Golf and Agility: The Mental Game

Not much new agility training again this week.  Jefferson has enjoyed his extra nap time!  It has been hot and steamy coupled with rainy afternoon showers.  Welcome to the rainy season in Charleston, SC!  We did practice a couple exercises Monday evening.  For the most part, Jefferson did well and read my movement.  The good news is that he was really excited to be back at the field; did not shut down, run off  but stayed focused on me.  However, one exercise that required me to "layer" the tunnel between me and an outside jump provided a challenge to us.  I was surprised that we had trouble taking the farther jump since he does work well from a distance; but we have only "layered" one time before so this is a skill we need to work on this fall.  

Since I was curious about how to better handle Jefferson in this type of challenge, I did read Linda Mecklenberg's info about "layering" obstacles.   I think our problem was that whenever I slowed down so I could make the turn around the tunnel, Jefferson read my movement as he should turn also.  So, in a way, this exercise showed me how well he does read my movement and that I need to be extremely cognizant of my body movement as we run exercises.  Mecklenberg did not recommend using "layering" if it is not needed to make a more efficient path to set up the handler for the next obstacles in the sequence.  Also, she said that "layering" should not contradict or take away from you and your dog's convergence skills.  Again, "layering" is yet another handling technique I would like to have in our arsenal as we advance to more challenging courses.

As for me, I have enjoyed a great day at the PGA Championship with my mom.  We endured all kinds of weather:  rain, thunder, lightning, heat, humidity and sun!  It was fun (and really expensive...$3 for a bottle of water!) and I enjoyed seeing some of my favorite PGA golfers including Padraig Harrington, Dustin Johnson and Geoff Oglivy.  (I was disappointed I did not get to see Adam Scott up close and personal...boo!!)  Somehow, I managed to get Phil Mickelson's autograph which is pretty cool - he was so nice and much skinnier in person!

What fascinated me the most about my day at the PGA Championship is how much golf is a mental game.  The PGA professionals had to stay "in the zone" to practice while thousands of adoring fans watched as they made long drives, amazing bunker shots and difficult putts.  But, many a PGA professional made a bad water shot at the 17th hole par 3 - probably one of the most difficult par 3s in all of golf.  Rather than let it get to them, they kept on going.  This was so inspiring to witness.  With one particular golfer, Padraig Harrington, he was the epitome of calm, cool and collected as he made his way to the 18th hole.  Yes, he had a great 17th hole but I could sense his air of confidence - not arrogance - when he walked past me.  He was definitely "in the zone."

So, as I continue to train and practice with Jefferson in developing our agility skills, I will keep working on my mental game to be "in the zone" much like the PGA Professionals.  

"Golf is a game that is played on a five-inch course - the distance between your ears."

~Bobby Jones