The Key to Life is a Shorter Backswing

Get outta your head and play

Shorten the backswing.

While staggering through the valleys of life and golf (same thing, yeah?) I have discovered much about life that applies to golf. Show up on time, patience matters, never stop trying, drink a beer a side. Wearing Hawaiian shirts has always been OK. Ordering your ball to “get legs’’ has never been OK.

And shorten your backswing.

I practiced yesterday. Rather, I donated two hours and three mega-buckets to answering one question, ongoing and endless:

Why do I suck at golf?

What the savants say about golf being a game for life is true. What they don’t tell you is that you rarely get better at it, and even if you do, the improvement is temporary. Golf isn’t a sport. It’s a quest. It’s like the time I went to Tijuana looking for a Dogs-Playing-Poker tapestry.

I’d searched all over this great country: Flea markets, junk-tique shops, truck-stop gas stations. I figured if anyplace had DPP on a 4-by-six-foot hunk o’ cloth, it’d be Tijuana, Mexico, ancestral home of the red velvet Elvis.

I was wrong. Even the Mexican shop owners looked at me funny.

Golf is like that. Golf truth is no more attainable than a Dogs Playing Poker tapestry.

But here’s the thing I’ve spent a lifetime trying to remember:

Shorten the backswing.

Consider it a metaphor for how to live your life.

Gee, thanks, Doc. I’ll keep that in mind. Except I hate golf.

I’ve decided that most of life’s little problems happen when we try too hard. There is such a thing as being too conscientious. There is much to be gained by occasionally saying WTF. (See: Fantastic scene in the movie Risky Business.)

Shortening the backswing means you’re doing what you can. You aren’t trying to be someone else. You can’t swing like a Tour pro. Why are you trying? Work with what you’ve got. Do what you are able. Discover true satisfaction. Love yourself.

Shorten your backswing.

With a shorter backswing, the devil-mind has less time to work. Thinking is the enemy unless you know what to do with it. Trust me, you don’t. A shorter backswing forces your brain to yield to your body.

Ever see a little kid swing a golf club for the first time? It’s gorgeous. Kid’s not tied in knots by the Do’s and Don’t’s he read in Golf Digest. He has no memory of bad shots. He’s not overly self-conscious or hung up on some life problem he brought to the course with him. He’s just swinging a club.

Uncomplicate your swing. Shorten it up.

I told my son Kelly when he was growing up, “Don’t let life happen to you, you happen to life.’’ That’s true everywhere but a golf course. The more I try to happen to golf, the more irons I shank.

Yesterday, after a month of playing like an alien from a planet without bentgrass or swing trainers, I decided to (try to) follow my own advice. I would take what the dee-fense gave me. Stop overthinking, stop trying to be perfect, relax. It’s just golf. The golf equivalent of WTF is IDGAF. I decided to practice IDGAF golf.

Somewhere between a three-quarter turn and the full monty, I found the zone.

Shortening up gives me less time to think, to manipulate my hands, to allow my body to get ahead of itself. It also forces me to finish the swing, because my brain is telling me I’ll lose a lot of power if I don’t.

I’m reacting, not thinking, which is what good athletes do naturally.

I started hitting crisp 7-irons 130 yards. Just like that.

Because I’m a closet optimist — you can’t commit golf and not be optimistic — I truly believe I have opened the gate to the heaven of better golf. The shortened backswing will defeat my try-too-hards and cause me to accept my imprefections. It will teach me to be happier with who I am and what I’ve got, also known as peace of mind. The Serenity Prayer, and all that.

I will find Dogs Playing Poker at last.

Until the first 7-iron from 130 misses the green by the width of a WalMart parking lot. Golf never stops teaching. Or torturing.

Now, then. . .

AND NOW. . .

Hey Michelle! orders you to a Weekend of FUN ~ Go make some memories with a ton of music and dancing!

Bacon, Bourbon & Brew Festival ~ Friday 5-11, Saturday 12-11, Sunday 12-9 at Newport Fest Park. Featuring limited edition bourbons, trivia, Bourbon 101, learn how bourbon is made and more. 

Cincy Music Fest ~ Starting with the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame Grand Opening and Induction Ceremony Saturday at noon next to the Andrew J Brady performance by The Ohio Players. Then concerts at Paycor Stadium Friday Al Green, Jill Scott, Jodeci, Midnight Star, Gerald Albright. Saturday ~ Snopp Dogg, Babyface, P-Funk Connection, Avery Sunshine, Norman Brown. 

Barbie fun ~ Downtown is turning PINK to kick off the newly released Barbie movie! Photo ops at Fountain Square and join the fun on Court St. at Frisch’s Mobile Roller 

Blessed Union of Souls ~ Playing Friday 7-10 at Element Eatery.. Go grab some dinner at one of the great food spots and a cocktail at the bar.

Yoga ~ Hit the Summit Hotel rooftop Saturdays 9am 

Jason Alden Concert ~ Riverbend Friday night

Yacht Rock ~ Dance the night away at this really fun event at the cool Fueled Collective in Rookwood. Ticketed event 

Cincy church festivals ~ St. James White Oak weekend full of bands, petting zoo, market, food, drink, chicken dinners and more! St. Dominic is filling your weekend with all the fun festival games, bands and more. 

Hey Michelle,

Do you want to know where to eat, drink and have fun in Cincinnati? Follow me @HeyMichelle1 on IG 
https://heymichelle-help.com

TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . Rollin’ ‘round my head this AM. A tune I didn’t like at all when I heard it the first time. Changed my mind quickly, especially when listened to the album version.