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`When the
student is ready, the teacher will appear’. Zen saying
My kid brother asked me one summer evening as we teed off on
the 54th hole of the day, “what do people do who, don’t play
golf?” The fact that I couldn’t answer him gave me a second
glimpse that there may be something more. I began a quest to
find out `what life is all about’. This search began as I
was at my peak in my golf game. Gradually, golf didn’t seem
to matter as much, and I stopped playing for 5 years,
devoting my time to yoga, philosophy, meditation,
alternative lifestyles, vegetarianism, and whatever else was
offered in the `spiritual supermarket’ at he time.
After years of studying different those religions,
psychologies, and lifestyles, I had the good fortune to meet
a true meditation master, a gentleman called Trungpa
Rinpoche. He was a revered teacher in his native Tibet, but
in 1959, he and a small group of students made a
life-or-death escape from the invading Chinese Communists.
In his book, Born in Tibet, he talks about having nothing to
eat but boiled leather, at one point. After teaching himself
English in India, he was accepted to Oxford University, on
the basis of his extensive earlier training. Some students
invited him to Vermont in 1970, which marked the beginning
of Vajrayana Buddhism in North America.
I met Rinpoche in 1974, in Boulder Colorado. His words and
actions spoke to my heart . He was a person who had a mind
as deep as the ocean; the message he presented gave me a new
way of looking at myself and my world. Trungpa showed his
students how to learn how to learn, and when he would answer
a question with `your guess is as good as mine, Madam’, he
was pushing us out of the nest, asking us to find out for
ourselves. As the Buddha said: `Work out your own salvation,
do not depend on others.
During my searching days, I played golf only occasionally,
too occupied to really miss it. Only after the search ended,
did I rekindle my passion for the game, but now, through my
practice of meditation, I began to see the strong connection
between mind and body. In 1979 I began to make my living
teaching golf.
Learning Golf from a Southern Sensei
`A great teacher feels his way, waiting for response’ Anon
After working at Lake Valley Golf Club in Boulder, Colorado
for a few years, my wife and I moved to Jacksonville,
Florida, where I took a job at the famed Sawgrass Country
Club. During my tenure there, I kept hearing people speaking
almost reverently about a local professional, Norrie Wright,
who had a mystical gift of being able to teach people to
play better.
One day, while I was behind the counter, Norrie walked in to
have a game with some of the members. When I found out who
he was, I naively asked him if he could take a look at my
swing. He generously offered a 7am meeting the next week. I
only found out later that he was booked years in advance at
that time, fitting me in at the time he normally had
breakfast!
That first meeting led to an extraordinary teacher- student
relationship that lasts to this day. I can safely say that
every lesson I give is influenced by the great body of
knowledge I learned from Norrie.
He is also an accomplished player. In his prime Norrie was
known as one of the longest hitters on the planet, yet was
only 5'10 and 150 pounds. I once asked him about his length,
and where it came from.
It turns out, that when he was a boy, his daddy had a
punishment when Norrie was naughty; he would send him out to
the back 40 with a scythe, and had him cut the hay for long
periods of time. It turns out that Norrie was naughty quite
often, and therefore got real proficient with the scythe!
What eventually happened was that not only did he develop
the golfing muscles, he also learned a very powerful golf
swing, one built on what he calls lag. So if you want to hit
the ball longer, get yourself a scythe, find an overgrown
part of the lawn, and get to work. Not only will you gain
yardage, your backyard will look better.
In 2000, I went to Jacksonville with a documentary
filmmaker, James Hoagland, of Centre Productions. We were
able to capture the essence of Norrie’s teachings on a DVD
titled The Wright Swing. This DVD is available through my
web site: www.awarenessgolf.com |
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