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To practice zen golf, you just hit the ball. No swing thoughts. No
visualizations. No target. You just hit for the joy of hitting.
See our
zen page for a one page
explanation of how to
practice zen. Basically, you practice paying attention to the sensations
of the moment, such as your breathing or what is happening around you.
Gravity is the greatest orientation device on earth. As long as you
are on
or near the surface of the earth, gravity will tell you which way is
down. The biocomputer in your spinal column can compute where you are in
relation to the hole. You
can use the sensation of gravity as it acts on all the cells in your body,
along with the information coming into your eyes, to understand on a
preverbal level where you are. And what you need to do to get the ball
closer to the hole. If you are practicing zen, that is, keeping your
attention on the sensations of the moment, your body will understand what
it needs to do.
When you are getting ready to swing, get grounded. Getting grounded means
feeling gravity as it effects your body, in as many cells as
possible. Feel your feet. Which way is down? Plant your feet as though
you were getting ready for an
earthquake. Balance. Fell the direction of the pull of gravity.
Look at the hole and then the
ball, and use your feet and your eyes to gather the information that your
spinal cord uses to compute what you need to do.
The job of your mind is to allow into consciousness the orientation
information coming from your spinal cord. You do not have to put words on
the information. You receive a complex combination of feelings. Just let
them be.
Stroke gently.
It takes a few years of practice to get the hang of zen golf.
Zen is not about improving or reaching a goal. You just do it
for the doing it, to have the moment. Practice in general
is a good thing; George Leonard has
written a very good book about practicing anything:
MASTERY: THE
KEYS TO SUCCESS AND LONG-TERM FULFILLMENT (see left).
Michael Murphy--in The
THE LIFE WE ARE GIVEN (see left)
quotes Ben Hogan as saying, " The more I practice, the luckier I
get." Ben Hogan has a good book:
FIVE
LESSONS: THE MODERN FUNDAMENTALS OF GOLF (see left); the Hogan book is a good
place to start learning golf.
Keep Your Eye on the Ball
Perhaps you have heard that one before. The eyes are very near the
brain. Messages travel instantaneously from the eyes to the brain. If the
eyes wander off, even for a split second before the hit, the brain is no
longer getting information about the exact location of the ball. The
brain needs that information to coordinate the swing.
No Visualization
Zen is the opposite if visualization. When you are practicing zen, you do
not *imagine* anything; you just observe what is.
No Swing Thoughts
Do not talk to yourself while you are trying to swing. Just hit the ball
for the joy of hitting.
Conclusion
I do not mean to imply that any of this will improve your score,
but you will have your moments.
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