The Next Shot Investment
Day 1 from “The Golf Hall of Shame” by Bruce Nash and Allan Zullo
The Golf Book Club: Every day, we share a mental game lesson inspired by great golf books—stories and strategies to help you think better so you can play better.
Do you sometimes take the bad stuff personally? Bad bounces, bad luck, bad swings. But the so-called “bad stuff” happens to everyone. No one gets a pass.
According to psychologists, it’s important to understand the difference between “taking things personally” and being “personally invested.”
We’ll explain more in a minute.
But first, let’s see how even a great champion like Arnold Palmer can turn one mistake into a personal catastrophe.
“The Golfer of the Year made a 12 on this hole.”
In 1961, Arnie was PGA Player of the Year. But you wouldn’t know it based on his disastrous first round at the Los Angeles Open.
Arnie came to the 9th hole just two shots off the lead. 508 yards, par five. The drive was easy.
But on the approach shot, the fairway narrowed to a bottleneck. On the right, an out-of-bounds fence protected the driving range. On the left, another fence protected the street.
The smart play was to lay up short of the bottleneck and pitch onto the green.
But Arnie knew he could thread that needle. He swung his 3-wood. The ball gently sliced over the fence and onto the driving range.
One penalty stroke is no big deal—unless you compound the problem. Arnie went for the green again. The ball did an instant replay over the fence.
Now it was personal. He knew he had the shot and he wasn’t leaving until the golf course gave it to him.
He swung his 3-wood again. The ball hooked over the other fence and onto the street. Arnie swung again and sent another ball bouncing down the street.
Finally, on his fifth try, he flew a beautiful shot through the bottleneck. He two-putted for an inglorious 12—the worst single-hole score in his career—and missed the cut.
Afterward, even Arnie had to laugh. When reporters asked how he made 12, he said, “I missed a short putt for an 11.”
In his honor, a bronze plaque was installed on the 9th tee. It read, “Arnold Palmer, voted Golfer of the Year, made a 12 on this hole.”
The plaque was a reminder to all weekend golfers: when you get into a fight with the golf course, the golf course always wins.
The Gospel of Matthew reads, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
It’s okay to feel angry or frustrated. That’s normal. But when we take things personally, we invest ourselves in those emotions—and emotional investments always pay off.
Psychologists offer a simple alternative: acknowledge your emotions, then invest yourself in the next shot. Make the next shot your treasure, so to speak.
When you do, you’ll release the negative stuff that happened in the past and move forward freely into the next opportunity.
That’s all for now. Tomorrow, we’ll get a funny putting lesson from Bob Hope. Until then, keep imagining what’s possible.
Today’s Photo
Denarau Golf & Racquet Club in Fiji
