Olympic Skating and Golf?

Yes…I know…Golf and Olympic Ice Skating have zero, nada, nothing in common right?  Oh, but they do comrade (a reference to Russia because of the Olympics)…let me explain.

The Winter Olympics are taking place this week and I have been watching many of the events especially the events taking place on the ice. Because I was involved in running ice rinks, and playing and refereeing ice hockey in my younger days, I can really appreciate what it takes to accomplish greatness on the ice. Conversely, having played golf most of my adult life, and having seen some really great golfers up close, I can also appreciate the talent it takes to hit the ball as well as they do, and play as well as they do. One interesting side note, skaters always skate on the same surface or playing field (the size of the rink might be slightly larger in the Olympic rinks, but they are always skating on a surface of ice). Golfers, on the other hand, are constantly challenged by a different playing field every week.

Getting back to the Olympics, my wife, Vicki, loves the ice skating. Yesterday we were watching the Olympic competition of pairs, men’s and ladies singles, and ice dancing.  It is not uncommon to see a skater fall when attempting a triple this or a quadruple that. What is common in 99% of the instances when the skater takes a fall is that he or she will immediately get up and resume the routine as if nothing happened. They pick up on the music and get right back into it. No whining, no stomping their skates, no expletives, no excuses, no long explanations pointing to their skates as the culprit…no…they just get back on the horse (figuratively) and get on with the program.

Ok, fellow golfers…what can we learn from this?  I know you already guessed it. When playing golf, be just like those skaters and get on with it.  Forget the last bad shot and move on.  Collect yourself, check your distance, choose the correct club, and swing as well as you can to propel that little white (could be yellow, pink or even orange anymore) ball into that 3.5” round cave they call home. Remember, the skater is going to have a huge black and blue bruise and lots of pain from that fall. You, on the other hand, will only have a bruised ego and a crummy scorecard.

For most of us, our livelihoods don’t depend on our golf score. Yes, we want to be competitive and score as well as we can, but if you try this very effective skaters’ technique and pretend that your duck hook into the hazard on the left never even happened…you can simply get out another ProV1, and get back on the horse.  I think you will play better golf and enjoy the game more.  If you don’t…just forget I ever mentioned it.

Play well and have fun!
Thanks for Reading.

Ken Pierce
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