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A Zen
Approach To
Playing Golf In
Scotland |
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James
C. Plowden-Wardlaw
James
Campbell Plowden-Wardlaw hit his first golf ball into the
gorse bushes at Old Prestwick -- the cradle of championship
golf and site of the first British Open -- at the age of nine,
during a family visit to a great aunt in Ayr, Scotland. He
returned home to America impressed by the game, but waited
more than fifty years to play again in Scotland...(More...)
Alex
B. Pagel
Alex
B. Pagel dubbed his first shot at the Maidstone Club course
on Long Island in the 1940s under the Scottish eye of the
club professional Jack Ross. This legendary man endeavored
to teach him how to hit a ball, never a total success, and
how to enjoy the game, by contrast a long and continuing success
story. Old Jack also frequently implied that the true object
of the game was to play in Scotland on a links course in the
wind...(More...)
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Table of Contents
- Extended with Short Chapter Descriptions
| This
book was written to show how the authors found their way back
to the core essence of golf as a pastime, not a competitive sport.
When they learned from questioning the Scots that the men almost
never kept scorecards, “,,, because it would be against
the basic spirit of the game,” the authors had that sudden
flash of understanding that put both them and their golf games
into focus. They were never to be the same again.
In order to understand
and eventually practice the Zen Approach to Golf as described
in this book, the reader must adopt a whole new way of thinking
about golf. The effort is minimal, the reward is great. |
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| What’s
Zen Got to Do with It? Why Scotland? |
4 |
A
Look at the Buddhist World—Zen & Zen Gardens |
11 |
| Let
us now begin Birdie’s twelve rounds of Zen golf in Scotland. |
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Hole
#1 - Shiskine - Isle of Arran (The Ideal Zen Course)
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1
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| Shiskine
on the Isle of Arran. Often called one of the top one hundred
courses in the United Kingdom, this is the prototype course for
the book. It has twelve, not eighteen or nine, magnificent holes,
and it demonstrates almost all the characteristics one looks for
in a Zen course.
Shiskine has the natural,
untouched beauty that induces the physical relaxation that comes
with Zen serenity. The sweeping sea views give a sensation of
great space and a sense of flying free that facilitates Zen meditation.
At Shiskine, we experienced the personal, warm, intimate connection
between ourselves and the earth and sea all around us that helps
create the private world in which the Zen Approach to Golf works
best. All these elements are conducive to better shots because
the body plays relaxed and the muscles effortlessly react at their
maximum efficiency. |
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Hole
#2 - Letham Grange (Keeping Score? Reflections on Yourself)
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18
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| Letham
Grange. This is one of the three parkland (inland) courses used
in this book. Its unusual natural beauty teaches us that continuous
contemplation is a vital part of the Zen Golf experience. We also
discuss why keeping score in the habitual fashion distracts from
both concentration and contemplation, causing unnecessary bad shots
and inner despair. The lesson is that “doing it” is
much more important than “getting it done.” We were
beginning to learn from the native Scots. |
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| Hole
#3 Turnberry (Zen Breathing Techniques for a Better Game) |
22
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| The
Ailsa and Kintyre courses at Turnberry. Perhaps the two most famous
courses in Western Scotland and the site of many famous professional
championships, Turnberry vibrates with tension-inducing traditions.
For this very reason, Turnberry is the ideal place to learn the
Zen relaxation techniques of breathing before and during the execution
of every shot. These methods were not only vital here, but no doubt
will help us on every course we play for the rest of our lives. |
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| Hole
#4 Corrie (Ruminations on Zen Courses and Zen Gardens) |
26
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| Corrie
on the Isle of Arran. This almost unknown gem of a nine-hole course
epitomizes the use of “borrowed scenery.” It uses the
background of two famous mountains and the existing trees and water
to enhance the golfer’s ties to nature and to elegantly compel
him to “feel the course” on every shot. |
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# 5 Machrihanish (Handling the 1st Tee Drive) |
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| Machrihanish.
Far out on the windy Kintyre Peninsula you will find Scotland’s
premier opening hole. Here we learned the importance of the basic
Zen techniques of focusing our concentration on the feel of our
body and the sound of our swing when making that first drive. These
techniques allowed us to avoid the yips in front of that course’s
habitual clubhouse gallery, and in fact resulted in a fine drive
right down the middle. |
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| Hole
# 6 Royal Dornoch (How the Zen Approach Makes Bunkers Fun 32 and the
Importance of Caddies) |
32
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| Royal Dornoch. The most northerly of Scotland’s
famous courses, this windswept links has everything a golfer of
any caliber could hope for. We tried to perfect two very useful
Zen techniques here.
The first was making escapes from bunkers (sand traps) a pleasure
rather than a torture. This we achieved nearly every time by utilizing
Zen techniques of breathing, consciously feeling the ground (sand)
under our feet before swinging and concentrating on hitting through
the sand about 11/2 inches behind the ball.
