Swearing
Can Swearing and Cussing Help to Improve Your Putting? Swearing and cussing intrudes on our everyday life. We hear bad language everywhere – on the television, in general conversation, at sporting events, and, heaven forbid, on the golf course. By now mankind must have sussed out the full range of expletives available to deal with our anger and frustration. Or are we still inventing new words that do a better job of expressing how we really feel? My question is simple. What words or combination of words will bring about the quickest turnaround in our golf, especially when we are putting badly?
Picture the situation. You have just missed a short but makeable putt to lose the hole in a tense match. The moment has arrived for you to react to your feelings. Do you berate yourself, the ball, your putter or the green? What should you say to get your game quickly back on track? Does the polite rebuke 'How exasperating' or 'Darn' give the same satisfaction and remedial effect as a short staccato burst of explosive 'f and s' words? Then again is the English language best suited for swearing or should you be looking elsewhere for inspiration?
Spectator sport has changed in that, thanks to technology, we can listen in on the top performers. We can clearly hear the 'effing and blinding' of the likes of Woods and others on Tour. Are they employing an artful technique that stops the rot before it infects their game I often wonder if the early greats of golf turned the air blue around them when things were going badly. Has addressing the ball always had a double meaning in golf since the time of Mary Queen of Scots? Certainly on the bleak and windy links in Scotland a poor result must have tested the stoic forbearance of golfers struggling to control their guttie ball on a bumpy green.  Sports psychologists have you believe that swearing is detrimental to your game. Our brain is a veritable chemical factory and anger apparently releases negative performance-harming chemicals. However, is it not just possible that 'carrying on like a pork chop' as they say in Australia has the effect of flushing out the energy-sapping bile that has built up inside of us? I am a silent admirer of those who can dismiss misfortune as if it is of no consequence. One putt or three putts makes no difference to them. Their mood remains upbeat and on an even keel. No bad words are ever mouthed. Deep down I am sure that this is the way to go if you want to excel at golf.
Setting aside the idea of striving to attain a Zen-like calmness, I would like to get back to my original question: Readers are invited to forward their suggestions. Who knows - you may be on to something that you would like to share.
Image Source Return from Swearing to Ezines |
