Within hours of my post yesterday about gamesmanship, I got a phone call and e-mail from my mom. She was quick to point out that the definition for the word “gamesmanship” according to Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition indicates that it is a synonym for “cheat” or “trick”. She added, “It would appear that when you emphatically imply that you never cheat but suggest that you use verbal trickery under the ruse of gamesmanship they are not the same thing. Aren’t you very close to crossing the line?” I’d say that gamesmanship does come close to the line, but does not cross it. I sent my mom an interesting article at golfonline.com about gamesmanship. The author, Eamon Lynch says, “Let’s be clear: Gamesmanship isn’t cheating.” Lynch then goes on to quote Dr. Richard Coop, Golf Magazine’s mental game guru who says, “It doesn’t violate the rules but may violate the intent of the game, which is sportsmanship.” She explicitly pointed that blurb out to me. Mom makes a good point there. From there,
Gamesmanship
Golf is known as a “gentleman’s game” (ladies too, of course). That doesn’t mean that competition can’t get a little heated at times. I believe in sportsmanship and try my best to be a good, fair competitor. I’ve never cheated and never will. But my highly competitive nature forces me to employ a little gamesmanship at times. This is one of the great aspects of match play. I try to keep it subtle if I’m playing someone I don’t know well. I might overshoot a green with a 7 iron and exclaim that I can’t believe a 9 iron flew that far. I might concede a putt that’s a little long or make my opponent putt a gimme. These aren’t techniques that I invented but believe me, I file away every one that I hear. When I play against my brother or one of my close friends, it goes beyond sportsmanlike. A lot of it could be considered breaches in etiquette. When we escalate a match beyond “just for fun” it can get ugly. Recently,
It’s A Numbers Game
Golf is a numbers game. To excel, it requires both art and science. The art can be there from birth and might even be developed some over the years. But the science is there for everyone to use to their advantage. This is one of the reasons that I’m a serious stats guy. I’ve been a little overwhelmed with the journey that I’ve just embarked on, so I’ve been a little lax in keeping my own stats, but I promise you, that will change as I get settled in. When you do your practice sessions, what do you work on? Your stats tell you what to do, don’t they? Right? In my opinion, and this isn’t groundbreaking theory here, one of the biggest issues in people’s practice time is that they don’t practice the areas that need the most work. Psychologically, people like to do what they’re best at. If you know someone who might have a relatively high handicap but hits his driver well, go to the range with him. I bet he hits
Drives Are For Show, Putts Are For Dough
I think this phrase is one of the most overused pieces of misleading advice that circulates around the golf world. It’s most often heard after one player in a group bombs a big one down the fairway and the others are feeling a little inadequate. Certainly, those who have given it real thought realize that the intent is correct. That is, to stress that putting (and the short game overall, for that matter) are critical for scoring. That’s certainly true. But a person who is both long and straight off the tee is at a distinct advantage. Taking a nine iron or pitching wedge into a longish par four is a much better scoring proposition than trying to reliably get the job done with a five or six iron. That holds even for a touring pro. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should stop working on your short game in favor of bombing drives at the driving range. But if you can, try to work in some practice time to improve distance and accuracy off
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