What Advice Would You Give Sergio?

I was watching the Masters golf tournament this last weekend and happened to catch an interview with Ben Crenshaw, a two time Masters champion. Someone asked Ben Crenshaw what advice he would give to the young Sergio Garcia, a relatively young golfer who appears to have all it takes to be a great golfer but who has yet to reach his full potential and who is now apparently struggling most of all with his putting game.

Ben reflected on the question and then said that he thinks Sergio is a great golfer and that his only advice would be to tell Sergio the same thing his teacher once told him. Ben's teacher was a old guy named Harvey Penick. Ben said that Harvey's greatest advice to him was when he told Ben, "You need to start swinging like Ben Crenshaw." That is, you need to stop trying to swing like other golfers. No matter how good they are, they are good because they are swinging like they do. You can't be great by trying to imitate someone else's swing. So, Ben's advice to Sergio was, "You need to putt like Sergio Garcia!"

I was really struck by the love Ben Crenshaw had for this man Harvey Penick, his teacher. My sponsor told me tonight that when Ben Crenshaw won his second Masters tournament, that Harvey Penick had died just a week before that tournament. After winning that Masters, Ben broke down and sobbed when he tried to talk about how much this meant to him and that all during the tournament, he felt that Harvey was his 15th club. He was there with him.

I was equally struck by the obvious and deep love Harvey Penick had for Ben Crenshaw, his student. It appears not to have been the stereotypical teacher/student relationship where the teacher had all the answers and the student just needed to do what he was told and to swing in the right way. No. This teacher --- this Master --- was one who simply wanted his student to be the best "them" that they could be and there was no preconceived concept of what "that" might be. It was a mystery for the student to discover.

My sponsors have all been Penick-like in their approach to this recovery process and to sponsorship. None of them see themselves as "possessors of the truth" which must somehow be passed down to the ignorant newcomer. They all see themselves as people with their own story and who've been able to learn the skill of listening to other people's stories, tremendously well. They never seemed to be teaching "truth" -- but simply listened and then shared with me a story that seemed to "fit." And their stories always seemed to fit. Like a well worn glove.

I'm feeling particularly grateful this night for the gifts I've been given in the form of Earle, Dave and Russ. My Harvey Penicks.

Take care!

Mike L.