Maintain equilibrium or get ready to eat humble pie

The question of ‘how far away from the ball should I be’ is one I hear almost every day. The expression that I like to use is ‘measuring off.’

You’ll notice that certain tour players do this quite deliberately before each shot. Stand relaxed, leaning a little forward, with your knees slightly bent with the feeling that the whole of your body is in balance.

Extend the left arm and the club in a straight line, not stiff — just nicely straight, and now you are ‘measured off’. Picture in your mind your position as you strike the ball and make final adjustments from that. This applies to every club.

Have you noticed how golfers are mentally fragile?

For example, how we react to good shots is all part of the other game that we play. It’s the game called ‘let’s kid ourselves’ — the one that has nothing to do with hitting actual golf shots.

The vast majority of golfers try to boost the appearance of their abilities by remaining consistently disappointed with any of the good shots they might hit or by being dismissive of compliments.

A quick “it was all right” is sending the message that, one, a player — or you, perhaps — is capable of far more remarkable results and, two, the player of the compliment is a lesser player of lower standards and a great shot ‘for you’ has not been hit yet.

Look how loud and confident many golfers are when they stand and banter with their friends on the driving range before a game, then watch them crumble and visibly shrink as a shadow of fear is cast over them when adding up their tally for the day, and the realisation that a large slice of humble pie must be eaten.

Never fall into the trap of thinking that you can get the better of golf!

Out of Bounds: Without hesitation, one wise old Scottish caddie replied “slightly straight, sir” when asked by his master the line of a particularly important putt at a critical stage of a big money match.

As we age, our priorities change. The other day I came home and was greeted by my wife, dressed only in very sexy underwear with high-heels and holding a couple of velvet ropes. “Tie me up,” she purred, “and you can do anything you want.” So, I tied her up and went out for a quick nine holes.