My son plays golf for Wawasee, so I've spent a great deal of time the past four years watching teenagers play golf.

These kids are really good at golf.

Just this week, they won the regional at Fort Wayne and get to play for the state championship next week.

I would like to congratulate them for the accomplishment. It's really pretty cool.

I also would like to congratulate the Warsaw golf team on a fine season.

One of Warsaw's golfers, Chris Hanson, advanced to the state tournament as an individual.

Stephen Conrad, of Wawasee, was medalist at the regional and will vie for individual state honors as a member of the Warrior team.

Actually, Warsaw outshot Wawasee three out of five times they played each other this season. But the Tigers came up a short in the regional, ending up in fourth place, while Wawasee set a tournament record to take first place.

The first three teams advance to state.

Not one of the kids playing in the regional for Warsaw was a senior. All of them will be back next year. One can only imagine what they will accomplish next year.

It will be fun to watch.

After watching the kids from both of these teams play golf this spring, I just wanted to let them know that I am really pretty proud of all of them.

I watched them play good rounds and bad rounds. I watched them hit good shots and bad shots.

Through it all, they conducted themselves as perfect gentlemen.

I've played enough golf to know that's not always the case. I've seen vulgar tirades. I've seen golf clubs snapped over knees. I've seen golf clubs stuck in the tops of trees.

All of this, of course, happens because golf is a maddeningly difficult game to play.

Even people like Tiger Woods don't have the game mastered. I watched him shoot 81 in the British Open.

There is no other sport where the best players employ highly paid teachers to help them adjust their games. Every sport has coaches and trainers. But no sport has the likes of David Leadbetter, Rick Smith or Butch Harmon.

Golf is unlike any other sport because it's you against the golf course. Sure, there are other golfers competing, but I think that's part of the reason golfers run into problems.

I think golfers should forget about their opponents and just play the golf course.

Which brings me to another observation about golf.

Golf - and playing well - is mostly in your head.

It's a mental game.

I've watched these local high school kids hit golf balls. They've all got good swings and make good contact. They all are capable of carding low scores.

So why one day do they shoot 74 and the next day shoot 86?

If I had the definitive answer to that question, I'd be a rich man. If I could bottle a cure for a golf slump, I could retire tomorrow.

But I am fairly confident that it's mostly a matter of the mind.

Every golfer plays within a range of strokes. Generally, it's 10 or 12 strokes. The difference between good golfers and mediocre golfers is where that range falls.

Golfers on the PGA tour range between 64 and 76, give or take, on some really tough courses. The rest of us slide that range up the scale on much easier courses.

I believe that when you step up to the first tee, what will determine where in your range you will play is between your ears.

You know how to swing the golf club. You've played before. You know your range of strokes. I don't think whether you score in the lower or higher range is a matter of your physical ability.

It's not in your hands, wrist, arms, shoulders, hips or legs. It's in your head.

Certainly, there are some basic fundamentals that will help you play better, but I still believe the bottom line in golf is mental.

On the days you play well, things seem right. You have a sense of well-being. On the days you play poorly, things seem wrong and you just can't seem to understand the why.

It requires focus and concentration, and at the same time it requires a certain calmness. It will drive you nuts if you let it.

So here's my humble advice for playing better golf. Be relaxed when you tee it up. Don't go the course stressed out. And don't get stressed out about the game. Even if you're competing, remember, it's still a game. It's fun. So let it be fun. Look around you. Take in the scenery. Listen to the birds chirp. A golf course is a pleasant place. Enjoy it.

Everybody makes bad shots. Even the pros. (Only their bad shots are better than most of our good ones.) Know that. Understand that. Don't start a round with some lofty expectation that you won't make any bad shots. You will. And when you do, forget it. If you dwell on a bad shot, the next one will likely be bad, too.

And finally, you have to think about the shot before you hit it - the distance, the direction and the like.

But when you're lined up and it's time to hit, empty your mind and let your body take over. [[In-content Ad]]