Golf In A Parallel Universe (5 page)

I get back to the hotel and think of about all that has happened to me the last few days. The Masters win. The Today's Show and the Tonight's show and all of that. But so funny, the one thing that really stands out to me more than anything is meeting Emily. Someone which I am sure I will never see again. W I am sleepy. I head back home in the morning. I go to sleep and have a lot of strange dreams. I dream of being in a different time and place with a wife and kids. I do not seem to see the faces, but seems all so Natural and peaceful.

Friday Morning. Finally back home Recovered from My New York stint. I wake up and it feels like the first time I have been home for ever. Thank God I do not have a tournament this weekend. But I do next week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Everyone tells me that I need to stick to golf. Practice, play and keep my game sharp. I need to put all this Celebrity stuff behind and get back to doing what I am supposed to be doing. Play Golf! Practice! So I am here. Back home in Orlando Florida. I after eat breakfast and relax for a while I go to my local course. There are a lot of Top level courses in Florida. That is why a lot professional Golfers live here. They can practice and play here with good weather all year round. My home course is not one of the top level courses. It is not true professional style course, but it is a very good championship course, which there are many in Florida. This is a no-named public course, but it has a great setup. The practice range has grass instead of those damned mattes. And there are a couple of other professional golfers besides me that have this as their home course. And the course management has a section of the practice range setup for us. So today is Friday. A good day to go out to the range and hit a few balls. I need to try to work myself back in the game after a crazy last few days. I do have a tournament next week so I need to make sure I have my game somewhat in shape so I do not embarrass myself. As I drive to the course I feel great that I just won the Masters. But is that a Fluke? Well, maybe. I have struggled the last 4 years and have become a lower level pro. Father time is catching up with me and I am at the end of my career. Thirty-two years is old in any professional sport. But I still have the fire in my belly. I just won my first major which is amazing, so I feel good. If I can at least finishing the year with respectful tournaments, then maybe it is not a fluke that I won a Major this year. As always, any given day or tournament the difference between the top players and the lower players is razor thin. I want to show the world that I am not just a one and done player.

So I get to the course about 10:00 am. Go to the pro shop and of course all the staff know me. Lots of Congratulations. It is nice to see the people that really know me and are happy for me. We talk awhile and really have a great time. But now time to get back to business. I tell them I would like to hit some ball for a while, and I head off to the driving range.

The driving range is a special place. Some people hate it, some people love it. I have always loved it. It gives me a chance to escape from the world. Bash some golf balls and not worry about anything else besides working on my game. Sometimes you just want to hit balls and get in the groove of your swing. Other times you want to get serious and look at all the details of your swing. Maybe change this, try this, see what you can do to improve. Today I just want to relax and hit some balls and get back in the swing of things. Last week was tough on my body and my mind and especially my emotions. Of course it was tough in a good way after winning the masters. But now I am ready to get back to the basics. I remember what Jerry Churchill told me and other players told me. Do not lose sight of how you got here. I know they are right. Golf is an unforgiving game. If you let all the success of winning get to your head and do not work on your game, then it is bye bye to any future success. I know they are right so I am ready to work on my game and I got extra motivation. I am the 2014 Masters champion and I want to show the world that I am a professional.

So I start hitting some balls with a half wedge. I start thinking that maybe my shorter backswing which Jerry Churchill talked to me about may be the key to my game. I know that I have shorted it up the last few months and have been hitting the ball better. So I hit a few half wedges. “Feels Good," I tell myself. After getting a little more loose hit about three quarter wedges, “Feels good." I tell myself again. Then start to stretch things out, hit full wedge, and that really felt good. I pull out a 9 hour and hit a shot “Wow”! I hit a couple of more. “My God! This feels incredible," I tell myself out loud. I am confused why I am feeling this way. I pull out an 8 iron and hit a couple. “Oh My God, you have got to be kidding me, look how I hit that!. That must have gone 165 yards!” I tell myself. Then I step back.

