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Easy Rider


No surprise here, eh, re today's title, what with the passing of Easy Rider star and producer Peter Fonda last week.  Unlike what happens when you put the ball atop the peg on the 1st tee - the surprise-fest - full of adventure, bumpy rides, and off-fairwaying that is awaiting. You ready for that ride, brothas & sistas?

The real Captain America (sorry P. Reed and Spandex-clad Marvel superhero), has moved on into the next realm - but not before shaking up Hollywood, and revolutionizing the realm in which we all still live.  The counterculture (maybe your golf game needs a dash of counterculture..) flick was a touchstone for a generation.

You? Shaking up what's amiss in your golf game, and in that other game you're in the midst of playing called "life?"  Or just going with the proverbial flow, sitting back as a silent observer & witness, feeling like a victim?  I understand - and perhaps you need a soul-searching, cross-country trek across the land of golf instrucion, and daily sidewalks?   Read and listen on, fellow easy riders of the links, for some takeaways on how the message of this flick, its soundtrack and its stars can help you to better navigate roads, in and out of the golf park...

 
Easy Rider came out 50 years ago this summer, yet like the dysfunctional movement pattern plaguing your golf swing (or lifestyle), no progress in sight.  You recall the gist of the movie, right?  Two Harley-riding hippies (played by Fonda and director Dennis Hopper), complete a drug deal in Southern California and decide to travel cross-country in search of spiritual truth. On their journey, they experience bigotry and hatred from the inhabitants of small-town America and also meet with other travelers seeking alternative lifestyles.

Ooh.  Ahh.  You turn your back on 'drugs,' do you?  Like the opioid epidemic, rooted in greed, that is bedeviling this country?  What mindset are you addicted to on the golf course?  Who are you out there, and who do you become when the pavement gets a little rough?  Good news: without ingesting any substance (we are all hard-wired for bliss, did you know?), you can choose who you want to be, at any time.  A little dash of Peter Fonda's calm, cool and collectiveness would undoubtedly behoove you in times of stress, anguish and anxiety.  

"In search of spiritual" truth.  You?  Why do you play the ball & stick game, anyway?  Bravado?  Ego-stroking?  Trophy-posting on utterly unsocial media channels?  Or to learn more about yourself, your tendencies, your patterns (healthy & unhealthy)? Your demeanor, resilience and grit as a human being? Spiritual?  Damn, boys and girls, you're walking around a cathedral known as a golf course. Acknowledge, appreciate and admire your surroundings, much just as our biker duo does across this great country.

Bigotry?  Hatred?  Thankfully those don't exist anymore in the good 'ole US of A... Haha; but it's not funny, is it?  Our golf-swing methodologists are awfully biased, have you noticed?  My way, or the highway.  Much like the short-haired majority in Easy Rider who simply cannot fathom a man wearing his hair long. 

Pity.  Look at the 'hairstyles' - golf swings - of the best players in the world, and what do they all have in common?  Only optimized physics at impact; esthetically they range from crew cuts - to hair down to the ass.  Why you trying to fit into some model, that may not fit you?

Enough words - you prefer skipping & skimming perhaps, even though you are blessed with literacy?  Ever wonder what you miss? No mind, DJ CS here to put some music in your ears.  Click on the two images above for some classics of yesteryear - then jam back thissa way for some additional offerings; you dig?

Steppenwolf's Born To Be Wild

"Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway
Lookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way"

 

You get your 'motor running' before you play?  Proper (deep) nutrition, a few moments of meditative breathing to set your intention, followed by some dynamic warm-ups to get the physical motor running?  Or is it shuffle from desk to car to driving range (if you're lucky) to first tee?  I understand.  You're distracted, like Alice in her wonderland above, by so much.  Yet even Alice knows:

"Failure to prepare is preparing to fail"

(Coach John Wooden shows up at the most opportune times, doesn't he?)

Part of that intention-setting piece above must recognize one simple fact: the 18-hole jaunt you are about to engage in will indeed be an adventure, like no other.  Best be ready & relish 'whatever comes your way.'


The Byrd's I Wasn't Born To Follow

I wasn't born to follow"
That really have no value in the end she will surely know
And mention all the things I'll lose
She may beg, she may plead, she may argue with her logic
"I will want to dive beneath the white cascading waters
 
What things might you lose when you commit to becoming a better golfer, and human being?  What value do they truly hold, at the end of the day?  Satisfy your ego, reputation and pocket book? Are those the rules and regulations you were born to follow - or is there more?  If you're stuck in some model or lifestyle that's wearing you down like a road, isn't it time you dive beneath that reality, and see what's on the other side?
 
 
"We were born, born to be wild
Like a true nature's child"

Ah... our nature.  You recall how Easy Rider ends (I shant give it away, should you be moved to view in the near future)?  Sad.  Shocking. Sorrowful.  Anger, fear and ignorance front and center, much like in the "shooting stages" we've witnessed throughout this land in recent days and times. 

Pitiful; yet - is it just the nature of man? A species sharing 99.9% of our DNA.  We are all very much the same, so... what gives, boys and girls?  Why the hatred and misunderstanding?  The fact that we share 60% of our genes with chickens and fruit flies, and 50% with bananas, does not justify our ludicrous behavior and actions.

You choose; take a watch of the classic scene from The Crying Game above, and reflect on the grand scheme of it all. 




Your flatstick been crying?



I understand, and the easy rider of putting greens worldwide is here to help!  Not kidding... Longtime crony, PGA Adjunct Faculty Colleague, and rockstar LPGA coach Joe Hallett will be with me at ECC Saturday next (Aug. 31).  Don't miss the opportunity to learn from one of the best in the business - a few spots remain.

Joe was the 2018 National PGA of America Horton Smith award winner, is the Director of Instruction at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, TN, and former GM/Director and Lead Instructor at the PGA Center for Learning & Performance in Port St. Lucie, FL.

None better in the realm of the flatstick than Mr. Hallett.  His list of clients include former #1's in the world Stacy Lewis and Inbee Park, as well as LPGA Hall-of-Famer Juli Inkster, Lizette Salas and Brittany Lincicom.




Saturday, August 31

Aimpoint Session #1: 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Aimpoint Session #2:  10:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Cost: $175 for ECC Members, $200 for non-members

Limit six players per session.

One-hour private session available from 3-4 PM.

Cost: $150/hour

Space is extremely limited - let me know ASAP if you'd like to partake.

Christopher@ChristopherSmithGolf.com

CSmith@EugeneCountryClub.com



Looking for some new ideas to pave your road to golf improvement?  I can help.
 

 
 






"Oh, yeah, that's right. That's what's it's all about, all right. But talkin' about it and bein' it, that's two different things. I mean, it's real hard to be free when you are bought and sold in the marketplace. Of course, don't ever tell anybody that they're not free, 'cause then they're gonna get real busy killin' and maimin' to prove to you that they are. Oh, yeah, they're gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em."

--
George Hanson (Jack Nicholson) from Easy Rider





 

 

Best,
 
          ~ CS ~
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