We also had several occasions to immediately block threats to our
necessary contemplative serenity. This we accomplished simply by
throwing our ball out of impossible “trouble” without
any attempt to be heroic. This technique, when we stuck to it, made
every hole enjoyable, especially since we were not keeping score
anyway |
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| The Halfway
House (A Few Reflections on Where We Have Been) |
38
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| Hole
# 7 Boat-of-Garten (The Approach Shot and Using Fewer Clubs) |
42
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Boat of
Garten. This course, one of the three parkland courses we played,
is famous for its fairway views of far-away mountains. Not for us,
not this time around. The famous Scottish Mists, a/k/a rain of varying
intensities, prevented us from enjoying anything except the immediate
course itself.
Nevertheless, we were
able to practice the basic Zen concept here that “less is
more.” We found that using a #5 iron and a putter was almost
as good as a full set of clubs because we were forced to focus entirely
on our swing. It was at Boat of Garten that we activated the Scottish
“Saint Andrews Roll” that we had watched from our hotel
balcony at the “Old Course” itself. It is a hard, low
chip from up to 120 yards away from the green and usually renders
quite satisfactory results.
We also tried another
Scottish favorite, the long, off-the-green putt, sometimes from
as far as 20 yards off the green and sometimes uphill. With both
types of shots you are obliged to accept the unpredictable rolls
with serenity – but by now you have mastered this Zen state
of mind |
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| Hole
# 8 Tobermory—Isle of Mull (When a Course Calls for Different
Strategies and There’s No Caddie to Help Out) |
46
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| Tobermory
on the Isle of Mull. Practically no one but the real aficionados know
about this jewel. Positioned 200 feet above Tobermory Bay at the northern
end of the Isle of Mull, this course has some of the most spectacular
views of any golf course in the world. We use Tobermory as a perfect
example of where to learn the Zen lesson that you must live in the
moment and let nothing faze you. So difficult and unmarked is this
course that we had to make up “holes” and club strategies
all day. But because we had learned the Zen lesson of total concentration
on the instant, it was one of the most invigorating and magical experiences
we had in Scotland. |
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# 9 Tain (Blind Shots, Fairway Positioning Shots) |
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| Tain.
One of the best-maintained courses in Scotland, Tain is a part inland
and part links course that requires great accuracy and the correct
choice of club. Its most interesting hole is The Alps which consists
of a long fairway leading towards the sea with two large hillocks
concealing a green that practically touches the water on the other
side. Here the Zen lesson of knowing that it is only the effortless
swing and not the result that counts, enables you to completely enjoy
the adrenalin rush of a totally blind shot over the hills that you
know will go either onto the green or into the sea. Here, and on all
future blind shots, you are the master of your fate because you now
have the knowledge that you will always be where you want to be, regardless
of the result. It is one of the more important lessons of the Zen
Approach to Golf. |
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# 10 Crail (Equipment—More is Not More) |
51
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Crail
– This is a lovely course in the Kingdom of Fife not far from
Saint Andrews where the game of golf all began some 600 years ago.
Crail was designed for the players of several decades ago, and thus
the use of some of the “super” clubs of today could
cause you to miss some of the experiences the architect built into
the course for your enjoyment. Really long drives will overshoot
the natural hazards and render the complex approach angles meaningless,
thus detracting from the original challenges of this beauty. The
Zen lesson we took away was that “more is frequently less”,
the flip side to the usual Zen piece of wisdom that “less
is more”, therefore use your clubs and balls commensurate
with your skill and age and match them to the inherent challenges
of the course as designed. |
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# 11 Nairn (Better Putting With Zen and Why Caddies are Always Right) |
59
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| Nairn.
With the fastest and “truest” greens in Scotland, this
course mightily rewards those who hire caddies – and listen
to their advice. The Zen lesson you learn on these vast, undulating
greens is that correct breathing and feeling the green velvet under
your feet can produce the relaxed body you will need to be a putting
star by concentrating on “being in the moment” as you
smoothly stroke your ball towards the spot indicated by your caddy. |
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| The
Final Pause (Some Considerations of Zen Golf) |
62
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Hole #12 Brora
(An Ideal Zen Course and Goodbye to the Reader) |
72
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| Brora.
This is one of the friendliest courses in the Highlands. The presence
of the Highland sheep (who shared their wisdom with the authors) and
the cattle grazing along the edge of the fairways somehow makes Brora
a throwback to a “kinder, gentler time”. It is also considered
one of the best value courses in the entire U.K. Most of all it reflects
all the essential lessons of the Zen Approach to Golf discussed in
this book. Brora was designed to be enjoyed, and not especially to
be conquered. Such is its beauty and manageable challenges that you
feel bound to stop and reflect before each shot. You do not want to
finish your round. Rather, you want to think, reflect, swing and enjoy
it forever. This is the true object of the game of Golf, and Brora
entices you to let it happen! |
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| The
19th Hole: An Epilogue and a Zen Golf Koan |
79
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| Appendix
- Zen Buddhist Gardens In Japan |
86
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