“What the Hell are you thinking?," I ask myself. I start thinking. It is just a normal 8 iron, like I have hit for years. But it like all of a sudden I have a voice in the back of my head, acting like I am thrilled to hit a golf shot. I do not understand where this voice is coming from. “Man! Winning a major tournament really plays with your mind," I tell myself. Finally I decide to take out a Drive. I hit a normal drive for me about 285 down the middle. Then that voice in the back of my mind goes crazy. “You have got to be kidding me”!!! I hit another one, same thing. “No way! How did I hit it that so far? it said screaming out. I start laughing. I think I am losing my mind. "Why are normal shots so exciting to me all of a sudden?," I ask myself. Not sure but this is fun anyway. I want more. I got another buckets of balls and continued to hit balls and had this euphoric feeling like I have never had. And that excited voice is seeming to become part of me. At this point, I am not thinking logically anymore, trying to figure out what this is all about. I am having too much fun. I start thinking. “I want to Play!," I tell myself. At this time it is about 11:30am. I go to the club house. “Hey, I know I do not have a Tee Time but I want to play, can you squeeze me in?," I asked. Sometimes on a weekday, it is slow. He told me the last tee time, never showed up, and it wide open, if I want to go now. “Deal!," I replied. I wanted a cart, so I rented a cart and took off to the first tee. I must have had a strange look on my face. Everyone was looking at me, like “What's going with this guy?"

I go to the first tee. No one in front of me. Perfect! I play from the back tees, like I have done million times at this course. This is not a pro-style course, but it is pretty good from the back tees because it puts on the yardage. First hole from the back tees, 445 yards. I smash my drive right down the middle about 285. Here we go again. One side of me is flabbergasted that I can hit the ball this far and straight. The other side of me is like “Oh well what is the big deal?," I tell myself. I am 160 yards from the green. I go to my bag and I pull out a 6 iron and go to may ball and then I stop. “What the Hell? Why did I pull out a 6 iron at 160 yards out?," I asked myself." This is an easy 8 iron or good 9 iron. So I grab an 8 iron. I Take a swing, hit it solid, pin high 10 feet to the right. “Wow! That felt so Good!," that voice screamed out in my head. “I lined up, aimed and it right where I wanted to! This is amazing!," it screamed out one me time.

So then I think. “Ok, this is an easy 8 iron to the green what is the big deal?," I ask myself. I continue to play. And shot after shot, I am surprised and happy on every shot. But I do not understand why I am so excited for normal Shots. I have been a Professional golfer for 10 years, and this is just normal golf. As I continue to play, I start getting used to this enthusiastic voice in the back of my head. That voice no longer seems so much as an outsider, but part of me. But it is still very strange to me. But I do not care. I am having so much fun hitting golf shots. I can never remember having so much fun playing golf. Now have incredible excitement on every shot. I continue to play and I think this is so fun. I tell myself that maybe this is a result of winning the Masters. But I feel a high like I never felt before. And it happens every time, I set up and hit the golf ball. “Wow! this is great!," I tell myself. Finally I finish out the 18 holes. I say to myself “What Happened?" I feel like I have never hit the golf ball so well before. I aim. I swing and the hit feels solid, and it goes where I want it too. “What a concept!, I tell myself with a confused chuckle. I shot a 71 on a par 72. I am elated. But the other side of me is thinking “Dude, this is a public course, non pro course, you should shoot 65 on this course like you have a million times before. So I am a little confused.

As I come off the 18th hole I run into Todd Daniels, an old my old friend of mine. He used to play on the tour and is basically retired, but plays a couple of tournaments a year on the senior tour. He is a good friend of mine. He gives me a big hug and congratulates me on my big win. I have known Todd since I turned pro. If there is anyone who is a Mentor to me, then he would be that person. He has been a wealth of information for me on how to be a professional and manage my game, the business and my life. He was a very good golfer in his day. He has won a few tournaments and even has one major under his belt, the PGA Championship. He asks me how I am doing and tells me how proud he is of me. “Jim” he says. “I just about died watching you on TV coming down the stretch. You came out of Nowhere! After that eagle then you put a string of birdies. And when you walked up the 18th hole and addressed that 10 foot putt, I could hardly stand it. I was so nervous. And when you made that putt, I was just besides myself. I was jumping up and down and screaming. Everyone in the neighborhood thought I was crazy," he said laughing. We just laughed when he told me that story. After a few minutes of talking, he said, “Hey are you getting ready to Play?" I told him I just finished 18. “Ah man, I am just getting ready to tee off in a few minutes with a couple of my buddies I wanted to see if you wanted to Join us” he told me.

