Zingers #3: 10 Days with Keith Day 2 - Golfing Improvisation

[David Zinger]

Rather than try to capture the 6 hours today. I decided to explore just a couple of splices or because I will write about golf perhaps I should say slices. I experienced the morning as a fusion of zen and sports psychology.

Thoughts can come after the movement. Do you have to be good? Do you have to think? Keith offered some athletic examples of thinking and performance. It made me think (a touch of a paradox when thinking about non-thinking) about golfing. I enjoy golfing, don't do it often, but often begin to play so badly when I start thinking. I will play more with the playing, noticing rather than determining in advance, and letting rather than getting. I don't believe a ball and a club are the best improvisation partners but they probably work well on the course.

How golf balls KISS up!

Although I learned about golf psychology today I don't believe Keith was intending to teach this so you don't need to bring a putter or a sleeve of balls to a course with Keith. Golf was not in the course itself but golf is on a course. I also appreciated that fear comes from trying to be better than you are and that many of us perform well when it really doesn't matter. I think I shall also let my eyes get bigger during golf and laugh a little more at the funny things I do.

We also did some status work. It will be interesting to take this perspective to the golf course and watch the status gestures, expressions, and body movements of my partners.

The biggest line I took away from status work is that friendships mean we can play status games with each other and that we don't play status games with acquaintances and that we can be living our lives with acquaintances. I felt some genuine friendship with participants during the evening at the bar as we got very playful with status.

Photo Credit: The whole band by http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenore-m/559207164/