Blind Golfer will Improve your Game

What can a blind golfer teach you about your golf game? A key component to success!

The golf swing is more about rhythm, tempo, and timing than it is about having a stick and smacking a ball. The approach of smacking the ball makes it challenging to be consistent. A more effective strategy is to develop a consistent movement pattern rather than relying on hand-eye coordination. Blind people play golf, which proves that you don’t have to see the ball to make contact. Jake Olson is a blind golfer who dreams of playing on the PGA Tour.

Let me tell you about Jake. He was born with a rare form of eye cancer called retinoblastoma. Before he was a year old, he had lost his left eye to cancer. He fought the disease for twelve years, going through chemotherapy each time it returned. But his doctors ultimately had to take out his right eye. Jake became completely blind at twelve years old.

Before he lost his sight, he played golf and football. After he went blind, Jake wanted to play football so badly that he asked himself what position he could play that wouldn’t require him to see. Remember, in Chapter 1, when we talked about asking quality questions? Jake found the answer—he could be a long snapper. When he first started, he was not very good at all. The coach put him on the team but thought there was no way Jake could play. Jake then asked the coach what he could do to improve. Jake didn’t lament about what he could no longer do. He listened to his coach and worked so hard he became a starter.

“Brokenness doesn’t exist in the body. It exists in the mind, body, and spirit. Mine remains whole!” Jake said.

As for golf, his goal is to be the first blind golfer on the PGA Tour. He says, “Since I’ve become blind, I see better than ever what my true potential can be.” Jake is the author of the book Open Your Eyes: 10 Uncommon Lessons to Discover a Happier Life. We can learn so much from this courageous young man.

Jake is able to play golf because the golf ball is not moving, so it doesn’t require hand-eye coordination. Playing well does require him to trust his golf swing and create a repeatable move. As I watched his swing, I noticed how he used his big muscles, making it easy to be consistent. He used his upper back and shoulders in his backswing, and he used his legs, glutes, and core at the top of his swing all the way to the finish. Jake has a consistent swing.

Practice chipping with your eyes closed. Move your upper back and shoulders in harmony and allow your club to swing like a pendulum back and through. The clubhead will swing through the ball and make solid contact, if you let it. If you struggle to make contact, you are relying too much on hand-eye coordination to hit the golf ball. Keep practicing! Focus on how your body and the club feels instead of ball and trying to hit it. Learn from Jake and improve your game!

An excerpt from the book Golf Postive! Live Positive! by Debbie O'Connell

Finish like a Legend

A finish position that resembles a professional golfer has great balance and full body rotation towards the target and beyond.  Professionals making a full swing do not stop immediately after impact because they have so much momentum and acceleration through impact they have to keep going.  I’m going to share with you the keys to a great follow through, how to make your follow through automatic!

You might be thinking, “I already look like a professional in my finish position.”  That is awesome!  Listening to this audio will give you proven strategies to make sure you continue your great technique!  You may question, “Is this possible?  I’ve tried to get to a better follow through for years.”  Yes!  You can do this!!  I know this because I’ve taught thousands of golfers to make an effortless yet powerful swing!  When you follow through to a great finish position, with perfect balance, something good will happen at the ball!

Talking about a balanced finish position and perfect pose brings me to a photo of one of the most amazing moments in golf history.  The photo was taken during the 1950 US Open at Merion Golf Club as Ben Hogan held his finish position and watched his 1-iron shot fly towards the green. The shot was from the middle of the 18th fairway on the final day and Hogan needed a par to force a playoff.

Photo by Hy Peskin. LIFE Magazine, 1950, TIME, Inc.

It was a miracle that he was even competing as this was Hogan’s first tournament back after being in a car crash that nearly killed him. Hogan’s car collided head-on with a Greyhound bus.  He fractured his collarbone, pelvis, ankle and crushed on of his ribs. The doctors told him his golf career was over. Obviously, Hogan did not accept that diagnosis, and sixteen months later, he was in fighting to win the prestigious US Open.

As you know, the US Open always provides great physical and mental challenges to the players. It was even a greater test in the early days as the schedule included 36 holes of play on the final day. The physical toll of the day was almost too much for Hogan.  David Barrett, author of “Miracle at Merion,” shares that on the 12th hole Hogan almost fell down, and he could barely walk after that. Hogan himself even admitted almost quitting after the 13th hole. “A winner never quits and a quitter never wins!” Hogan’s playing partner and competitor, Cary Middlecoff, actually marked Hogan’s balls on the greens because Hogan was in such agony with searing pain in his legs with every step.

Hogan’s courage, mental toughness and sheer determination helped him to not only survive the day but to have the opportunity to force a playoff.

Needing a par on a very challenging finishing hole, Hogan hit a drive to the middle of the fairway, and then the miracle shot … he hit his 1-iron to the green. It was Lee Trevino who said to avoid getting hit by lightening, “Stand in the middle of the fairway and hold up a 1-iron.  Even God can’t hit a 1-iron.”  Well, Ben Hogan could! He hit it perfectly in the perfect moment! His ball hit the green and held, Hogan two-putted to force a playoff! 

The next day he returned to Merion to win the 18-hole playoff over Lloyd Magnum and George Fazio. This was the second of his four U.S. Open titles. 

The “Miracle at Merion” as it is known, was such an amazing story of heart and strength that Hollywood would made a movie about it called “Follow the Sun” just one year after his triumph!

Practice following through to a balanced finished position and you'll play even better golf!

Golf Positive! Live Positive! Be Positive!

*This is an excerpt from the book Golf Positive! Live Positive! written by Debbie O'Connell