I looked at him with a smile. “I’m in. Let's to it!, I replied” “Aren't you tired” he asked. “No, I am ready to go, want to ride with me?," I asked. He throws his clubs on my cart and we hook up with his buddies. I am ready for another 18. As we play I have the same excitement still. Thrilled with every shot, however I am keeping my composure. I do not want them to think I am losing my mind by acting so Giddy. As we are playing along and riding in the cart, I ask him what was it like after he won his first major, the PGA Championship. I asked him how he felt when he started playing and practicing again after all noise had died down. “Did you feel any different?," I asked. I was curious if he had the same feeling that I am experiencing today. He thought a minute. “Well it was a great time for me and I enjoyed it a lot. I remember that I wanted to start playing and practicing so I would not embarrass myself in the next tournament. But once I got back on the course, it was just the same old thing," he told me. “How about you," he asked.

“About the same I guess. Maybe I have a little more motivation and appreciation for the game," I replied. I did not want to tell him that I am freaking ecstatic every time I hit the ball today, he would think that I am nuts. “Well good” he said, “keep that feeling and maybe you will have more success with golf game," he told me smiling. We finished the round he invited me to the 19th hole for a beer. I told him that I am beat, I think I will call it a day. We shook hands and said goodbye and I went home.

I go back home and I am so hyped up. I cannot believe how I felt today hitting practice balls and playing a couple of rounds of golf. Ever since I won the Masters last Sunday, I feel like I am two people. One which I know. The same guy who has been struggling on the tour all these years. Then in the back of my mind which I cannot really understand but feels like I am sitting back watching myself. “So bizarre," I tell myself.

Little did I know. There really are two people inside my mind, my body, and my Soul at this time. One person is myself. Which has been a Professional Golfer the last several years. And the other person is a carbon copy of myself that has come over from a different dimension, or A Parallel Universe. I was unaware that the split second I dropped that putt on the 18th hole to win the Masters. A carbon copy of myself, in which I am an amateur golfer from a different time and dimensions, was cast into this current life. I do not realize that the voice in the back of my head is actually myself as an amateur golfer. And that carbon copy of me is thrilled to be hitting a golf ball inside a professional golfer's body. Little did I know that this will have a dramatic effect on my life in the near future.

At home I think about what is going on with this voice in my head. I just write it off as emotional stress from winning my first major. But right now all know, is that I want to play more golf now! It’s almost dark. I go in my small backyard of my condo with a club and make some swings. “Gosh I wish I could hit some more balls," I tell myself. “Shut Up you idiot you have been playing all day," I tell myself. “Great, now I am arguing with myself."

I go back inside and grab a beer and turn on the TV and try to relax. “Ok let's relax. And Man am I hungry!," I tell myself. I plan to grab something out of the fridge in a few minutes. It is 8:30pm. I am sitting on the couch drinking my beer. Thinking about what I am going to eat. Then I notice my putter and ball in the hallway. I always have a putter and a ball there. Often I will practice my putting stroke in the hallway. I have one of those long mats with a ball retriever at the end. I setup the matt and the retriever. I make a putt and it shoots it back to me. I continue to make putts over and over again. I work on my stroke and that little voice in the back of my head is thrilled. I keep putting without stopping. That voice is so happy. And it is making me enjoy every putt. I play games with my putting. If I make this I will win this tournament
etc.
I am having so much fun for some reason. Finally I lookup and it is 1:00am. “Wow!’, I say to myself as I sit down. I am so confused. “What is going on with me?” I do not understand why I am doing this. I do not understand why I feel like there are two of me. I do not understand this voice in the back of my head. And why it is so enthused with every golf shot. And I do not understand why it is making me have so much fun when I play golf. I know I need to stop but, I still want to putt some more. But finally I get a hold of myself. I drink some water, eat a snack. “I need to get to bed." I tell myself.