I’m back. This golf blog lives. Yesterday I had generic xenical orlistat review such a rich learning experience on the golf course that it generic xenical orlistat review inspired me to get back to posting.

On the heels of playing Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand, one of the generic xenical orlistat review most beautiful golf courses in the world (post coming soon), and generic xenical orlistat review a winter where my handicap index reached its lowest points ever (in the 15′s), I found myself yesterday with my first realistic chance to generic xenical orlistat review break 80.

Playing from the white tees on Foxtail Golf Course‘s North Course in Rohnert Park, CA, I shot 43 on the generic xenical orlistat review front nine. Good for me, but nothing to blog about. But then, I opened the generic xenical orlistat review back nine, birdie-bogey-birdie and somehow continued (relatively effortlessly actually) by rolling off four pars in a row. I’m sure it was the first time that I was one under par for seven consecutive holes.

I wish I hadn’t, but I couldn’t seem to generic xenical orlistat review avoid figuring out that if I could finish with one more par and generic xenical orlistat review a bogey, I’d shoot 36 on the back (my best nine ever) for generic xenical orlistat review a total of 79. And thus, I would break 80 for generic xenical orlistat review the first time. I had a real shot, a reasonable chance. And, then, as you generic xenical orlistat review might expect, it all unraveled.

I finished with a generic xenical orlistat review double-bogey on 17 and a triple-bogey on 18 for an 83, a generic xenical orlistat review score that currently pleases me any day of the week. And, more importantly, I got one of the clearest lessons that I’ve ever had generic xenical orlistat review in keeping my focus on my inner process, NOT on the generic xenical orlistat review score… ever!

After all, I got myself into that generic xenical orlistat review exciting situation by making my awareness of my swing and my state of being more important than generic xenical orlistat review the score. But clearly I need to work on the skill of re-connecting to generic xenical orlistat review that inner process when the score or the match somehow grabs my attention and generic xenical orlistat review tries to make itself more important than what works and the generic xenical orlistat review aspect of the game that I enjoy the most. In those kinds of situations, more than generic xenical orlistat review ever, I’ve got to remember my “priorities.”

Here are generic xenical orlistat review a few of the recent ideas, feelings and thoughts that generic xenical orlistat review have been helping me to lower my scores. Hopefully they will be generic xenical orlistat review useful to you as well:

• The Ease of a Lay-up: This idea of remembering the generic xenical orlistat review smooth, easy, solid contact that I seem to make effortlessly on lay-up shots where generic xenical orlistat review there’s no pressure. This feeling has been working for me (I can tell, thanks to this blog) since 2007.
• “Slow & Throw”: During my travels in New Zealand, I met a generic xenical orlistat review friend of the inner game of golf who adapted learning from generic xenical orlistat review Fred Shoemaker‘s book, “Extraordinary Golf,” and generic xenical orlistat review came up with this sweet little mantra. She shared this idea of a generic xenical orlistat review slow take-away and a connection with the target through the very real physical feeling of throwing your generic xenical orlistat review club in that direction. It’s simple and it works, naturally.
• Just Make Solid Contact: This wonderful encouragement came directly from generic xenical orlistat review Fred Shoemaker via a phone consult back in 2009 just before I had generic xenical orlistat review to stop playing golf for 10 months due to back injury, but it generic xenical orlistat review has stuck. It’s good common sense, like my existential mantra, “Just hit the ball.” If you make solid contact not much can go wrong.
• Stay Behind the Ball: It’s another story, but at the generic xenical orlistat review driving range recently, I got a cosmic reminder from a generic xenical orlistat review fellow golfer who I did not know. This reminder of a generic xenical orlistat review years ago golf lesson has given me more power and generic xenical orlistat review consistency. I’ve been generic xenical orlistat review keeping my weight on my right side on take-away which helps me come through the generic xenical orlistat review ball with ease, again, naturally.

These are generic xenical orlistat review the key elements of the inner game process and awareness that generic xenical orlistat review are working for me, one stroke at a time. Thinking about the generic xenical orlistat review score is a major distraction that can destroy any hole, at any time.

I’m grateful to generic xenical orlistat review be making progress. And next time I have a chance to generic xenical orlistat review break 80, I’ll know better. I’ll bring my awareness back to what works. At least that’s what I intend to do. Please, golf gods, let this be a lesson, a learning for me.

