What else can be said about Tiger?  Five in a row is so phenomenal, it’s hard to imagine.  I hope everyone appreciates what they are watching, b/c he will most certainly be the greatest to ever play the game.  He is the epitome of Golf in the Now, in that he lives only in the present tense, and is able to tackle each tournament and each shot as it comes.  He doesn’t live in the past, nor does he get ahead of himself.  How remarkable that he has the never ending discipline to do this every single day. He relishes pressure and being in contention, and looks at every opportunity he is given as a chance to do something great and to make history.  

What can mere mortals like us learn from him?  I’ll give you three things each of us can do to be more like Tiger: 

1-     Focus on the shot at hand, and nothing else.

2-     Relish pressure, however it presents itself, as an opportunity to do something great, and not as a chance to embarrass oneself.

3-     Constantly strive to improve and get better, and to enjoy the process of doing so. 

There are so many other things we can learn from watching him, but most of all I think his relentless pursuit of personal excellence, so to speak, is at the core of his success.  He challenges himself each day, I am certain, in his workouts, his ball striking, his mental game, his putting, etc...to be a little bit better than the day before.  He is never satisfied, on some basic level, because he always feels he can improve.  I think each of us in our own way should aspire to that high standard.

© Golf In The Now, Jim Williams. All rights reserved.