Author Archives: Veronica

A Wild Golf Story!

“God, I need a blessing today! Please bless me today!” I woke up screaming out this prayer after taking a much-needed nap. After returning home to my new apartment from an early morning meeting, I was having a tough time functioning. I was sleep deprived from a month’s struggle to sleep through the night from the unexpected noise from the nearby interstate. Feeling like a zombie, I had to stop and recapture a measure of rest. My brain was fried and I could not function anymore. Something had to give. I desperately needed some recovery.

After I sent up my cry, I got up immediately and checked my phone. My friend, Jeffry, had sent me a text. “Veronica, I felt impressed to spend the day with you. I’ve canceled all my appointments. Are you free to get together?” Huh. I called him and we decided to meet at Panera Bread in Winter Park.

“Veronica, I wanted to follow-up with you on your need for a caddy for the Senior Women’s U.S. Open Qualifier. As someone who went to school to be a golf pro, I’d love to do that for you.” We talked about doing a “test run” to see how we would jive together. I mentioned to him, “There’s a skins game with some guys from the Golf Channel at the Winter Park Golf Course at 3:30. I’ve never played in it, but it sounds like fun. Knowing that it is a little competition, we could do our ‘test run’ there this afternoon. However, I’m not sure I want to pay a green fee and 20 bucks for the game the way I am feeling. We looked at one another, smiled, and said, “Let’s go!”

As we headed out of Panera, Jeffrey looked across the street to his favorite restaurant, Boca, and declared, “We are going to win the skins game, take the winnings, and come back here for dinner!” “You go, boy! You call that shot!” I replied. We chuckled about his golf prophecy and headed on over to the course.

It was a beautiful day to walk the nine hole course. I was paired with two nice guys and Cara, a host for the Golf Channel. I didn’t play great, but birdied holes #2 and #3. I was hoping I would win a skin on hole #2. (A skin is when you get a score lower than everyone else but only if you are the only one with that score. If two people birdie a hole, there is no skin awarded.)

Jeffry was great at reading the greens and we had a good flow going between us. Once in, I anxiously awaited for the results.No one in the group in front of us birdied #2 or won a skin. One more group was after us. One guy had five birdies, but did not win a skin because there were others who also birdied the same holes! I was the only one who birdied #2. Not only did I win a skin, I was the ONLY one who won a skin! I won all the money!” My winnings totaled $200!! Total victory! Jeffry and I looked at one another and laughed! “You called the shot, brother! Your declaration came true!” Jeffry exclaimed, “That’s just the start for things to come! Total victory, Veronica!” “Let’s head on over to Boca for dinner and fulfill your prophecy!” I replied.

We had a delicious dinner at Boca. We spoke about the power of our words, how we can declare things and they can happen. I couldn’t help but think of my cry earlier that day. Only God knew what I needed to get out of my funk—a fun day on the course where I cleared my head, found my caddy, and cleaned up in the winnings!

As we headed out to the car, I said to Jeffry, “Just think, this is just the beginning of many more fun dinners at Boca with our future winnings!” Jeffry made sure to make one more declaration: “You are going to sleep tonight, Veronica!” While I trusted that declaration would come to pass as well, I left knowing one thing for sure: I was going to use the rest of my winnings to get my hair highlighted!”

It was a spectacular day–and one wild golf story to add to my journey on the road to championship.

P.S. I had the best night sleep since moving into my apartment!

“And without faith it is impossible to please God. He who comes to God must believe He exists and is a rewarder of them that diligent seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Release Your Inner Champion for a Joyful New Year

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Champion Mindset: Champions can turn a disempowering emotion into an empowering emotion at will.

As a coach, I help people reach peak performance in golf and life. Every now and then, however, I have to coach myself. Such was the case several years ago around the Christmas season.

While many enjoy family gatherings, there are many like me who don’t have much family. The holidays become a time of battling rather than rejoicing. I made a decision I was not going to go through one more Christmas in a state of depression. I didn’t know how it was going to happen other than I set my mind to change my emotional state.

I knew that we create suffering when we focus on what we don’t want, instead of what we do want. Knowing that joy is the highest positive emotion there is, I set out to move into joy. But how? I began with a clear intention. You can’t hit a target unless you can clearly see it.

