Cam, thanks for the blog.
Yeah I play cos I have a real passion for the game and at this moment in my life I’m in the position to play approx 4 times a week. 🙂
The problem I have (which I completely ignore) is that my playing partners/friends play matches (skins/matchplay/Stableford) that involves keeping an eye on your score and money.
But like I said I ignore this and just enjoy the moment. 🙂
Good post Cam and when I practice these days it revolves more around trying some different shots and on the odd occasion really think outside the square.
Cheers Lukey
What a great post Cam. “It took me a long to work out why I play golf”. I hope everyone heard that. Cameron plays off plus 2 or whatever ridiculous number he’s on nowadays and yet he had to struggle for a LONG TIME to work WHY HE PLAYS! Can you see the irony then in what the rest of us are doing? Can you see that LOW SCORES IN THEMSELVES AREN’T ENOUGH? Now I know most will read this and dismiss it and just keep agonising over their scores, believing that when they finally shoot XX they will be content. Learn from Cameron that IT DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY. There has to be a greater reason to play or you will always just be a another frustrated golfer, always seeking but never finding. And as Cam says, once you’ve identified why you REALLY play the scores miraculously start improving anyway! The thing is with all this you have to have “faith” – faith that what Cameron’s saying is true. Most won’t and will head off down the path he went down for years only to arrive at the same conclusion. Save yourself the grief. Learn from someone who’s been there and come back to tell you its a dead end. Again, most won’t. They’ll pack their lunch and head off to look for themselves. Oh well.
On another note the best golf lesson you could have this week was watching Ashton Agar bat. A 19 year old number 11 on debut for Australia against England in an Ashes series scores NINETY EIGHT!! And even then the shot that got him out was off the middle of the bat and just happened to be straight to a fieldsman. A metre either side and it was a ton. To put this in perspective, no number 11 on debut had ever even reach 50 in test cricket history before. How did he do it? He just HIT THE BALL. It was clear as day that he wasn’t technique focussed – he obviously assumed he had sufficient of that. His whole focus was on just hitting the ball. And he did. Everything pretty much came out of the middle. Even when he was forced back and had to play a somewhat rushed defensive shot it still came out of the middle. It was just old fashioned hand / eye coordination with no thought at all about whether he was being “correct”. You could see his confidence grow as he started putting shots to all corners of the field. And he was having a GOOD TIME. He kept smiling the whole time and even when he got out it was just a rueful smile and a quiet acceptance. Compare this to all the top end batsmen who looked tight and worried and trying to play “correctly” all the time. They forget to just go and HIT THE BALL. Hopefully they’ll all learn from watching young Ashton. Remember, a 19 year old kid on debut for Australia as a BOWLER! He’s no great batsman. He just has the same natural hand / eye coordination that well have built in. He just TRUSTED IT – assumed it – and went out to hit the ball.
Lets see what happens now. The “senior” players will start whispering in his ear about the “flaws” in his technique that they spotted (remember what Cam said about ego?) and offer suggestions about how he could “improve”. Before you know it he’ll be just like them: anxious, tight and on the never ending “technique” treadmill. Don’t do it Ashton. Play like you already do – like “feast or famine” Adam Gilchrist did – and Ian Botham and Doug Walters – and continue to ENJOY yourself. We’ll sure enjoy it too 🙂
“He’s so loose and relaxed,” Langer said. “It’s very rare to see young players who are like that – they tend to be so coached and so mechanical, I guess because of the professional era we’re in.”
“His arms are like a hose in a swimming pool. And all the great athletes, if you think about it, they’re really loose. That’s why he was able to play through the leg side, through the offside, play the hook shots, hit back over the top, and play along the ground. That’s always exciting.”
Langer brushed off suggestions that Agar will come under more pressure after such an impressive start to his test career.
“He now knows he can do it at this level and at the end of the day that’s probably the toughest thing for a young guy coming into international cricket; wondering whether you’re good enough. He knows he’s good enough now.”
“He’s the most natural young cricketer I’ve seen for a very long time, and as long as he just stays loose and keeps smiling he’s got a huge future ahead of him.”
10 Comments
Sanj
July 11, 2013Cam, thanks for the blog.
Yeah I play cos I have a real passion for the game and at this moment in my life I’m in the position to play approx 4 times a week. 🙂
The problem I have (which I completely ignore) is that my playing partners/friends play matches (skins/matchplay/Stableford) that involves keeping an eye on your score and money.
