I discovered a golf teacher on the web. His name is Don Trahan, and he promotes himself as The Swing Surgeon. He teaches a back-friendly swing.
The swing is simpler and promises to be less stressful on the body. The power comes from leverage instead of twisting. It all made a lot of sense. I committed. This swing was going to extend my golfing career for another twenty years. I was excited.
I bought his videos. I practiced. I watched his twice-weekly videos. I even met him once in Hilton Head for a full-day personal lesson. I wanted to learn this swing. I wanted to keep playing golf and be good at it. I wanted to be great at it.
But I never was. And it was not for lack of trying.
Golfing & entrepreneuring
It is always practiced but has yet to be mastered. There are always insights, tips, and methods shared by experts and friends that make total sense. There are books, podcasts, and YouTube videos galore. Some people play the game that have seemingly mastered it. The pros, like my teacher, explain the step-by-step technique of the swing and then execute it flawlessly.
The golf swing looked so easy when he did it. I wanted that swing. And I wanted it badly. And the more time I put into learning and practicing it, the more I expected to become a better golfer. And I did, to a point.
Then I leveled out. I got to an eleven handicap and realized I would have to put in more time to improve. Every point of reduced handicap would take hours of practice, reading, watching more videos, lessons, and playing. In short, even more time. And lots of it.
I learned the teacher’s swing. But the swing didn’t come through for me on the promise of being back-friendly. As I got older, I would play golf and find I had increased back pain. Sometimes, it would take me a week to recover, even after a visit to my chiropractor. While the swing worked for others, I discovered that my body differed from theirs.
I decided to quit golf. It took me years to make this decision. When I finally got there, it freed up tons of time. Gave me mindshare back for my other life priorities. And generally, simplified my life while making it more fulfilling. I do miss the time with friends and the competition.