Stage-Four

Playing The Game

Stage Four focuses on playing the game, which involves bringing all aspects of the
game into a total package. In Stage One you developed the Fundamentals
necessary for playing the game. In Stage Two you incorporate techniques that allow
you apply your skills more effectively. Stage Three focuses on customizing your
skills to your own particular body mechanics. In Stage Three we discussed
packaging your biomechanics into a total package, one that would satisfy the needs
of Owning Your Swing. Now it is time to Own Your Game, and that is precisely what
Stage Four is all about.

The Secrets of Owning Your Game (slated to be the last book in the Power-of-Three
Golf series) will all aspects needed to Own Your Game. It means bringing your
Imperative, Fundamentals, and Essentials as well as your Inner and Mental skills into
a total package. That package is organized specifically to employ a complete game,
one well suited to the task of playing your best golf.

Let's investigate the importance of Stage Four training. If internalize the fundamental
skills, employ the effective techniques, and customize your stroke with your particular
body mechanics in mind, however, fail to execute a sound game plan, with proper
club selections, and adequate focus, you will fail to achieve your golfing goals. To
use the skills developed in the first three stages you must master the skills in stage
four. In short, mastering these skills means mastering yourself.

What sort of aspects does Stage Four training involve? For one it involves
discipline. Discipline is an important facet of the game. Jack Nicklaus is perhaps the
most discipline golfer in history and in Jack Nicklaus The Full Swing he wrote, "This
takes a lot of discipline, but then golf demands a lot of discipline at all times.” What
else is important in Stage Four, preparation is important. Jack Nicklaus has often
made comments on the importance of preparation. In The Full Swing Jack Nicklaus
writes, "Golf is really two games. The first is ball striking, shotmaking - the physical
side. The second is strategy, tactics, course management, self management - the
mental and emotional side. Unfortunately nobody is a "born golfer" in either
department. Some people may have more innate talent than others for one or both
elements of the game, but how well a person ultimately plays depends on how well
he or she learns both elements. And, make no mistake, if you want to be a really fine
player it's a long, hard process. I've been learning both games of golf now for more
than 30 years, and I still see no end to the process." In that quote we can see how
the game requires the discipline to stick with the process as well as places a lot of
importance on preparing properly. As Jack Nicklaus continues to talk about this
process he describes the physical part of the game as being dependent on 80%
preparation and 20% execution. To that end he actually writes, "Reverse those
porportions and you'll always be a hacker." Additionally Jack Nicklaus writes, "I make
this little pitch because here I want to remind you once again, as we begin to talk
about the swing itself, that how effectively you swing a golf club depends almost
entirely on how well you have prepared to do so."

Though Jack Nicklaus speaks of preparing the physical skills, I believe preparation is
also 80% of what he calls the second half of the game. I believe this because all the
skills in Stage Four need to be internalized in to habit. These habits must all be
continually reinforced. When playing golf we find ourselves dealing with the
pressures of the moment, and our ability to manage those situations successfully are
dependent on how solid our habits are maintained.

The habits that will carry through the most pressure filled moments are the ones that
are internalized to the dispositional level. Your disposition is the underlined set of
beliefs, thoughts, attitudes, preconceptions, and all other inner game and mental
factors that determine how you will act or react in each and every situation you
encounter. You might say your disposition is the deepest level of your belief system.
It is the foundation and it contains the cornerstones of your beliefs. It contains all the
influences of your upbringing and social conditioning that you carry with you into
each moment. It involves all the preconceptions you adhere to from moment to
moment. It involves how open or closed minded you are. Do you allow new
information to influence all your preconceptions or do you dismiss all that is new to
hold on to the past?

Basically your disposition is your underlined way of being at any given moment, and
if you want to be successful, then you need to internalize the knowledge, beliefs,
attitudes, behavioral habits, intentions, confidence, trust, and fortitude that lay the
foundation for success. If do what needs to be done to be prepared at the
dispositional level you will experience success as a habit instead of periodically. In
my opinion, spending the effort to create a disposition designed for success is one of
the most important goals of Stage Four training.

