What Pusha T and Tom Watson have in common
What Pusha T and Tom Watson have in common
Yesterday's slice is not today's slice.
It’s easy to enjoy the best course you’ve ever played. The one in Golf Digest’s Top 100 You Can Play that you research at lunch every day for a year. You pay for the round months in advance. You use PTO. You bookend the round with artisan coffee and an expensive luncheon. Multiple pints, perhaps. You make a capital P “Plan.” These rounds are often pinnacles in our relationship with the game. They demand reverence. Extra cash. And gratitude.
Gratitude is a buzzword. It’s like “sustainable,” or “versatile.” I’m not trying to do the “peaks and valleys” thing here but that’s another cliche that applies.
This too is nothing new - golf is a relentless test of character.
Chiefly, how you play the game itself; Are you a quitter? - Or - Do you complain?
But also - How do you speak about your game with strangers? How do you handle failure? Success? What does the conversation you have with yourself sound like?
In all things, attitude is indicative of emotion. And the way you think about and frame your relationship with your hobbies, habits and vices speaks volumes about how you feel about them. Most importantly, they reflect how you think and feel about yourself.
I call myself a swashbuckler - I think it’s fun to be a scrambler. Obviously we’d all like to be on schedule, and we should pick our spots with our best in mind. By this I mean, no one’s trying to hit it in the woods. But you’re going to have a lot of rounds where you just don’t have it. Honestly - most of the time, you won’t.
Much like Pusha T (Terrance Thonrton), Tom Watson’s made a career of keeping his card clean and staying out of jail. While the former presumably pushed weight - Watson pushed pars.
His unbridled optimism despite poor swings or bad strokes of luck helped carve an identity as a gritty, persistent player. It’s tough to beat someone known for relishing every opportunity to get ahead - let alone hitting shots from behind trees or knee deep in a hazard.
In life and on the course, it’s even tougher to be Tom Watson. Or Terrance Thornton.
I do not like relish as a noun, but as a verb, it’s often used to emphasize the importance of beauty, serenity, and deep breathing. People always relish their time at Pebble Beach. They forget to relish the in-between. The less then savory grind to find more from your game.
In this way, the weekend golfer and Push are definitely not the same. I have a hard time believing orchestrating the sale of large amounts of narcotics is in any way similar to practicing your six footers, but I digress.
You’re asking yourself, “Okay - other than a bad tee shot or yipped putts, how can anything related to golf be ‘terrible?’ Playing golf always beats work. Where is the misery, the struggle of which you speak?”
Ahem. Inclement weather. Playing partners with bad attitudes. Rude comments from strangers. Slow play. Lumpy donuts. Lost balls from good swings. Cart path only. A broken bag stand. And playing very, very poorly. Don’t lie to yourself. There’s a million ways to have a bad time.
I think these moments are invaluable for their simultaneous humor and humility. Finding ways to relish the crummy stuff will help carve a path to a healthier, happier relationship with the game of golf.
But it’s easier said than done.
Be prepared.
The forecast, photo gallery, and depths of the golf interweb are at your disposal. I’m a big control what you can control guy. I think if you know what to expect from the variables that are out of your control you can better determine what to expect from yourself. Your own expectations of your game are, to me, one of, if not the most important, components of playing golf. Divorcing yourself from focusing on those other things is a step towards honing in on your own approach to the game.
Keep Stats.
You probably do this already. Most folks track greens, fairways, and putts. If those stats are still a little depressing, try and think about keeping data that’s more aligned with your game: lost balls, good shots, and terrible shots. I’m actually a little anti-data with golf (I think it’s all about feel anyway), but having something to constantly keep track of when you’re out there keeps you busy, and less worried about external factors.
(With exception) Don’t worry about other people.
It’s perfectly fine to not be Mr. Nice Guy out there with the people you get paired with. Actually, it’s fine to not be searching for every ball for a full five minutes, even if you’re with your brother in law. You don’t need to like them. You don’t keep their score. You should watch their tee shots. Offer up a “Good Shot” when it’s appropriate. It’s really easy to get lost out there and not focus on yourself. But for the most part, just do you.
Take Care of the Course.
This is something you should do all the time - but especially at dog tracks and in poor conditions. It’s cathartic to fix a divot after shanking a shot. It’s even better to fix your ball mark on a shoddy putting surface. Like American National Parks, take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints. All golf courses are sanctuaries - ALL OF THEM! Even if they’re mowed once a year. Being a champion of the game does not mean you make a ton of birdies. It means having respect for yourself and for the ground on which you play.
Enjoy the Opportunity to hit a cool shot.
This one’s harder than others because you will have to actually execute - just understand that I’m asking you to try to do the impossible every once in a while. Most golf guys would tell you to never hit the hero shot - but honestly, I think taking your lumps is overrated. Look, if you’re hitting it like shit, chances are you’ll be behind trees, knee deep in rough stuff, 200 yards back on par 4’s, etc. You’re seeing every inch of the course. Definitely do your best to keep your round together - there’s no better way to shoot 103 than attempting the Bagger Vance see-the-shot on #5. But on the back 9 - absolutely go for gold. If you’re R.I.P. - RIP! The worst rounds can be saved by a sick shot to get yourself back in position to score. I’d recommend watching some videos on hitting low snap-hooks - I think they’re easier shots to use in recovery when I miss low and left (most of the time you’ll hit the trees in front of you trying to hit it left to right).
Be Obsessively Positive - Even if it’s in Jest
It’s hard to smile after a bad shot. Perhaps that’s why Watson Pars are so hard to come by. But there are so many wonderfully comedic cliches that can follow an abhorrent pass at the golf ball. I’ll end here with a few -
“Oh go in.” -A putt that’s a good 5 feet short - or a shot that’s clearly headed out of bounds.
“Darn you, Carl.” -Shoutout Matt Macioce for this one.
“Better than most.” -Following a flubbed chip.
“Here we go Jim!” after everyone in your group just sprayed it O.B.
I never say this, but other people do.
I think it’s gold - mostly because you can count on it at least once a round.
“I wasn’t hitting it like [that] at the range!” It’s as if the person who said this is defending their game - it’s almost like saying “I swear it’s not always this bad.” Do the people you say that to really believe you? I definitely believe that they go to the range - but that the result was much better off the mats? I’ll never know.
And my new favorite: Yesterday’s slice is NOT today’s slice.
Pusha T and Tom Watson have definitely both made their fair share of mistakes. But learning how to rebound from them is the obvious key to preventing further damage to your score on and off the course. My 6 tips are (mostly) for golf - I can’t say much about how to make it in the Trap Game. But I think King Push would agree - when you’re in a given situation, you’ve gotta make the most of that situation - no matter what 8-ball you happen to be behind.