The Fairway of Life

I developed a step-by-step, spiritual approach to golf and life that I share with readers here in my book The Fairway of Life: Simple Secrets to Playing Better Golf by Going with the Flow. I went from a struggling, out-of-integrity, and frustrated 10-handicap golfer to a more authentic, aligned, and confident 1-handicap golfer in just one summer! Through personal experiences, illuminating case studies from both pros and amateurs, and groundbreaking exercises and techniques, I give readers a personal transformation plan that will have them enjoying golf again—and playing better than they ever thought possible. Thoughts create swings and by learning the fine art of harnessing their inner wisdom, readers will have the power to take their lives—and their golf game—to heights they never believed possible. In The Fairway of Life, readers will learn: • How to resurrect the dreams and desires they had given up for dead. • Why a comfort zone as it relates to scoring is a place of mediocrity and how to lower it. • How the power of intention sets the law of attraction into motion? • Why traditional positive thinking programs never seem to work too well. • Techniques proven to greatly reduce or eliminate anxiety, tension, and fear. • How to greatly reduce or eliminate the dreaded yips. • Why judgments, people pleasing, trying too hard, and a host of other obstacles are keeping them from playing their best golf in The Zone. • How to align with their True North, and why it is the connection and guidance they’ve been asking for. • How to think, talk, play, and carry themselves like a champion – today! According to the Professional Golfers’ Association, there are nearly 27 million golfers in the United States, a vast market for my message. I invite readers to share with me what my students have discovered: an amazing journey to enlightenment that will make every minute of their time on the course a much-anticipated adventure. Introduction: Life and golf is supposed to be fun. Yet for many it is not. Our dance-with-life is to get back on our true path, really listening to that small, still voice within. We get the most out of life when we are being who we really are – our authentic or higher Self. The journey becomes such a fantastic adventure when we awaken to the fullness of who we really are. Sometimes we get thrown off track and even neglect this connection. With courage we can reconnect with our True North, our true path and this ever-abundant flow of Well-Being that has existed all along. When we choose to make this investment in ourselves we heal and transform past wounds, we shift paradigm perspectives, and we live our outrageous joy both on and off the golf course. Part I – The Inner Game of Golf and Life… Chapter 1 – Awaken To Your Magnificence: If you don’t realize how magnificent you really are then that’s the problem. The intention is to wake you up and see life through new lenses with greater appreciation and new understanding. The intention is to remind you once again how magnificent you really are and to love, honor, and cherish yourself. In order to be there for another it is imperative you are there first by loving yourself. Chapter 2 – Dreams: Have you abandoned your dreams, are they dying of neglect? Dreams, like desires are the spice of life and it’s important that we have them. Dreams allow us to paint the picture in our minds-eye and we gravitate towards that. This chapter is about refocusing upon our dreams and engaging all our senses, emotions, feelings, and intuition. Tiger Woods said he dreamt about being the world’s best golfer and ended up believing he was. What are your dreams? Chapter 3 – Desire: Desire is living the life of your dreams; it keeps us all going. Without desire we expire. Desire is the food that feeds and stirs our soul. The message is reminding us to be whatever our heart desires. “To be as you wish to seem,” is the quote given by Socrates. We must ask ourselves, “What kind of golfer do I desire to be: better, more consistent, more relaxed, calmer, feeling confident? Better demeanor? Free from resistance? Free to express and play more to my full potential? Becoming the kind of champion we know ourselves to be. What would that look like? What do you desire yourself to be? Has it ever occurred to you that you could ask for more? And not just more than you now have with your golf game, but more than you are now asking for! Ask and it is given, ask and you shall receive are both biblical based scriptures. It’s your job to ask. You see, life is an ever-expanding universe and you came here to experience yourself as more of the good stuff of life. Why not apply this abundant stream of Well-Being to your golf game? Why not ask for more? Tiger keeps asking to become better than he used to be. Why not you? Chapter 4 – The Power of Intentional Golf: Intentions are meant to remind us to stay committed and to keep us on track. Our mission is to be 100% fully committed to our intention, accountable to our selves and to others – announcing our intentions out loud. Until one is fully committed there is the chance or opportunity to draw back and wither into the soil. However, when one is fully committed then providence (divine inspiration) moves too. All kinds of things that were not there before begin to show themselves. We are shown the how. The actual formula is dreams plus taking action leads to how’s and manifestation. For example, “I’m gonna drop my handicap down to a 5 or less by July 4th.” And all kinds of things that never existed before comes along to show you the way. Life unfolds in a magically and mystically manner through the power of intentions. Chapter 5 – The Power of Present Golf: The present moment of now is all we ever have. The present moment of now is meant to draw us back into the present where The Zone as existed all along. Too many golfers are clouded by thoughts of the past or hoping for results in the future. This chapter reinforces and reminds us to what we’ve always known, yet have found it so difficult to actually experience. Only NOW is real and all else is an illusion. As simple as it sounds, “It is nothing new or original to say that golf is played one stroke at a time. But it took me many years to realize it,” Bobby Jones. This chapter speaks about mindful awareness and how meditation paves the way. Chapter 6 – Embrace All Your Golf Shots: Embracing and accepting all of your golf shots are higher forms of playing patient golf. We learn from our less than desirable shots and apply this knowledge next time. Instead of spiraling further out of control we allow the Well-Being in. I cannot begin to tell you how many rounds of golf I have saved recently because I accepted and embraced my poor play in the beginning of my round, and kept my composure and demeanor under control through to the end. I have been five, six, seven over par early going, and most of the time I still ended up breaking eighty. In the past—forget it, I’m done. I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it any more. Understanding how to accept and embrace is, in itself alone, another one of those worth-its-weight-in-gold concepts. Embrace every single bit of it. Accept everything as it is. Welcome whatever comes to your gate. Recreate yourself anew in your next moment of NOW. For life is nothing more than continuous moments of NOW. And all of us are evolving. This too shall come to pass. The intention is to embrace being perfectly imperfect. Embrace the observation, and be mindful to not judge. Judgment says that was a shitty shot. Observation says I hit it there; it’s just a shot. Judgment blinds; observation witnesses. Judgment hinders; observation is an opportunity for growth. Judgment is often a negative. Observation is non-bias. Judgment narrows; observation widens. Judgment pushes away and rejects; observation welcomes.