That’s when I met Flame. He was this cute stuffed pink Flamingo I purchased as a gift. I put him in the passenger seat of my car. While driving home, I stopped at a red light. The driver in the car next to me started honking. Turning to see what all the commotion was about, the driver was laughing hysterically, pointing to Flame and offering a thumbs up.

I joined him in the laughter and drove on. The thought hit me: I just produced joy. Stopping at the grocery store, it happened again. A woman pointed Flame out to her young daughter and they both broke out in a big smile. I asked them, “Would you like to meet Flame?” We took a picture together. Flame and I produced more joy.

“I wonder what would happen if I took Flame into the grocery store?” I put him in the shopping cart and in we went!

Women started rushing up to me, exclaiming, “He’s so cute! Where did you get him? I’m in love!” I took more pictures of beaming faces, and shared them. Then I made videos. Everywhere we went, we produced joy—in the bank, on the beach, at the gas station. One homeless man said, “You made my day!”

I reflected on the nature of joy. It is spontaneous, relational, and the result of connecting heart to heart, without walls. It is produced in the moment—and happens when you get outside the atmosphere of your own inner focus. It is outward focused, fresh, new—and cute!

After producing joy for the entire month of December, I realized I had just cured my depression and created a whole new state of being—one of joy. “Now if I can stay in joy for an entire month, why not a year? If for a year, why not just stay in joy for a lifetime!” For the past three years, I have remained in joy. Yes, I’ve had ups and downs, but joy is my emotional home. When you leave home, you know how to return to it. You don’t find it. You return to it. Joy belongs to you. It is your emotional birthright.

As you embark upon your new year, make a decision to be a joy-maker—to produce it and dwell in it. Remember, the quality of your emotional state is the quality of your life. Not your golf score, not your bank account—your emotional state. Join me in joy in 2019!

Veronica Karaman is a peak performance coach and author of The Champion’s Way: Core Foundations for Achieving Peak Performance in Sports and Life.

Visit jointhechampionsway.com. Contact Veronica at veronica@truechampioncoaching.com.

The Championship Mentality

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“I have to be realistic,” my champion wanna-be client confessed to me. She made this comment as we were winding down a coaching session in which I was helping to prepare her for an upcoming big golf championship.

She had just won her club championship by a milestone. Hitting the ball the best ever in a long time, her confidence was sky high. For the first time, she was learning to focus on the target and not her swing during competition. The result was a quieter mind and more focused concentration. Fitness-wise, she was very strong, having committed to a regular exercise routine. I could tell that she was now in a position to open up her mind to a whole new possibility—one of winning the national championship she was about to enter.

“But I have to be realistic,” she said again when I confronted her limiting belief. “Realistic?” I said. “Champions don’t focus on what is realistic, which is all about staying in the box of what already is. Champions focus on creating a new reality by breaking through the limits of possibility. That’s why they are called champions. They open their minds to new possibilities. They go to the edge of their capacities. They push through what is to create what can be. Do you want to be a champion?” “Yes.” “Then let’s spend some time writing down what is MOST TRUE for you and 25 reasons why you believe you now deserve to be in the winner’s circle. The idea is to expand what is possible for you based on what is most true right now.”

This one exercise of connecting the head and the heart fuses a person’s belief system and leverages her identity it to a whole new level. The focus is not on what is realistic, but on what is MOST TRUE. It took her some time to identify her most true reasons. When the list was completed, she was pleasantly shocked on what she read. A few of her “why I deserve to be in the winners’ circle” reasons are as follows:

My limiting beliefs are dissolving.
I am strong.
I just slayed the field in my club championship.
I’m learning how to successfully focus on target and not my swing while in competition.
I’m opening up my life to the fullness of experience and enjoyment that is awaiting me.
My confidence is sky high.
I discovered an effective swing thought that is empowering my swing.
The timing is perfect for a peak performance.

