Entry 24.17

Ben Hogan is often credited with saying “Putting is the game within the game.” Uhm ok, yeah, sure. I guess. It’s one of those phrases said by one of the greats of the game that I don’t think gets enough attention. I’m not saying putting doesn’t get enough attention, although I’ll admit I could definitely stand to work on my putting a lot more than I do. In fact, practicing my putting skills has landed itself at the top of my New Year’s resolutions for my game. Ok, get back on topic before you completely lose your train of thought Tim. Putting is its own animal inside the game of golf. I can’t tell you how many times I have struck the ball well only to score decent because my putting skills just weren’t up to snuff. But I think Mr. Hogan compartmentalized only putting and ignored the real games within the game. How many games within a game are there and what exactly does a “game within a game” mean?

Walt Frazier, NBA legend, winner of two (2) NBA Championships, seven (7) time All-Star, and Basketball Hall of Fame member wrote a book called The Game within the Game. Each chapter of his book covers a different ‘game within the game’. Focused on the game of basketball, several of the chapters are very applicable, if not all of them, to any sport. One of Frazier’s key points that every golfer, no matter the skill level, should pay attention to: focus on developing your timing and mental skills. On their face, these two are seemingly worlds apart in any game but they are linked together by one extremely important word. Develop. “To grow or cause to grow and become more mature, advanced or elaborate”. These things don’t just happen on their own. Let’s draw the concept of developing our timing out. We must be actively focused on making our timing (defined in golf as the sequence of the motion) better. Being a range rat doesn’t make your timing better. In fact, it can make your timing worse.

But I have seen a change taking place on the practice facilities over the last year that excites me. Players are slowing down, hitting less balls, focusing on their mechanics, and making the balls they do hit count for more. When I look out and see players using the mirrors or checking their phones on the tripods, I smile. There’s one player who frequents the fitting bay to use the mirror. I mean it is almost daily that I see him working on his mechanics, making sure they are correct. It’s not everyone. There are definitely players who still show up and hit a ton of balls and instead of slowing down and figuring out why the last ball didn’t go where they wanted it to, they just rake another one over and try again, often with the same result. In The Golfing Machine, Homer Kelley breaks the swing down into three zones: the pivot, the arms, and the hands. Each zone has its own focus. The pivot is the way the body moves, the arms zone concerns how the club moves, and the hands deal with ball control. He goes on to say that you must start with the way the body moves, without a club or ball. Then as the player gets better at the body movement, you add the club back in, but still no golf ball. Finally, once the player is exhibiting the proper fundament movements of the body and club do you add the ball back in. Too often we immediately jump to ball flight and ignore the other two zones. Yes, ball flight definitely matters. But it is the final zone, not the first one. When ball flight goes wonky, take a step back, put down the club and make sure the body is moving correctly. Then pick the club back up and make sure you are moving the tool correctly.

Think of swinging the golf club like sword play. Especially if you look at the art of ancient Chinese sword play. When you watch a sword master applying his or her craft, it looks like he is dancing with the sword, not employing it as a weapon. The master allows energy to flow through him or herself and out to the sword, then captures the energy the sword sends back into his or her body to flow into the next movement. We should be doing the same thing with the golf club in our hands. Having spent some time learning Martial Arts including some weapons training, I can tell you I worked for hours on the way I was moving before I was ever allowed to pick up a weapon. And when I did, at first, I felt clumsy, and my motion was that of a herky jerky robot. Eventually with time, I began to feel the connection between myself and the instrument. I made it into the second zone but never even sniffed the third zone. In the third zone there is contact, just like with the golf swing according to Mr. Kelley. What would’ve happened if I had just jumped straight into the third zone? Even if my opponent was only armed with a training weapon, I can tell you I would’ve been beaten, battered and bruised and probably never landed a blow. Guess what? You hand someone a golf club, a ball and say, “Good Luck!”, guess how they are going to come off the course? Beaten, battered and bruised. Maybe not physically, but definitely mentally and emotionally. So, what do we need to do? We need to help that player develop. Pass through the progressions in a manner that causes them to grow, not just jump to the last step and send them out to “hit and hope”. Or we need to cause that to happen for ourselves.

Purposeful development is just one of the games within the game. Many games overlap but some are unique and stand alone. Other games that Mr. Frazier talks about in his book are learning your role, respecting your teammates and opponents, the effect of money on the game, and a need to reinvigorate the sport. All of these apply to golf as much as they do to basketball. These are the real games within the game. Not putting, or short game or iron play. Sorry Mr. Hogan, no disrespect but I think you got it wrong. The games within the game are the ones that better us not just at the game, but at life. Learning your role in life can be difficult. Trust me, I’ve got more than 38 years of experience and I’m still learning my role. Your role in my mind is not your title, it’s who you are as a person. Job titles and positions come and go, but at the end of the day, who you are doesn’t. I don’t mean you can’t change who you are, but the values, morals and ethics that you hold, should be clear cut. Respect. I could probably write an entire entry on respect and at some point, I’m sure I will. People want respect, but its not something you demand. Being loud and flashy doesn’t get you respect. At least not from me. Putting your head down, going about your business and letting your hard work talk for you? That’s a different story. I’m not saying don’t be proud of your accomplishments, but being Lebron James after winning the 2020 NBA Championship saying “I want my damn respect”? He couldn’t let the fact they just won the top spot in the league be enough. He had to demand it. My respect? Gone. The effect of money on the game? It’s HUGE! I don’t think we have to bring up more than how LIV has affected the game or the fact that players want to get paid to play in the Ryder Cup rather than being proud they earned a spot to represent their country. Reinvigorating the game? Covid was a terribly thing, but out of the ashes rose a phoenix. The game of golf is so strong right now. You are entering the industry at a great time but don’t let the growth now be enough! We must keep cultivating it, so it continues to grow so the future of the game is better for everyone. These are just some examples of the games within the game. I fleshed one out and touched on others. Now that you know what a game within a game means, which one are you going to focus on first?