If you've ever heard of someone being predisposed to act in a certain way, then you
understand how the disposition works. Most people have reoccurring situations that
involve being predisposed to act or react in a certain manner each time they
encounter a situation. Maybe it is the way you act or react around a family member
when they behave in a certain manner. Maybe it occurs in a work situation. Or, go
figure, maybe it happens on the golf course!!!

For most of use there are many situations that bring out our predisposed behavior
patterns. The real question is, are you predisposed to act in a positive and
productive manner or are you predisposed to behave in a negative and non-
productive manner. I recommend you assess your behavior patterns and figure out
where you can strengthen your disposition.

I once heard Martina Navratilova (the famed tennis star) say that one day she
realized she could lose, and she started losing more often. Before, that point she
was simply in the habit of winning. Everything she did was designed and organized
for the goal of winning. Her routines, her training, her focus, her skills, and all factors
needed to be a winner were internalized with such discipline that she was
predisposed to win. Roger Federer seems to possess the same disposition for
success, a disposition Tiger Woods understands and respects. The may be one of
the reasons the have become good friends.

Keep in mind the process of being predisposed for success is an ongoing process.
Remember Jack Nicklaus' words, "I've been learning both games of golf now for more
than 30 years, and I still see no end to the process." Everyday I evaluate everything
and anything that influences my disposition, and everyday I find something that can
use improvement. When I was younger I remember thinking, "Even Jack Nicklaus
can find things to improve day after day, so why would I be any different." Tiger
Woods is the same, day after day, week after week, month after month, and year
after year continually looking for ways to improve. Jimmy Conners and Andre Agassi
we two tennis stars that seem to be successful well beyond the age of the average
tennis star. Both players had been asked what they attributed their longevity to, and
both players responded that they simple worked on improving every day.

Observing the tendencies and the leadership of these great players has encourage
me greatly. Because of this the concept of improving has become one of the
cornerstones of the New Horizons Golf Approach. By this I mean "improving is the
standard!" The concept of perfection is held as an ideal instead of a goal. It is a
beacon to work toward, however, "improvement" is the daily goal. As long as you are
improving you are you are on your way to achieving your goals. All you have to do is
stay the course, keep improving.

The hardest thing for people to come to terms with while improving is to be patient.
Improvement is a life long process. People often look at improvement as if it is the
means to an end of a journey. They feel that all they have to do is complete the
journey and they will have the "Holy Grail" of golf - so to speak.

The fact is, the journey will always continue, until the day you die. One of my
students told me, "The older you get you have to strive harder to improve just to keep
from losing ground." He was 72 years old when he said it. And I think he was
correct. When we are younger we work hard so we can actually improve. When
when mature we work hard to make minor improvements that have great influence.
Then when we are older we work hard to improve so we can continue to enjoy, at
least, are present levels of performance. Eventually we strive to improve just so we
lose ground as slowly as possible. It is are basic fight for life, it is about survival
when it be our golfing life, our livelihoods, or a fight to keep breathing.

With all this in mind, Stage Four training will focus on all aspects that influence
playing the game. It will create a total approach to the game, an approach based on
the principle of always improving, and it will be organized for continued success.

On the right side of this webpage you will find the New Horizons Golf books that
relate to improving your Stage Four skills. You will also find links to articles written
by EA Tischler that shed some light on critical Stage Four influences.

Please be patient with the frequency of those uploads. As you can imagine this
website is a growing project and commands a lot of attention to keep it improving.
However, since improvement is the New Horizons standard we are committed to the
growing concerns that influence this websites improvement.

If you have any questions regarding New Horizons Golf Approach please contact
EA Tischler at (408)203-7599, or email your questions to EA Tischler newhorizonsgolfer@yahoo.com.