[elliskit]

Developing your skills to the level you desire is important; you can't shoot 68 if you aren't good enough to shoot 68 . But having the skills required to shoot 68 is completely different from actually being able to shoot 68.

holeout,
This is what I was getting at in when I said:

It seems that, when PLAYING (getting the ball in the hole), the mental side is much more important than mechanics.

It seems that there is an UNSEEN component (call it mental, spiritual, emotional, or whatever) that is more important in WINNING (or PLAYING well) than having perfect SKILLS. Not that skills are not important, as you said already, you must have the SKILLS to shoot 68, but PERFORMING at that level requires something beyond physical skills.

I think that is what HB was eluding to when he responded to Bucket's plan:

You've got it. One more. It's all described in your post, but.... Head up, shoulders back, chest out. Puff up. Act like you know what you are doing; soon you will.

Skills give you a baseline. The human WILL or SPIRIT is what ultimately determines your limit, whether it is to go beyond your abilities or to not play up to them.

In relation to skills, also, I think that this is all connected to the INCUBATOR (Chapter 14). If you really BELIEVE that you can do something, and put forth a reasonable amount of effort, your COMPUTER will find a way to make it happen. Your SKILLS will be developed according to the picture your mind and will have painted. They actually feed each other. As skills develop, the picture becomes clearer. Confidence builds, which pushes you to refine your skills to a higher level. It works in reverse, also (like Duval and others).

I like what Tomasello emphasised in the videos. The only shot that matters is the one you are getting ready to hit. You cannot change the past and you cannot do anything in the future. He talked about where Homer said in Ch. 14 that censure has no place. There is no benefit from beating yourself up when you mess up. You can learn from it, but you must maintain the attitude that the mess up does not define your ability. We have all hit good shots. The key is believing that we are the kind of golfer that hits good shots, not that we are bad golfers who get lucky sometimes. Like Bucket said:

4. The worst thing I say about my putting from now on is, "I'm putting good, but I'm not making as many as I would like."

This really applies to EVERY shot, not just putts. Tomasello also talked about "calling the shot" before you make it. Describe, out loud, the target, trajectory, path you want. Let that be the last thing you put into your mind before you swing. Breathe. Make the motion. Nilsson and Marriott talk about this, too, in Every Shot Must Have a Purpose. I am learning that I have been a big roadblock to my own progress. That is changing this year.