Robots

On a recent golf trip to play a practice round in advance of a competition, I was on the putting green surrounded by a group of high school players. Some were doing drills and putting with purpose, some were being high school boys and jacking around, and then there was me. A former coach and now a senior level competitive golfer. The gambit was covered on that putting green that particular day, players at all levels of seriousness (or not so much).

Watching the unorganized chaos, and that some of the players were practicing like robots doing drills they really didn’t even understand, I of course couldn’t help myself. I challenged them to a game. The putting game of choice when I was their age was called “7-Up.” The basics of the game are this – a hole-in-one is worth 2 points, closest to the pin on a hole is 1 point, and a three-putt is negative 2 points. First one to 7 points wins. There is also one added rule – if you are on 6 points and make an ace, you go back to 1 point, so there is strategy in the end game.

I asked the boys if they had played 7-Up before, not surprisingly they hadn’t. So I explained the rules and off we went. The old guy (me) beat five of the boys in game one. They asked for a rematch. The old guy then won game two as well. 7-Up is part strategy, part risk-reward. You can’t unintentionally step up and just try to make every putt. The game is part card game type brain engagement and part savvy. The boys learned this pretty quickly.

As I gave the boys high fives after game two and went back to my practice session, I watched them play a couple more games against each other from a distance. Most notably, the guys that were practicing robotic drills prior to my challenge were now thinking a lot more about the strategy. They weren’t just trying to make 100 putts from 3 feet with a putting tool helping them line up (for you non golfers, you wouldn’t believe the contraptions some people use – see Tin Cup).

The boys went from mindless, unintentional ball striking, to meaningful and thoughtful putting strategy. They turned off the robotic side of their brain and engaged the tactical side. While I am not a psychologist and didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, I do know you could see that they were engaging on every putt in a completely different and more positive way.

We can all do the same.

There are times to turn off the routine. Eliminate the normal daily march and change it up. Engage your mind at a different level and you may unlock capabilities you didn’t even know existed.

Have a great (7-Up) week ahead!