When we finished with all 25, I had her declare them out loud. The power that came out of her as she read them was remarkable. When done, all I could exclaim was “Praise the Lord!” She agreed, joining me with her own, “Praise the Lord!” We laughed. Now she was in her upcoming championship at the cellular level. All her energy—her mind, her body, her emotions and her spirit—were in “go’ mode. She is now “all in” her championship well before it happens. I further encouraged her to declare her reasons out loud several times a day to get them into her subconscious mind with even more certainty.

“You just upgraded your champion identity based on what is most true for you,” I summed up for her. “Now you will go play in that championship from the CENTER of who you are as a champion. This is your most powerful self—and when you play from this “inside-out” place—you have already won. Now go give it your all and let the chips fall where they may. You are now playing from victory. Regardless of the result, you have positioned yourself for a peak performance and it is going to happen.”

The coaching conversation itself was a peak performance experience. I, too, left feeling like I was doing what I was created to do—empowering people to tap into their championship mentality—to position themselves to perform from their highest self. I wish to reach more with this empowering training.

To learn more, visit jointhechampionsway.com. Reach out to me at veronica@truechampioncoaching.com to set up a strategy session.

4 Comeback Keys You Can Learn from Tiger Woods’ PGA Championship

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Yesterday was an amazing day of watching Tiger Woods almost win. Actually, that is not a true statement. While he did not take home the PGA Championship, Tiger Woods did win big. There’s nothing like seeing a champion make a comeback after debilitating setback in his personal and professional life.

Beyond the golf world, the entire sports world was cheering him on as he inspired the inner champion in all of us. His play was a visible demonstration of what the human spirit is capable of achieving even after the most notable loss. How does Tiger Woods’ journey of champion redemption speak to the heart of a champion in you and me? How does Tiger’s journey help someone who has experienced setback shift from spectator to player once again? Consider 4 P’s to step back inside the ropes of championship after loss:

Tiger acknowledged his pain. He didn’t deny it, but worked through it. He dealt with it and refused to let it cause him to quit. In his press interview, he mentioned how painful it was—harder than one would imagine—his journey to comeback was. Part of that pain was taking ownership of his present limitation. Since no one had ever swung a club like he did with having a spinal fusion, he had to figure some things out for himself and by himself. If he had run from the pain, he never would have figured it out.

Champion Comeback Key #1: Don’t run, hide or deny your pain. Start with your pain and face it straight on.

The road to comeback doesn’t happen all at once. He commented that he did not know if he could play golf again. In the time of “not knowing,” it required great patience for him to journey down the road of discovery—and not care what people thought about his “testing and trying,” giving competitive golf a shot again, taking time off, figuring out if he could re-capture his swing speed and game in the midst of his physical challenges. A year ago, he never thought he would be in contention again for not one, but two major championships.

Champion Comeback Key #2: Give yourself time and patience as you take steps forward to discover your comeback potential and what you are capable of achieving.

About winning the PGA Championship and being in contention, he said numerous times, “I had to try.” He had to try to win. He had to try to shoot a low score. He had to try to see what he was capable of. He had to try to find a swing the final day. I often say to my coaching clients, “You can’t win if you don’t enter.” The biggest win sometimes is just entering. By entering, over and over again, Tiger Woods gave himself a chance to win. Let’s face it. He had every reason to rationalize quitting: “I have enough money and accomplishments. It’s time to focus on raising my kids exclusively. What will people think of me? I need to play it safe and guard my back. If I don’t what I can do, why risk the unknown? It’s too painful and strenuous to try again.” He put himself in a position to win because he chose to “be in pursuit” instead of quitting.

Champion Comeback Key #3: Take inspired imperfect action. Get off the couch and be in pursuit.

Over and over again, he spoke about perspective: “I’m grateful to be able to play again. I didn’t know if I could….My kids aren’t thinking about my golf. They are thinking about school, so that’s all that I am talking to them about….The positive vibes from the crowd were tremendous.” It was a beautiful sight to see Tiger stop for a moment and acknowledge the crowds on his way to the scoring tent. He got that his energy was fueled by the crowd’s energy. He then went on to hug Brooks for his win. He was hopeful he would play in the Ryder Cup. In both words and humble demeanor, the re-emerging Tiger Woods expressed a holistic viewpoint on competition and life. It was now all in perspective. I often say, “Wholeness is a combination of performance and relationship.” You could see an expression of both from him.

