I lost it.

Besides, "Seriously, you have huge feet" or "Where do you get all your belts?"....that is the phrase I hear most often.

I was playing well, then I lost it.

And it's not true. (The feet thing is)

You didn't lose your swing.  It's still inside of you.  It's always been there.  There's just something blocking it.

Just because it's cloudy, doesn't mean the sun is gone.

You don't have to create another sun, or make it hotter, or make it shine brighter.  You just have to clear away the clouds.

Sometimes the clouds are your attitude.  Sometimes the clouds are negative people that are around you.  Sometimes the clouds are a crappy day at work or at school.  Sometimes the clouds are just some minor distractions.

Your ability is still there.  Your happiness is still there.  Your kindness, friendship, skill, sense of humor, ability....it's all still there.

It's my job to figure out what the clouds are.  Is it a thunderstorm or is it just partly cloudy?  Whatever they may be, they CAN and WILL be cleared away.

In the golf swing, the clouds are tension.  And this tension starts in the hands.

Most golfers hold on to the club too tightly.  Your hands tighten up, then your arms, then your shoulders.....pretty soon you can't even make a somewhat natural swing.  The sun is still there, but you have lots and lots of clouds.

I had a woman in class once that said, "Bryan, I was told my another instructor to hold my club like I'm a holding a baby bird.  Is that right?'

I told her that's a great analogy.  It keeps your hands loose, it allows the club to do its job.  Then she interrupted me and said:

"My bird is dead."

Think of how you grip a steering wheel when you drive.  Think about how you hold your toothbrush or your fork.  These are good indicators of how you should be holding the golf club.

Unless you are my wife, who makes her gums bleed and her fork cry, then you should be fine.

So, if you want to have more fun and play better...relax your hands.

The other tension that occurs is in the mind.  The fear of failure, the feeling that you "can't.  The feeling like you are going to hit a bad shot.

It's more difficult to clear the clouds in your mind sometimes, but it CAN and WILL happen.

Sometimes it storms for a couple days, but the sun always shines again.  The clouds always clear away.

In the section tournament a couple years ago, one of my girls wanted to shoot really low.  She wanted to make it to state.  She had some putting issues going in; no confidence, missing the short ones.  Short game in general was just kind of a mess.

We had been practicing a little mind trick a week or so before the tourney.  I told her, if there is any doubt at all in your mind that you are going to miss, back off.  Start your routine over and do it again.  Picture the ball going in the hole.  Let the negative thoughts pass by.  If there is doubt in your head again, back off again.  All day long, I watched her back off, get back over it, back off, get back over it.  She did it 11 times….and made all 11.  She shot her career low score and coasted into the state tourney.

Sometimes it's not about being brighter.  It's knowing that you already are good, and getting rid of the clouds.

Go out and clear the clouds.....and have a sunny day.

Thanks,
Bryan