The Exposed "Athlete"

HOW A FORMER UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS FOOTBALL PLAYER TRANSITIONS TO THE GAME OF GOLF.

After searching through the rough for my second lost ball of the round, I began to wonder, Why can’t I keep a stationary golf ball inside a hundred yards of fairway…I mean come on! A hundred yards seems like an eternity when you’re on offense and trying to score a touchdown, so why can’t I hit a ball between the rough?

This thought came into my head the other day as I stood on the 5th tee box wondering why it was so hard to transition my so called “athletic” abilities to the game of golf. There are many similarities between the sport of football and the sport of golf, but along with those similarities comes just as many differences; differences that can make an “athlete” that plays football look like a true N.A.R.P*.

*DEFINITION 1. A proper acronym used by the student population at the University of Illinois to identify a “Non-Athletic Regular Person(s)”

Golf can turn some of the best athletes into fools on the course. But at the same time, the similarities between the two sports show why there is still hope for us “athletes” to learn the game of golf.

DIFFERENCES

NERVES

After winning the National Championship in front of 75,000 fans, Deshaun Watson, former University of Clemson quarterback, described his game-time feelings: “Like I said before, I just quiet everything. I couldn’t hear the crowd. I couldn’t really – I was just in my zone. I just felt at peace…Don’t panic, it’s gonna be special, it’s gonna be great. We’re built for times like this, so let’s go finish it.”

I personally have no idea what it feels like to play in a national championship game, but I know what it is like to play in front of 110,000 fans in the big house. It’s one of the greatest experiences ever, but surprisingly not the most nerve racking. The same feelings that Watson is describing above were felt by me when I lined up for the first time across from Joey Bosa, defensive end for Ohio State and now for the San Diego Chargers, in 2015.

What is crazy is that 80,000 people can disappear once your hand touches the turf, but three people watching me tee off from the tee box can seem like a million. It is much harder to control your thoughts and concentration in front of a golf ball versus when you are lined up in a three point stance against a 6’8”, 300 pound man, or breaking out of a corner route to run past an All-American safety. I never noticed the fans at any moment after the quarterback started his cadence, but I notice every single person when approaching a six foot putt. In football, we called this zoning in. I’m not sure if the PGA Tour players have a different name for it, but they have that special talent that allows them to continuously zone out distractions and make great plays time after time.

INTENSITY

Sometimes I wonder if golf should change its name to The Head Game. Because the real sport is battling the endless mental challenges for 18 holes straight. The most challenging part for me is the ability to harness negative energy and transform it into the next big play. On the football field, getting knocked on my rear end created anger, which I would then use as intensity in order to knock the next guy on his butt. I feel that same anger I used to when I miss a two foot putt. But trying to clobber my next drive doesn’t create the same positive outcome as it once did on the football field. The mental challenge is to figure out how to transform that intensity into something a club and a golf ball can understand.

BACKUP

Pro athletes, whether football or golf, are not always making “The Big Play”, but are doing everything they can to minimize the bad plays. The major difference between the mistakes that are made in golf and the mistakes made in football is that, in football, there are 10 teammates covering your back when you mess up. I may have missed my assignment and let the defensive end run free towards the quarterback, but luckily it was a run play to the other direction and the 300 pounder couldn’t keep up with the running back.

This is not the same case on the golf course, though. On a par four, when I am laying 60 yards out on my third shot and muff the ball 10 feet, there isn’t someone to hit another ball for me and make sure I still have a chance at par. Instead, I would have to hit it from 50 yards and hope for a miracle or a chance at bogie. Standing on my own, facing the expanse of the golf course with no teammates to back me up is an experience I’m completely unfamiliar with.

OPPOSING TEAM

Although my transition to golf from football has been difficult, football still has its difficulties that don’t factor into the game of golf. The main difference is having to battle directly against an opponent and counter their every move. It’s a challenge that a golfer never has to contend with. And it’s something that football players cannot fully prepare for, no matter how much a team practices verse blocking dummies, replicates game day at half speeds and watches game film. Golf, on the other hand, can practice the same course and same shots, and not have to worry about a competitor bringing an unexpected play, speed or technique to the match. It’s arguably impossible to replicate in practice the exact game time experience, but football brings another element with the unpredictability of an opposing team directly affecting an athlete's performance.