Champion Comeback Key #4: Pain and setback will produce a new perspective in you. Capture and live out that healthy viewpoint as you get back on the road to championship.

While you may never play in a major championship, you don’t have to remain a spectator in sports or life. Maybe you have experienced a setback in your own life, one that has produced shame, pain, loss, and limitation. That same champion spirit in Tiger Woods, applied to your life, will get you back on the road to championship as well. Why? Because I believe there is a champion in everyone. I believe there is a champion in you!

To review, here are the 4 P’s to releasing your comeback potential, expressed from a place of identity:

Champions face their pain head on.
Champions take full ownership of their condition and patiently engage in the process of incremental discovery over time.
Champions never quit. They pursue. They know the only way to get through a failed championship—in life or sports—is to enter another championship.
Champions have a holistic perspective on life, sport, and “what it’s all about.” They have a healthy balance of performance and vital relationships.

Adopt these 4 Champion Comeback Keys and who knows where you’ll end up—maybe in contention for a major championship. Like Tiger Woods, you’ll be saying about yourself, “It’s a miracle!”

Veronica Karaman is a peak performance coach, pro golfer, and writer who loves to inspire the champion within others. (Visit jointhechampionsway.com or reach her at veronicakaraman@gmail.com)

On the Road to Championship: The Sting of Subtraction– NOT!

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I stood in the fairway, mad as hell. Yep, it’s true. I, who rarely experience a “risen anger,” couldn’t hold the emotion back. I was in the middle of a championship qualifier. I wanted to make it–and now I had to to contend with an outside factor that I hadn’t planned on: my caddy giving me wrong yardage. What the #$@#!?

It happened numerous times. It’s the last thing I needed in the moment of pressure. A wrong calculation–he subtracted when he should have added. Then I had to do the calculations myself. It made me mad because the last thing I needed to give energy to was to oversee “incorrect calculations.” His inaccuracy led to my anger which led to poor shotmaking–his emotions rose up, too–calm gave way to anger which led to poor shotmaking which gave way to a score 11 shots higher than my previous round. If he had just added instead of subtracted—the result would have contributed to my advancing, rather than to a defeat.

The sting of subtracting when you should be adding—that thought hit me hard as I read something that had nothing to do with golf, but how we make decisions about our lives. Many times in the heat of a pressured situation, we decide to subtract instead of add. Many times we are not even conscious of the DIRECTION OF OUR DECISION. We make a decision based on survival, what keeps us safe, rather than on adding which makes us grow. We honor a limiting belief which subtracts us, keeping us stuck, rather than on pursuing a dream, which adds to us. We remain silent in a conflict, which subtracts from our connection, rather than speaking the truth in love, which adds to us. We judge when we should be open. We run when we should stand. We wait to be acted upon rather than acting. We listen to others voices rather than our own–and as a result, we lose when we could win. STOP THE MADNESS!!

What are you subtracting from your life that you should be adding/multiplying? What are you losing as a result of the direction of your decision? If you want to move forward, make the kind of choice that will ADD to your life, not SUBTRACT.

I was further convicted by reading a very insightful post by someone who some consider to be prophetic. Here is an excerpt from Nate Johnson:

“There is a word that keeps being illuminated in my spirit for weeks now: MULTIPLY. I kept hearing it as a command from the Holy Spirit: Multiply, multiply, multiply. Multiply means to cause to increase greatly in number or quantity, and in Hebrew means increase, abundance, enlarge, and greatness.

“Adam and Eve were told to be fruitful and multiply. Abraham was told to multiply and become the father of many nations. Jacob grew and multiplied. Even in captivity in Egypt, Israel grew and multiplied…Job who lost everything then found himself not only restored but MULTIPLIED.”

“Being a multiplier” is in the very nature of God. Since you are made in His image, you have the ability and capacity inside of you to ADVANCE–to ADD GREATLY—and not to SUBTRACT and DIMINISH.

Then I thought about how God must feel when He wants us to make decisions that will advance His agenda and His kingdom in our lives and we don’t take action. He must get angry, just like I did on the course because He wants to succeed in His agenda, but needs you and I to come into alignment with His purposes and to step out and trust Him in the process.

