“Digging It Out of the Dirt” and the Lonely Art of Practice

Posted by doug

May 17, 2009

Like a lot of players in his day, Byron Nelson had to figure out the golf swing that worked best for him. He had to “dig it out of the dirt” for himself.

Byron and his contemporaries (including Hogan) didn’t have coaches or fitness instructors or nutrition coaches or golf psychologists or massage therapists or any of the “entourage” that modern players have.

They just went to the range by themselves. Or out to a distant part of the course. No distractions. Just their hearts, minds and intuition.

They relied on and trusted their own innate abilities to figure out the intricacies of the golf swing. And they would keep looking, keep thinking, keep testing until they found it.

And that’s just a commitment to practice. A commitment to a regular routine of improvement. But practice can be lonely. After all, it’s just you and your thoughts. That’s a frightening thing for many.

And I have always loved to do this myself. There is a quiet beauty to it. Just letting your mind be quiet. Once it is still, insights and intuitions can reveal themselves.

Today, we are just littered with things to distract us. The primary thing being the internet. In my opinion, one of the greatest time wasters invented. But those distractions are all self-caused. You have a choice to be distracted or not.

In a lot of ways it’s easier to build a team around you and have them tell you what to do. Makes sense – they’re the experts, right? Just listen and do. That’s all you have to do.

The famous scientist, Blaine Pascal, summed it up perfectly, “All of man’s troubles stem from his inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

I have included a video of Byron Nelson talking about his swing. Here’s a guy who figured out his swing by himself. Who learned how to use his lower body properly. Who became one of the greats of his generation.

That sweet, silky swing and those perfect dollar bill divots all revealed to him in the beauty of practice.