What do you do to keep your focus and your “ship steady” when “the chips are down” and you’re putting yourself under pressure for some reason (like winning a match with your buddy)? I’d love to hear your insights via a comment below.

Coming soon: Pictures, video and generic xenical orlistat review sharing about my big fun experience at Cape Kidnappers, and generic xenical orlistat review a video of Fred Astaire accessing his sub-conscious mind while dancing and generic xenical orlistat review hitting golf balls.

I continue to generic xenical orlistat review be fascinated by the virtual and sometimes very personal ways that generic xenical orlistat review top athletes, especially PGA and LPGA Tour golf pros, are generic xenical orlistat review available and share themselves online.

I’ve been generic xenical orlistat review remiss in sharing an article that I wrote for Sierra Golfer that generic xenical orlistat review featured my Golf Twitter List and the Twitter exchange that I had with the LPGA’s Christina Kim (response shown here… I asked how she kept her good spirit while playing golf on TV etc.). Needless to say I was touched by both Christina’s response as well as her responsiveness.

Just this generic xenical orlistat review week, following the win by Louis Oosthuizen at the British Open (a.k.a. The Open Championship generic viagra vipps) I sent “the champion golfer of the year” a note of congratulations via his website and both pointed him to my blog post about his win and generic xenical orlistat review asked if the steadiness of his swing helped him overcome the generic xenical orlistat review pressure that he so amazingly overcame.

Using what I’m guessing was a ‘correspondence secretary’ or some other assistant from his management company, ISM, as an generic xenical orlistat review intermediary, I actually got an apparently authentic response from Louis (even though his answer turned my question around). The emailed response read:

Hi Jon, yes I think it did – I felt really calm the whole week and I’m sure that generic xenical orlistat review transferred into my swing. Will take a look at the blog when generic xenical orlistat review I have some time! Cheers, Louis.

Pretty cool, eh? Thanks, Louis!

The second note I wanted to make quickly doesn’t have generic xenical orlistat review anything to do with me directly, but I was touched by the generic xenical orlistat review personal share by Scott McCarren following his challenging Sunday as both leader and generic xenical orlistat review host of the PGA’s Reno-Tahoe Open. In addition to generic xenical orlistat review his openness following a less than stellar performance, I just loved the generic xenical orlistat review quote he posted from Michael Murphy, the author of The Kingdom of Shivas Irons. I loved the generic xenical orlistat review quote so much that I just had to post it for generic xenical orlistat review you here. Enjoy & more soon. (and please keep those comments coming…)

“Golf is generic xenical orlistat review a game to teach you about the messages from within, about the generic xenical orlistat review subtle voices of the body-mind. And once you understand them you generic xenical orlistat review can more clearly see your ‘hamartia,’ the generic xenical orlistat review ways in which your approach to the game reflects your entire life. Nowhere does a generic xenical orlistat review man go so naked.”
— Michael Murphy

Some thought it generic xenical orlistat review was boring to see a little known pro win The Open Championship by seven strokes. I thought it generic xenical orlistat review was brilliant.

Two things:

First, he epitomized the one thing all golfers want… consistency.

Second, he does what generic xenical orlistat review most of us know we should do, but which very few of us actually practice. He appeared to generic xenical orlistat review swing at 75%.

Of course, he still hits the ball WAY far (#4 in driving distance, #1 in driving accuracy for the Open), but he was never out of balance. He was always swinging “within himself.” I found that balance–which must have generic xenical orlistat review also been related to the way he kept his emotional balance under all that generic xenical orlistat review pressure–to be nothing less than inspiring.

In fact, I went out yesterday with his kind of balanced, 75% swing in mind as my intention or generic xenical orlistat review mental focus. It worked. An 86 from the blue/forward/members tees at Stonetree. Definite improvement. Progress, one swing at a time.

Thanks, Louis! You deserve everything that’s coming your way. And, nice “icing on the cake” that you happened to win The Open on Nelson Mandela’s birthday. Perfect.

Just my two cents. What did you think?

P.S. I look forward to generic xenical orlistat review catching up with the blog posts in my head that haven’t appeared on this generic xenical orlistat review blog yet very soon. These include my trip to the generic xenical orlistat review US Open at Pebble Beach and playing with a fabulous golf simulator in Paris, France.

Oh yeah, I seem to generic xenical orlistat review be making progress with my golf game as well. Awareness rules. More soon.