If you are in a place wanting to advance your life, step back and consider how you make your decisions. Will that decision and the way you make it ADD to you or SUBTRACT from you. If you will make the decision that will multiply you, you are on the road to championship! You will win!

When I was challenged to share my story of my competitive journey, and invite others in to my journey, it was a decision that added to my life. I have been so blessed by the affirmations and validations I received regarding my writing and the inspiration it has brought to others. Even in my defeat, I was added unto, as a result of my own decision. There’s a win awaiting you–just make the decision to ADD–to MULTIPLY. Make it a MULTIPLYING DECISION. It is there you will find the blessing of God! It’s time to say good-bye to shrinking thinking–and WIN!

(P.S. I have processed my on course experience and only share from a place of story-telling to make a larger point, and to multiply an inner win for others.)

On the Road to Championship: Finding Gold in the Breakdown

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A prominent sports psychologist explains the difference between high performers and those who aren’t. One of the differences is the willingness to go to the edge of your emotional stability. How can you pursue your potential if you are not willing to test/explore the limits of your own capacities? When you take the leap to “go for it,” and it doesn’t happen, there is a definite pain in going to the edge of your capacity. I have felt that pain after my defeat.

I thought I was doing fine, until two days ago, I was heading in my car to New Smryna Beach, where I have a favorite spot to do my work. All of a sudden, I burst out crying. It was more than crying, however. It was a total meltdown, and I didn’t even understand it. All I knew was that something hit me—something inside needed to be released and it was a meltdown. I thought I was okay, but knew I was hitting rock bottom for a reason.

I turned the car around and headed home. I did not want to sit in isolation, so I immediately called a few friends in my crisis moment. It’s interesting to me how people react to an immediate crisis need. One friend started preaching a sermon to me. “Sorry! I don’t need that right now!” I said. Another said, “Go to a bookstore and do some reading.” Give me a break! I don’t need a bandaid on a tsunami. Another started talking about her story when I needed someone to just hear mine for a moment. Another said, “Veronica, I will BE with you. I will come over and pray with you.” Bingo. She came, she sat, she listened with intent, she prayed. She CARED for me–and somehow in my journey, I have needed the tangible essence of care. She offered that in my breakdown moment.

But something else happened right after that. It stunned me. The attention turned to her and her challenges. We began talking about a certain relationship she was in–one where she was being treated as “less than” the quality person she was–and the dynamics of false submission she was playing into that was bringing unnecessary suffering upon herself. She needed to release her own suppressed voice of leadership which was the opposite movement of what she was doing.

All of a sudden, the gold–not the golf! LOL—started rising up in me. This amazing wisdom–perfectly articulated for her situation came gushing out of me. Another kind of tsunami–a flood of impartation, guidance, and empowerment for her.

I stopped right in the middle of what I was saying, realizing the shift that was taking place in me. “Oh my gosh! My entire state of mental/emotional being just shifted. I feel this power coming out of the center of who I am!” It was an amazing GOLD MEDAL MOMENT, realizing right in the middle of my messy emotions, I had power immediately accessible to me that came out when my attention turned towards helping another.

In the act of reaching out to another in my breakdown, discerning who the right person was to meet my need, I also came to see that I was also the right person to meet my need! LOL. We met one another’s needs. It was a beautiful empowering moment.

I share this because emotions fuel everything. They cannot be denied. They have to be processed and dealt with. Behind the emotions, however, is something more. Something deeper. It’s the wisdom you gain from your walk that is meant to be shared, released, and multiplied into another.

I believe this is the beauty and power of love-based performance. I don’t hide my pain. I process it. And it has to be done so in relationship for the best and most expedient outcome. Part of that is knowing who the right person is to minister to you in the moment. You want to find the sweetspot, not a glancing blow, to meet your need.

This was just one of the breakthroughs that came from my breakdown–but that’s for another post!

