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"Everyone has his own choking level, a level at which he fails to play his normal golf. As you get more experienced, your choking level rises." |
-Johnny Miller |
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“Golf in the Kingdom” is a fabulous book about a student who stops in Scotland on his way to India where he plans to study philosophy. The lead character is a mysterious golf professional named Shivas Irons who lives by the belief that your best golf is played when you are truly comfortable and content in your own skin. The book correlates the fundamental elements of golf and life. The author, Michael Murphy, injects himself into the story and is portrayed as an above-average player who struggles with his alignment. He constantly tries to fix the problem, but nothing works. Murphy’s character wasn’t being a good husband, a good father or a good person. What he learns from Irons is that it’s his alignment in life that is causing his problems in golf. As soon as he realigned his life, he was able to line up to the target again. Del Walker was the best-aligned man I ever met. I played golf with him for the first time in the 1970s when he was in his sixth decade of being a better-than-scratch golfer. He knew what golf was all about, and there was an ease, comfort and efficiency about the way he played the game. Walker, 93, died on January 24. He basically was the John Wooden of Long Beach. He was a student-athlete at Long Beach Wilson and a coach at Long Beach Poly. He was the athletic director at Long Beach City College and the golf coach at Long Beach State. In an era dominated by elite amateurs, Walker was one of the finest. During the 1930s and ’40s, he competed in four U.S. Amateur Championships. He went on to claim four Long Beach city championships and won nine club championships at Virginia Country Club between 1941 and 1977. I played high school golf for his wife, Marty, who was amazing in her own right. While preparing for the CIF tournament, everything I hit off the tee was going right. Marty suggested that I go to Virginia Country Club to have her husband take a look. After watching my drives sail to the right, Walker told me to “try to hit one to the left.” I did, and the next shot flew perfectly straight. He asked me to do it again, and I did. “That’s it,” he said, before quietly walking away. It was the most simple and efficient lesson I’ve ever had. It’s something every teacher strives to do. SG Jamie Mulligan is the chief operations officer at Virginia Country Club. |
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