hard at my game and did a lot of practicing at home (the old mat and mirror technique.)  My missed shots got less frequent, yay!  The irony is, I got even MORE embarassed when I would mess up.

I wasn’t a club thrower or obscenity tosser. No, I steamed on the inside.  I was a miserable person to play with, bless my golf mates’ hearts!  Being terrible to myself was the norm.  I HATED it when I couldn’t perform at my best.

My turning point came when tragedy struck. A young friend of mine was killed in a snow mobile accident.  He was only 34, a great guy, full of life and potential.  He was a passionate golfer and as a personal memorial to him, I vowed to never be a jerk in golf again.

My resolve to learn to be patient on the course has revolutionized the game for me. My acceptance of my own imperfections has lifted my self esteem.  Learning that golf is not a game that needs perfection in order to be enjoyed is a life long pursuit.  I still get frustrated.  I still hit shanks and worm burners.  But I am choosing to respond differently.

I can now have fun even on an off day.  I learned that if my ‘A’ game doesn’t show up on a given day, I can still have a heck of a good time with my ‘B’ game…..IF I choose to do so!  Yes, feeling better about yourself is the perfect way to not only LOVE this wonderful game, your improved self esteem will impact your off the course life too!

Golf stretches and stretches and stretches you! Each game is filled with problems to be solved, just like life!  Get out there and enjoy it!

I was out practicing at the driving range the other day with my sweetie.  Once again, I was in the minority.  It is fun being the only girl around! When I was teaching golf, I had a hard time convincing many of my students to actually practice.  They would tell me they always hit a few balls before their round and that was their idea of practice.

Funny, these players never saw much improvement.  Serious players, wanting to improve their game are a great group of guys.  Here are some of the reasons I love them:

1.  They would rather be outside on a sunny Saturday afternoon than at home on the couch watching football. Yes, they probably are Tivoing the game, but that is a different issue!

2. Many notice and compliment the rare woman who makes an appearance at the range. Single women crave being noticed and appreciated by guys and golfers truly appreciate a woman who knows what she is doing out there.

3. Guys are ready to have a putting or chipping contest. It is really easy to strike up a casual conversation over a practice session.  Don’t believe me?  Just try it!

4. Golf Etiquette inspires politeness. The golf environment is usually pretty gentlemenly.  Yes, there are the occasional yahoos in the ranks of amateur golfers.  For the most part, though, the men are respectful about how they behave out there.

5. A woman is treated the way she EXPECTS to be treated in golf. I hear all kinds of stories about how rude and classless some men are on the golf course.  I can honestly tell you, that is not my experience.  I have met and continue to meet the best men around when I go to practice or play.

If you are a single gal who wants to pal around with the fantastic guys who love the game of golf, you have nothing to lose by taking some lessons with your area golf pro and hitting the driving range.  Set an intention to be the best player you can be and you WILL attract some pretty suh-weet attention out there!  Can romance be far behind?