THE BIG MISCONCEPTION

Practice. That’s the biggest difference between amateurs and professionals, the amount of practice they put in. The everyday player tends to go out and play every so often, but never spends time on the range or putting green. They may even play every single day of the week, but that is not entirely the same as deliberate practice. They play everyday and wonder why they are not getting any better.

That was the same as some of my football teammates. They would only go to mandatory lifts and practices and wonder why they sat the bench. Well, one of the biggest reasons was the athletes that were getting a lot of playing time were also the ones that were putting extra time in the weight room and extra time in the indoor practice facility mastering their techniques.

This is the same as golf, and golf as a sport, not as simply a recreational activity. It takes practice and time to master the game of golf. I can not just go out on the course every day and expect to get better. I need to practice my swing and the proper techniques in hopes that one day I can become a master at the sport. The misconception that golf is a recreational activity and not a sport may be the biggest difference of them all.

SIMILARITIES

I mentioned the mental challenges that a golfer must overcome in order to hit their next shot well, and how easily a football player can turn a bad play into anger then intensity then a good next play. It makes football look easy and golf look tough, but that is not entirely the case. The two sports have more in common then you might think.

CONCENTRATION

This same concentration that I mentioned being the hardest part of the golf game, can also be one of the trickiest challenges to overcome in a wide receivers game. Isolated 15 yards from the offensive line, just the receiver and cornerback, the only two things they can be focusing on is to get open and catch the ball.

Both sports involve intense precision and focus. Squaring your clubface and hitting the ball directly in the sweet spot can be one of the most precise things an athlete can do. But in similar way, making sure your hands are in the exact location and the tip of your two pointer and thumb fingers are touching, creating a perfect diamond, to catch a bulleted ball from the quarterback, can take the same amount of precision and concentration as hitting a golf ball. That level of concentration is what separates the amateurs from the professionals, and its something that someone picking up either game can work on to improve.

FLEXIBILITY

The most common misconception of a college football player is that they are big, strong and stiff. Two out of three are correct, however. And just as flexibility is one of the most important things in a consistent golf swing, it is just as important in a football players’ capabilities on the field.

A football player needs to be able to bend in and out of pass routes, lower himself in a block and lengthen strides in order to outrun opponents. We used to work out five days a week, sometimes six, for three hours a day. And half of those hours were spent working on flexibility. Not lifting weights or running, but working on our ability to move in a more flexible way on the field. Once I started playing at the collegiate level, I quickly learned that the best players are not the strongest, but the ones that had both the best technique and were the most flexible.

This concept is also true in the game of golf. The best players in the world do not drive the ball the furthest, but they consistently hit the ball where it needs to go. This is done through their core strength and overall flexibility.

ENVIRONMENT

As unexpected as it is, the biggest similarity between the ability to perform well in both sports is good weather. The majority of the time, a cool day, between 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit, is the most ideal playing condition. If it is too hot, athletes sweat and lose energy quicker. And being too cold can cause many problems in both sports. In football, the last thing you want to do is hit someone is freezing cold weather. And in golf, the ball will fly only half as far.

In both sports, movement is hindered immediately with the inability to warm up muscles. Thinking about cold weather brings me back to freshmen year on November 23rd at Purdue University. There was three inches of snow on the ground and more still coming down from the sky. I was in the worst position of them all, starting on all four of the special teams but not playing at all on offense or defense. This meant I would run down the field for one play, then stand on the sidelines for 30, never having the opportunity to warm up for the next play. Conditions like this are never good for any game, golf or football.

Golf may never be my strong suit. But I will continue to practice because, just like football, it is an amazing sport and one that has a history worthy of being a part of. This sport takes time to learn and can be one of the trickiest sports there is. But one day, hopefully I will be able to call myself an athlete again.