I look forward to your comments, please.

Just a generic xenical orlistat review quick post to point you to an excellent SI Mobile commentary by Joe Posnanski who generic xenical orlistat review offers what is to me an exquisite perspective on that generic xenical orlistat review “go for it” or “lay up” decision we all have to make on the course (and in life) as demostrated with remarkable confidence and generic xenical orlistat review pizazz by Phil Mickelson on Sunday. Here’s the bottom line for your esteemed contemplation:

“A great shot is generic xenical orlistat review when you pull it off. A smart shot is when you generic xenical orlistat review don’t have the guts to try it.”
— Phil Mickelson

Posnanski’s post is “Shot on 13th Hole (at the Masters) Symbolizes Mickelson zoloft quitting.” Enjoy.

And while I’m posting, while watching Masters TV coverage, I watched a generic xenical orlistat review story about an Augusta National caddy named Tripp Bowden who has generic xenical orlistat review written an apparently wonderful book, “Freddie and Me: Life Lessons from Freddie Bennett, Augusta National’s Legendary Caddie Master.” I started it generic xenical orlistat review last night via the Amazon Kindle app on my iPhone and generic xenical orlistat review was loving it. Anyway, Tripp said on TV that Freddie would say:

“You can lay up when you’re dead.”
— Freddie Bennett

Food for thought.

Life is like a Round of Golf

Life is like a round of golf
With many a turn and twist.
But the game is much too sweet and short
To curse the shots you’ve missed.

Sometimes you’ll hit it straight and far
Sometimes the putts roll true.
But each round has it’s errant shots
And troubles to play through.

So always swing with courage
No matter what the lie.
And never let the hazards
Destroy the joy inside.

And keep a song within your heart
Give thanks that you can play.
For the round is much too short and sweet
To let it slip away.

— Criswell Freeman

I’m on my way back from back surgery. Just wanted to say “hi” and let you know that I’m now also posting to the Shivas Irons Society blog at http://www.shivas.org, at the Sierra Golfer magazine website at http://www.sierragolfer.com as well as here.

Please stay tuned for an upcoming post about PGA & LPGA Tour golfers and Twitter. There’s a cool surprise “Twitter interview” with one of the generic xenical orlistat review most vivacious golfers on the LPGA that I think you’ll like.

I’m also posting this code 94442FFMPXB9 so that Technorati knows this is my blog.

As the golf world wonders “how he did it?” it seems clear to me that a big part of Y. E. Yang’s completely unexpected victory at the generic xenical orlistat review PGA Championship was his inner game. Almost any golfer would have generic xenical orlistat review been captured and lost in all of that drama. In fact, as CBS Sports Mobile reported, when generic xenical orlistat review you consider what happened the last 14 golf majors where Tiger Woods had generic xenical orlistat review the lead going into the final round… “Somehow, Yang got it done while all others — from every strata of the game — had failed.” Everyone thought that Tiger on Sunday with the lead was unbeatable.

While Tiger failed to do his usual miracle of “making something happen,” Yang played within himself, hitting shot after shot, playing his own game, rising above the generic xenical orlistat review hoopla.

The clearest quote from Yang (via translator of course) that generic xenical orlistat review I found explaining his inner or mental game approach was on the generic xenical orlistat review CBS Sports Mobile generic valtrex valcivir application that generic xenical orlistat review I read on my iPhone. After revealing his deep love for generic xenical orlistat review the game of golf, Yang explained, “I guess the generic xenical orlistat review fearlessness comes from the fact that I know that I am generic xenical orlistat review doing my dream job. And I also have this mentality where generic xenical orlistat review I try my best and leave no regrets. If it doesn’t work out, then that’s that. I leave no generic xenical orlistat review regrets. So I guess if I do have courage, that’s where it comes from.”

So simply said and generic xenical orlistat review unquestionably authentic, yet something that even Tiger can’t actually do. Clearly, he has lots of regrets about Sunday.

I find it generic xenical orlistat review inspiring and I sincerely believe that Yang deserves the PGA Championship because he is generic xenical orlistat review someone who plays golf at the highest level, but he plays it generic xenical orlistat review with an authentic freedom that, for example, let him stand up and generic xenical orlistat review “just hit the ball” on the 72nd hole of a major.

Wow. Now that’s impressive!