Through this process I have heard from so many of you who expressed blessing–and your own need to arise from defeat and advance to victory in this season. As a result, I will be offering The Champion’s Way: Training for Reigning life-coaching course again shortly. If you would like to apply to be a part of this small group master class, please reach out to me:
veronica@truechampioncoaching.com. It’s time to find your gold, arise from defeat and advance to victory!

The Thrill of Victory, The Agony of Defeat, and the Joy of Learning

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The Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Defeat, and the Joy of Learning:

I just got off the phone with my dear friend, Michele. We were talking about my recent writings on the journey on the road to championship. She thanked me for my writings and then concluded: “Most people don’t think that deeply about their performances–just whether they succeeded or failed.

What ensued was a beautiful discussion on how to look at a performance. We may not all think deeply about how a performance happened, but we all certainly FEEL deeply about the outcome of a performance. You can’t escape the impact of a performance one way or the other.

Often the thrill of a victory lasts only a moment and the pain of a defeat can last a lifetime. The key is not in the OUTCOME of the performance, but how you LOOK AT IT. It’s not in the pain of the defeat or the pleasure of the victory, but the PARADIGM of your PHILOSOPHY.

Many years ago, I launched off into the deep to fully focus on reaching a certain golf goal. I spent 6 months in laser focus mode. When I didn’t accomplish my goal, Humpy Dumpy fell off the wall and did not get back up again for almost a decade.What happened? I had a faulty paradigm based only on 2 variables: success or failure. VIctory or defeat. When it did not happen, I became a victim of my own mindset. My mistake was how I looked at my journey, which was ONLY defined by the RESULT. I unnecessarily brought suffering upon myself because my focus was on an event–and there was nothing behind that event.

I spent years figuring out how to “go all in,” “push to the limits of my capacity” and avoid the “falling off the cliff syndrome” that I had experienced. Here’s what I found that transformed my fear of a future pursuit: My problem was my paradigm.
When I shifted to a process-oriented paradigm, of ONLY focusing on the processes to get me to my goal, and not the goal, there was joy in the journey. There was also joy in the defeat–because it was in the defeat that I found meaning, the greatest amount of learning, and all that added to my next pursuit.

If you will add the variable of “the joy of learning” to your paradigm of success, it will greatly enhance your life and your success. If you go even further and edit your paradigm to “either success or learning,” you will advance down the road to championship even further. The pain of failure = treasure chest of learning = wisdom for the next round = set up for success. Take the time to discover the joy of learning which happens most AFTER a performance.

What kinds of lessons have you learned after a defeat?

Breakthrough to Your ‘A’ Game Golf School

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Breakthrough to Your ‘A’ Game 1 Day Golf School

Friday, June 29 9 am to 4 pm Pelican Bay North Golf Club, Daytona Beach

Do you believe you have more potential but don’t know how to reach it? Are you tired of investing in the latest gadget with no real results? Does your bad back and inconsistent swing keep you from the enjoyment you desire? Get ready to break through to your ‘A’ game!

Learn the “natural movements” of the golf swing and play your best golf over 50!

In the “Natural Movements” approach to golf, you will: Discover a simple and powerful method of swinging the club
Eliminate overthinking on mechanics to free up your mind to score
Put less stress on your back –reducing back pain
Open up a whole new possibility for what’s possible
Never fear losing your swing again!

Your Master Coaches: Veronica Karaman, Golf Professional and High Performance Coach, Founder of True Champion Coaching, 2017 TN Senior Women’s Open Champion, author: The Champion’s Way: Core Foundations for Achieving Peak Performance in Sports and Life

Rod Haigler, Golf Professional and High Performance Coach, Founder, Rod Haigler Golf Academy, M.S. Ed., Sports and Moter Performance, British Open Player and NJ Amateur Champion

“Both Rod and I are playing our best golf as seniors thanks to this method. Rod’s in his late sixties still shooting in the 60’s! The older I get, the longer I hit it! We look forward to releasing your potential on June 29^th!” V.K.

Agenda: 9 am to 12:00 – Natural Movements Training 12 to 1 pm Lunch and Warm-up to Play 1 to 3 pm 9 hole play – Implementation 3 to 4 pm Debriefing

Fee: $225, Early bird rate through June 15. $249, Regular rate after June 15 (No refunds after June 25, $25 admin. fee for refunds.)

