Waiting on partners to hit? Drop a ball behind a tree or bury it down in the rough, then practice the play. Purposely give yourself a buried lie or a left-handed shot, and hit it while you're waiting for the line at the snack shack to dwindle. Idle time on the tee? Hit some shots off hardpan or pine straw while you wait. The best way to prepare for the worst is to deal with it before it happens.
"The first rule to remember when getting in trouble," says Chi Chi, "is to remain calm. If you panic, then you will not play a good shot. If you are calm, then you start from a good foundation to start the recovery. The second rule is just try to play a shot good enough to get out of the trouble. Do not be a hero unless you're absolutely sure you can pull off the shot. And chances are you cannot or you would not be in the trouble you are in in the first place. I never in my life had to play an impossible shot unless the one I hit before it was worse than lousy. And I've never tried to play an impossible shot that I haven't tried in practice."
Knowing you have a plan for getting out of trouble and getting comfortable with it is critical to making a good play in a bad situation. Learn some escape routes, and you won't be so quick to resign yourself to a bad score on a hole and a debilitating confidence blow to your entire round. Rescue Ops can be as simple as taking your medicine. A player can recover from a bogey far easier and a lot quicker than from a triple or a snowman. "When adversity becomes the opponent," says Chi Chi, "then patience and attitude become more important clubs than the ones in the bag. Golfers hit themselves into trouble, but you have to think to get out of it."
"From Chi Chi's Golf Games You Gotta Play by Chi Chi Rodriguez and John Anderson. Copyright 2003 by Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc. Excerpted by permission of Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL. Available in bookstores or by calling 1-800-747-4457 or visiting www.HumanKinetics.com. $17.95 plus shipping/handling."
