The Case Against Mind Numbing Drugs on the PGA Tour
Nick Bradley
I’ve only been to one NASCAR race, it was in Charlotte, a client of mine kindly invited my family and I into the pit lane to watch the race. I was immediately drawn to the crew practising and preparing for that frenzied 6 seconds when the driver blurrily enters the pit for the team to resurrect his car.
I feel both deference and strangely out of place at these kind of events.
At a music concerts for example, I really enjoy the music being played; but more so, I enjoy watching the artist’s work their craft. It’s the act I love and not just the produce.
In the case of my NASCAR experience; I loved watching the pit crew sharpen their race winning procedures and then actually apply them as the car steamed in.
In both cases, I simply don’t care about the winner or the last note in the song being played; I’m fascinated by the synthesis of the incredible habits on display.
As I left the turkey leg munching, Lite beer drinking fans at Charlottes Motor Speedway track, I sensed that I had witnessed the sort of event that golf should kind of get back to.
Whilst there are very basic modifications that NASCAR cars can have done to them; they still have to attend pre and post-race inspections. If you fail the pre-race inspection, you don’t drive. If you fail the post-race inspection the team gets a fine and points deducted (this is not uncommon and happens two to three times in the NASCAR season).
All NASCARS have a 5.87 Litre engines, 850 horse power and 358 cubic inches of engine.
In essence, the ethos of NASCAR is: ‘Same car…….Best driver wins’.
We have lost this in golf.
Firstly, we now have golf balls on tour that perform remarkably well for the regular elite player.
The real fun begins when your club head speed tips over 120mph. Like the DeLorean in Back to The Future, hit a certain speed and time stands still.
Hang time.
Secondly we had the introduction of long putters. A way to elongate the authority of the hold onto the club and minimize the arc / face relationship which hypnotize the most neurotic and perfectionistic playing professionals.
If it looks like a crutch, vertically stands like a crutch and is held like a crutch; it is a crutch.
Damn those long putters.
And now, the latest physical and mental parachute arrives for any professional golfer sensing a freefall round, freefall moment or simply put; their ass free falling from their competitive courage…….CMB.
A legalized Cannabis application.
This from CBD World:
‘CBD is the definition of cannabidiol, the central cannabinoid found in cannabis and industrial hemp.
If you have to deal with an effective problem like anxiety, stress, and depression and find it extremely difficult to tolerate the unpleasant feeling, grab at once oil or any other cannabis product that contains CBD can be the best decision. Many investigations show and prove that that cannabidiol, the most significant and important compounds found in cannabis and marijuana can be the best viable treatment for anxiety, stress, depression, and pain’.
So there it is folks:
‘can be the best viable treatment for anxiety, stress, depression, and pain’
So this is where I weave the strands together between my NASCAR experience and now what is tolerated on the PGA Tour and the European Tour.
Professional Challenges
Airline pilots find solutions to crosswind landings. They don’t put the plane down and ask the passengers to walk the rest of the way.
Plumbers find solutions to leaking pipes. They don’t ask you to turn the mains off and use the local stream.
Soccer strikers have to score goals. They don’t ask the opposing defence to run at half speed.
And professional golfers who can’t putt with a standard length putter, both hands touching, need to give thought to their technique and develop better habits.
The idea that you can face a professional challenge and then go running to the nearest pacifying kindergarten to get your solution is frankly….unprofessional.
What about the players who have the integrity to accept the challenge of getter better as opposed to the pursuit of external outside agencies that do the heavy lifting for them?
The Reality
If nerves and competitive anxiety are not an integral part of professional sport, I simply don’t know what is?
It could be THE fundamental of sport itself. The ability to develop technique, mental and physical, that deal with the rigors of competitive engagement.
This is the exact reason Pay Per View golf matches and staged events fail; there are no nerves, nothing on the line and no chips on the table.
You feel the nerves and anxiety of a Ryder Cup because you know it exists within the players.
You feel the nerves and anxiety on the back 9 of The Masters because you know it exists within the players.
Your level of interest is measured by your assimilation of what they players are feeling.
If the player is uber relaxed and not giving a flying f*** about the pressure and estimation of the situation where is the value in the competition?
It’s gone.
We don’t need golfers with long putters, plutonic golf balls and chocolate cream running through their veins.
Give me adrenaline, cortisol and heart palps every day in the world of professional sports.
BAN CBD.
My best – Nick
Nick@BradleyPerformanceGroup.com
Twitter: @TheNickBradley
Players to World #1, x 2 European #1’s, Ryder Cup Consultancies, Junior World Champions and 8 National amateur Champions.