To register: Contact Veronica at 757-407-1907 or email: veronica@truechampioncoaching.com

Test Yourself

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Champions stand out by their ability to hit shots under pressure with ease and calm. How can you see if you are in the champion zone? There’s only one way. You have to test yourself. Not everyone will put himself to the test.

Testing creates pressure. Pressure reveals where you stand on the champ-o-meter scale.

Last week I decided to test myself. I entered a tournament that was bigger than my current state of play. I knew it. I did it anyway. It was an intentional choice. Why? I wanted to test myself to see where I stood in my training for my big championship down the road. I could have waited until I was more fully prepared. I chose a different strategy. I decided to test myself to see what I needed to do to prepare. The pressure in the test would reveal those things to me.

My test revealed four things: a champion spirit, a champion character, a childhood wound, and a backslidden golf swing–the good, the bad, and the ugly. Because a tournament places a demand on every part of my being, every part of my being revealed itself. From what was hidden even to myself to what was obvious, I located myself. Now I know what I need to work on to fully engage for my upcoming championship.

My backslidden golf swing was a result of changing the pacing of my swing. When I reverted back to a slower pace, my new swing appeared the very next day. Lesson: perfect my pacing under pressure. The childhood wound was addressed by an opportunity to give to others the very thing I did not receive myself. Lesson: impart more of what I gained from that experience to others. Those lessons go beyond my head. They reach a cellular level. When your preparations reach a cellular level, you are on the road to championship.

One of the reasons King David was a champion was that he invited testing. While a king, a warrior, a worshipper, and a man after God’s heart, he wasn’t afraid to be tested. “Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind, for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth” (Psalm 26:2).

What comes out of you when you are tested? What does pressure produce in you? Do you remain the calm and relaxed person under pressure as you are without the pressure? Who do you become? If you are the same person—hitting your shots under pressure with calm and ease, welcome to the champion zone. If not, examine what the pressure reveals to you and work on your game along with me.

jointhechampionsway.com

Tournament Day 1: Things That Disappear

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Today was a day of things disappearing! I fully prepared everything I needed to play the first day of my mini-tour event until I stepped up to the first tee. I realized that I left my range finder somewhere on the driving range of another golf course! I had to walk all the yardages off old school—which were not as accurate, especially into the wind, as my range finder is!

Then my swing disappeared! I wanted to use this tournament to “locate myself” with all the new swing changes I have been making. I wanted to know how it would hold up under pressure. My swing was great on the practice tee, but the young tweety-birds I was playing with hit the ball hard and fast. In order for me to hit it well, I have to hit it hard and slow. Fortunately, I was able to discern how to recapture my “disappearing swing,” and hit it great again on the practice tee after my round. I will do better tomorrow because now I know better.

During the course of my round, I then hit a shot in a sand trap. No matter how much we looked for it, we could not find it. There was not even a trace of where it went into the trap. It just disappeared! Yikes!

The biggest disappearance was the professional atmosphere which I invested $600 in to enjoy in this event. One of the girls’ father was caddying for her and thought this was a good day to interject his rather boisterous comments into the round, disturbing my play, and turning a professional experience into a strange kind of social one. I had to stop numerous times to address the fly in the ointment.

In the midst of a day of disappearances, a few things appeared and rather noticeably at that. Upon learning that my goal was to play in this year’s Senior Women’s U.S. Open, my playing partner spoke something beautiful and totally sincere into my life. In a moment of reflection and clarity, she said, “I can see you playing in that.” She saw the champion in me and spoke to it. I can’t begin to tell you how much that meant to me in the middle of shooting a round in the “not so low eighties”!

The father of the other player came marching over to me after the round exclaiming, “You are one class act. The way you handled the other father was truly impressive.” I was stunned–and blessed that he saw something standout in me despite my poor score.

While my range finder, lost ball in in the sand, professional atmosphere and swing disappeared, I was blessed with the evidence of my character and champion spirit showing up in full display.

Capturing that inner win–along with the re-appearance of my swing after the round—gave me a reassurance that tomorrow will be better–and hopefully, a lower score will appear as well!