I was watching The Masters last weekend and what a Masters it was.  As the pressure intensified and the players made the turn at the 9th hole, some folded and some finished strong, but only one persevered to win it – Phil Mickelson.

It is truly amazing to me what those guys can do – especially with thousands of people watching them live and millions more watching them on TV.  If you are a golfer you know just how amazing it really is.  One of the commercials during the tournament summed it all up great in just a few words from the late great golfer Bobby Jones who said “Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course, the space between your ears.”  I had heard it before but it had been a long time so I scrambled for a piece of paper and wrote it down knowing that had the makings of a great MOJO.

Think about it – the average golf course on the PGA tour plays about 7,000 yards…4 miles.  As big and daunting as it can seem with water, bunkers, trees, wind, lightening fast greens and competition…at the end of the day winning is not really about conquering the course, but more about conquering your thoughts.  It is our ability to remain focused, disciplined and remain under control in the face of stress, obstacles and competition that makes winners.  Everyone has to play on the same course whether it is golf, business, or life.  Like golf, to win at anything in life the challenge is mastering the five-and-a-half-inch course.  There are just some who know how to play five-and-a-half-inch course better than others.

So next time you are trying to figure out how to cut some strokes from your game at golf, business, or life perhaps we should look at hitting a few less proverbial golf balls at the range and look at doing things to help us conquer the five-and-a-half-inch course between our ears.

Grip it and Rip it!