But like I said I ignore this and just enjoy the moment. 🙂
Lukey
July 11, 2013Good post Cam and when I practice these days it revolves more around trying some different shots and on the odd occasion really think outside the square.
Cheers Lukey
Grayden Provis
July 12, 2013What a great post Cam. “It took me a long to work out why I play golf”. I hope everyone heard that. Cameron plays off plus 2 or whatever ridiculous number he’s on nowadays and yet he had to struggle for a LONG TIME to work WHY HE PLAYS! Can you see the irony then in what the rest of us are doing? Can you see that LOW SCORES IN THEMSELVES AREN’T ENOUGH? Now I know most will read this and dismiss it and just keep agonising over their scores, believing that when they finally shoot XX they will be content. Learn from Cameron that IT DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY. There has to be a greater reason to play or you will always just be a another frustrated golfer, always seeking but never finding. And as Cam says, once you’ve identified why you REALLY play the scores miraculously start improving anyway! The thing is with all this you have to have “faith” – faith that what Cameron’s saying is true. Most won’t and will head off down the path he went down for years only to arrive at the same conclusion. Save yourself the grief. Learn from someone who’s been there and come back to tell you its a dead end. Again, most won’t. They’ll pack their lunch and head off to look for themselves. Oh well.
On another note the best golf lesson you could have this week was watching Ashton Agar bat. A 19 year old number 11 on debut for Australia against England in an Ashes series scores NINETY EIGHT!! And even then the shot that got him out was off the middle of the bat and just happened to be straight to a fieldsman. A metre either side and it was a ton. To put this in perspective, no number 11 on debut had ever even reach 50 in test cricket history before. How did he do it? He just HIT THE BALL. It was clear as day that he wasn’t technique focussed – he obviously assumed he had sufficient of that. His whole focus was on just hitting the ball. And he did. Everything pretty much came out of the middle. Even when he was forced back and had to play a somewhat rushed defensive shot it still came out of the middle. It was just old fashioned hand / eye coordination with no thought at all about whether he was being “correct”. You could see his confidence grow as he started putting shots to all corners of the field. And he was having a GOOD TIME. He kept smiling the whole time and even when he got out it was just a rueful smile and a quiet acceptance. Compare this to all the top end batsmen who looked tight and worried and trying to play “correctly” all the time. They forget to just go and HIT THE BALL. Hopefully they’ll all learn from watching young Ashton. Remember, a 19 year old kid on debut for Australia as a BOWLER! He’s no great batsman. He just has the same natural hand / eye coordination that well have built in. He just TRUSTED IT – assumed it – and went out to hit the ball.
Lets see what happens now. The “senior” players will start whispering in his ear about the “flaws” in his technique that they spotted (remember what Cam said about ego?) and offer suggestions about how he could “improve”. Before you know it he’ll be just like them: anxious, tight and on the never ending “technique” treadmill. Don’t do it Ashton. Play like you already do – like “feast or famine” Adam Gilchrist did – and Ian Botham and Doug Walters – and continue to ENJOY yourself. We’ll sure enjoy it too 🙂
The end. (sorry Cam, needed to get that one out!)
Lukey
July 12, 2013Great to hear from you again Grayden and really well said.
Cheers Lukey
Cameron
July 12, 2013Agree. Good to hear what GP has to say.
Grayden Provis
July 12, 2013At least Justin Langer (his state coach) gets it:
“He’s so loose and relaxed,” Langer said. “It’s very rare to see young players who are like that – they tend to be so coached and so mechanical, I guess because of the professional era we’re in.”
“His arms are like a hose in a swimming pool. And all the great athletes, if you think about it, they’re really loose. That’s why he was able to play through the leg side, through the offside, play the hook shots, hit back over the top, and play along the ground. That’s always exciting.”
Langer brushed off suggestions that Agar will come under more pressure after such an impressive start to his test career.
“He now knows he can do it at this level and at the end of the day that’s probably the toughest thing for a young guy coming into international cricket; wondering whether you’re good enough. He knows he’s good enough now.”
“He’s the most natural young cricketer I’ve seen for a very long time, and as long as he just stays loose and keeps smiling he’s got a huge future ahead of him.”
Refreshing.
Adam
July 15, 2013does thinking about the golf swing truly make the game enjoyable? i know from my experience, definitely not.
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