So last week, 8-year-old Frankie, Tommy Fleetwood’s son, looks at his dad and says:
— “You know what you’ve never done?” — “What’s that?”
— “You’ve never won a tournament where I could come hug you on the 18th green.”
Boom.
The kid just created a movie in his father’s mind — forcing him to visualize the scene.
To see himself, in advance, being hugged by his son on the 18th green after winning a tournament.
Aside from the Ryder and the FedEx Cup, this hadn’t been Tommy’s best year.
Sunday. New Delhi. DP World Indian Championship.
Tommy Fleetwood — Champion. Two shots ahead of the field. And just one person ahead of him…
His son, Frankie, running to hug him on the 18th green.
Visualization doesn’t make things happen — but it helps.
Damn, I don’t know why. But it just does.
In my case, the ball almost never does exactly what I want.
But when it does, it’s always because I’d drawn it clearly in my head — how I want it to fly, where I want it to land, how many bounces it’ll take, how it’ll roll on the green.
“Don’t get cocky,” I tell myself.
Hahaha. If life were a piece of software — a simulation — it would all make perfect sense. Right?
Seve knew exactly what I'm saying. He didn’t just play golf. Seve made art.
Because he could visualize the wildest shots imaginable…
…since everyone else practiced on the golf course,
while Seve trained outside it — on the beach, in the rocks, in the fields.
That’s why he could imagine shots no one else could have ever drawn in their mind.
He’d close his eyes before hitting — and see the ball rolling into the hole.
It happens in life, too.
We fight for — and achieve — what we’re able to visualize.
Just like Frankie, Tommy Fleetwood’s son.
Have a great weekend, golfers!
P.S. I: Visualize it all clearly. P.S. II: And swing hard — just in case!