Hickory NC
Last Seen: September 29, 2008
Greetings Golflink Readers !
It was a great holiday weekend for golf here in the foothills of western North Carolina with perfect weather, excellent friends and some fun rounds this past Memorial Day weekend ! I’m still in my rookie year of golf, but I’d like to share with you a mindset that I have adapted to my game. . . .
Chi [pronounced “chee”] (and also spelled Qi or Ch’i) means life force, and Chi is the spiritual energy in all things. Everyone has Chi; and balanced Chi provides harmony and well-being. Chi is energy - the life giving energy that unites body, mind, spirit and golf.
That which animates and unites life and golf is called Golf-Chi. Golf is defined by Chi even though it is impossible to grasp, measure, quantify, see or isolate. Immaterial yet essential to your golf game, Chi is an invisible force known only by its effects; and Chi is recognized by what it fosters, generates and protects.
When your Chi is strong, balanced, flowing and focused you exude energy and good health. Good mental health and strong balanced Chi are almost one and the same.
Ever heard: “The Golf-Gods Were Smiling On Me Today” ??
That’s “Golf-Chi”, and that’s the energy you have to realize is there, and be able to rely upon and be able to channel into your game when stepping up to the tee box without even thinking about it. Golf-Chi should be as basic to your game as “which end of the club to hold”. Chi is your expectation of what will happen, rather than all the other possibilities of what might happen, which may cloud, obscure and distract you from your best game.
Remember that great drive you made last week ?? It is precisely that "good feeling of accomplishment" that you want to bring with you to the tee again. Chi is the fundamental mystery and miracle of golf; and Golf is Chi taking shape.
Chi is that directed transfer of energy with finesse, that flows from your inner self, thru your golf club, into the ball, which brings that smile to your face when you watch it travel straight down the fairway. Chi is that 2nd shot landing 2 feet from the flag and it is YOUR Chi that will place YOUR ball into the cup. Chi will be the confidence and satisfaction you will carry with you from that tap-in to the next tee.
In T’ai Chi, some of the goals are to increase the amount of Chi; to learn to focus your Chi and to make sure your Chi does not get blocked or become stagnant. In T’ai Chi one quickly learns that muscles are no match for the power of Chi; and the power of Chi will carry you further than muscles. Chi is stronger than muscles, and movement that comes from Chi is more deeply powerful. (ever heard that golf is 90% mental and 10% physical – that’s golf-Chi)
Golf-Chi will make for a lifetime of study to understand, develop and to direct on the golf course, and not just an afternoon on the driving range.
When you develop your golf-chi you are developing your golf game as well as developing your appreciation for the game too.
If golf were an art, and your game is your canvas, YOU ARE the artist, now paint a masterpiece . . . .
Chi is your projection of your inner self into your game. If you have a desire to win you will be a winner; but if you look for faults in the course, or your clubs, or the flight in front of you, or your slow golf cart, or the wind or the many things I've learned that golfers whine about, then you’ve heard it from this rookie: “you need to get your “golf-chi right” and get back into your game”.
I like Jessica Albatross’s blog about “The Differences Between You & Tiger”. . . .
“Difference Number Sixteen – When Tiger Hits A Bad Shot, He Still KNOWS He’s The Best Golfer On The Planet; but when “we” hit a bad shot, we’re the worst golfer in the world; this is definitely the last round of golf we’re ever playing, and we’re selling our clubs on ebay as soon as we get home”
So in short, Tiger’s Got His Chi “Right” – he plays like a champion and thinks like a champion.
Me ?
I’m working on getting my golf-chi “right” !!
If I get my golf-chi "right" i know that with a little work and a lot of fun, my game will improve. I’ve been playing for 11 months, and there are “good days” and “not so good days” (but there are no “bad days”). Memorial Day, I guess I had my Golf-Chi “right” – I began with a birdie, followed with a couple pars, added some good friends to the mix and had a 44 on the front and a 44 on the back for an 88 – not my best day there (84), but it was a Grrrreat Memorial Day !
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU TOO . . . .
Lynn Starwalker
Hickory NC
