Now, with the golf season starting to get into full swing, this could be a great time to see how we are doing on those New Year’s resolutions. I can share the following with you.

I resolved to get a better short game and have been working on that daily with my chipping and putting. I now practice enough to see that my goal can be attained. One other goal was to lose some weight as that has an adverse effect on my golf game. You see, when you’re on the north side of portly and trending to just fat, weight can become an issue.  

I joined Weight Watchers and have been following the plan, watching what I eat and keeping track of my diet. I am not endorsing Weight Watchers, it’s just the plan I’m on.

There are things I see that are similar for golf and weight watchers. You are starting from a fixed point. With golf, it’s normally a handicap number and with weight watchers, it’s a pound number.

Sometimes in golf, it’s situations. I keep track of the shots that cause me to lose shots. If it is deep bunkers or fast greens. Possible narrow fairways or long courses, I keep track of the situations that tend to ruin my score. Let me give you a specific example.  

Recently, I had the opportunity to play a course in Phoenix, (I will not mention the course), but it was a great test and in great shape. It provided me with the type of shots that fit my eye. For me that is defining the trouble on the left and encourages my fade to find promised land. I got in trouble when the course presented obstacles on the right side of play. Those obstacles’ forced me to try to control the amount of fade and that lead to bad shots. My correction was to mentally start to visualize the trouble on the left side. I “did not see” the trouble on the right. This will take some work but the exercise is what concentration really is.  

I have been able to carry this over to my play after that and I am elated with the results after all these years of playing. I now can say that I understand concentration. It is the ability to eliminate the negative alternative to a situation. This will allow you to focus on the positive outcome to a situation.  

Weight Watchers, of all things, made me realize that. You see, the plan forces you to think about the results of your actions. Each action you make in diet will have an adverse or positive result in the outcome goal you have set.  

I can cheerfully say that I have lost just less than 10 pounds now, and know that by Masters time I will have new slacks in the closet and they will be a few sizes smaller than the ones I now wear.  

My bride recently gave me the seal of approval when we went out to dinner and I did not order the triple cheeseburger with smothered fries, and instead just said, “47 points, that is almost a day and a half of allotted food and I am watching my weight, honey. She knew that all along, eating those salads and half portions. Just proves guys, that those ladies really are smart!  

Good golfing and better eating…see you at the grill after play, I will be the one having a non-sweet iced tea.

Tom Velarde is the Director of Golf at Black Mesa Golf Club in Espanola, New Mexico, just northwest of Santa Fe. For more information or to reach Tom, email tvelarde@blackmesagolfclub.com.