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It’s something we think and dream about, yet for many, to be in the middle of the competition fray can be daunting with the uncontrolled physiology of your body doing things you wish it wouldn’t. That clutch tee shot on the last hole, that needed two-putt from 35 feet, or that five-footer for the win. Can you pull it off? Do we really need all that stress? Let’s keep it in perspective.

There’s good stress and bad stress. The bad stuff is worrying about something you have no control over. It can eat at you. The good stress is where you drive yourself and have a say in the ending. Nothing feels better than coming through when it counts. A swing back and through the ball with authority. To win a beer or a few quarters off your Sunday foursome, to win your own Club championship, or a win at a prestigious tournament. Clutch shots at the right time. It also feels good, though granted not as much, to come through down the last stretch of holes but to tip your hat to the player who outplayed you.

However, I think it’s fair to say that most have suffered the thinking of “I’m not going right and into that pond” at the top of the swing and have the ball fly way left into the trees only to make double-bogey. Or the slight jerk or body twitch as the putter blade is about to strike the ball for that key 4-footer. A common one is coming up short on a pressure putt. These are the reasons why we won’t be quitting our day jobs.

This blog is not about breathing and stress relief techniques – volumes of books are on that topic! But why work five days a week, then play a golf event over the weekend, and have a continuance that ongoing stress level? Why not take two days off and just stare at the walls? Because when we do come through it feels great.

I recall being kind of mentally exhausted after working five-days, then playing a weekend competitive tournament, only to go back to work. But that has changed over the past five years or so. Now I just go out and try to enjoy the round. Work, family and life just seems so busy and complicated these days. It’s a nice walk with some good shots here and there, along with friendly banter with your playing partners. If you end up being in that position to win or beat a playing partner, great, that’s a bonus. You know what, the sun will come up the next day if things don’t go well on the golf course.

So try to have fun out there and take things in perspective. That loose feeling may translate into easier and smoother golf swings. You might also have a good and successful story to tell come Monday. Just don’t think about formulating that story in the middle of the 18th fairway. Enjoy the golf season.

For the last few years Qualicum Beach continues to top the list of places with the largest proportion of seniors. There are a few retirees that live in this wonderful region. Surprisingly, we don’t get too many out to compete in our Zone 6 Senior Championship, though that has improved the last two years, but we do have some of the best older players in the province. By that I mean 40 and over. 

Let’s look at the BC Master 40 Championship that runs concurrently with the BC Mid-Amateur. In 2007, 2008 and 2010 the winner was Sandy Harper. In 2011 it was Stephen Watson and Greg Koster won it in 2012. Oh, and the guy how won in 2009? That would be Brian DeBiasio and he recently moved to Qualicum Beach. The last six Master 40 champions reside in Zone 6. 

The BC Senior Championship in 2012 was won by Sandy Harper and Tony Hatchwell finished second. The Zone 6 team that included DeBiasio walked away with the Zone Team Championship. Hatchwell also finished second in the 2011 championship. 

The 2012 PNGA Cup team consisted of Harper and Watson for the BC Master 40 component and Hatchwell was one of the two players for the senior team. Good zone representation. 

So how did this all happen? A guess would be these good long-time players somehow managed to stick with the game all these years despite more important things in life like family and working for a living. They found that work-life balance. That’s something that’s hard to do these days. 

I have seen many a golfer who was very good until the mid-20’s and then kind of disappeared into the world of life. Golf takes a lot of time in this fast paced world. Other life issues take over. 

Part of the message is to stick with the game over time because you could become competitive again later in life as perhaps you were in your younger years. Or you may be a later bloomer. And perhaps if you live in Zone 6 that would help too. That easy and smooth lifestyle. 

I would be remiss not to acknowledge the women’s provincial champions in the over 40 category like Jackie Little (2011 and 2012 senior’s champion) and Shelley Stouffer (2012 Master 40) that also reside in Zone 6. 
 
Enjoy a nice game of golf in Zone 6 but be wise and think again about playing a pick-up game with some of the older folks that live in this neck of the woods. You could be in for a surprise.

You first need to know that this is the view of a 46-year old and a person who has played golf since eight years old. I am a bit of a traditionalist and for the players that know me I am often 10-20 years behind when it comes to technology. It took me years to move from persimmon woods to metal. I was only recently using a Taylor Made Burner Bubble 3-wood that was about 20 years old and sometimes a vintage older than the players I was competing against. Yes, the Titleist 3-wood that I acquired just over a year ago to replace is better, but not by much. You still need a good swing. This brings me to bully putters...chest putters, or however they are called. It’s about the swing.

I have always thought it was fundamentally wrong to anchor a club to the body. I perceived it as an unfair advantage when the pressure was on. How it has been within the rules of golf for so long since tried quite a number of years ago I also thought was fundamentally wrong. We have a small generation of golfers who have learned to play that way. We also have a considerable number of players who, whether through the dreaded yips or just down right weren't putting well and needed to re-focus, reached for the belly putter. This latter group will manage back to the traditional way of golfing I hope fairly well. Before these long putter shafts came into existence, those folks will again have to go back to the process of taping the grip or pulling out a different putter, or buying a new putter, to get out of that putting funk. Or they just play through it knowing it will pass. You can tell...I’ve been there, done that. It’s the former group, the relatively new players to the game of golf that lose out a bit more. They will have to learn to putt a different way for the first time. Is it a drastic change? No, it is after all a pendulum issue. Take the putter back, and then let it go forward to hit the ball. The mechanics of that has now shifted to the arms only and not part of the body. It will be a slight adjustment.

Have I ever used a belly putter? No. Over my 35 years of competitive golf I have seen every player, including really good players, go through putting woes and get really frustrated. To the point of almost quitting the game. Some have taken an extended break and come back reinvigorated. But just as putting issues can exist for days or weeks, it can also happen in one round of golf. Ever had a round going really well, then have a short putt on the 13th hole, miss it, and have those dreaded thoughts creep in to then go in the opposite direction for the last five holes? I think we can all put our hand up for that one.

Indeed, it is the psychology of golf and mind over matter. Not just about who can swing better but also who can manage their minds better. I have seen tremendous golfers on the range turn into mediocre players on the golf course, and vice versa. Mental toughness is a big part of this game. With this in mind, pardon the pun, let’s go back to the way the game of golf was intended to be played and train our minds to “swing” with the flow. The governing rules folks decided the new rules would take three years to take full effect. With respect that’s a mistake. It should have been one year – one golf season.

There’s debate out there if anchored putters are even an advantage at all. If it was, why are more people not using them and more anchor putters winning more? Good question though swinging with equipment anchored to your body seems out of place in this game. Another point is golf needs to adapt to keep people playing golf. Advancements in equipment and golf balls have certainly helped. The sweet spot on the golf club is much bigger today than the 1980s. The slow decline in golf participation has happened over the same time anchor putters have been in place. There are bigger issues to deal with.

To the players that will be out on the golf course over the next three years with the belly putters, you are playing by the rules and I respect and honour that. However, also know 2016 is coming. All the best during the transition process.