May 22, 2026

The Mental Game with Aaron Rai | Mulligans

Show Notes
Transcript

This weeks Mulligans one is a special rerun from 2023 feature recent PGA Champion Aaron Rai. Cary Valentine interviewed Rai about the mental game from the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Quick reminder: Golf Smarter airs archive favorites every Friday, and new episodes of Corrected Mistakes with Josh Karp drop every Tuesday. Tune in next week for a special episode with Big Randy from No Laying Up.

For exclusive content and first access check out Corrected Mistakes on Substack: https://substack.com/@correctedmistake

Former GolfSmarter host, Fred Greene has been nominated for the 2025 Audiocaster of the Year by the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame Vote now at BARHOF.org. Voting is open through July 1.

Please welcome our new host of Golf Smarter, Josh Karp! Fred has retired and will be working on his game with more intention than ever. You can stay up-to-date with Josh on all the GolfSmarter social accounts or by reaching out at karpj2323@mac.com. To stay connected with Fred reach out at golfsmarterpodcast@gmail.com.

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Hey, everybody, it's Josh Kart. This week's episode of Mulligans

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features interviews from the twenty twenty three Sony Open with

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two of the last four major winners, JJ Spond and

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Aaron Raye, who just came out of nowhere to win

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the PGA Championship. And be sure to join us next

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week for a special episode of Golf Smarter's Corrected Mistakes

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with Big Randy from No Laying Up, who talks about

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his video series Strapped, what he's learned about the game,

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and what it's like to play golf with Max Omer.

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It's probably the most important aspect of the game because

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we can group the mental side on how the pre

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shot routine is, how calm you are over your shot,

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how well you visualize it, how clear you are in

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your mind, how you can think of the right thoughts

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but clear the other thoughts out of it. And that's

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not to mention. Mental game goes into how while you

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react to mistakes, how will you deal with adversity, how

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well you can ride good waves of momentum as well,

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and within all of those things, that's a significant.

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Part of golf.

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So if that part of the game can be sharp,

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then it can take you a long way.

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I was curious when you did your world record of

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was it two hundred and seven putts of ten feet?

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Yeah?

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Yeah, did you have any you know, kind of thoughts

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if you remember back then, like if any doubts that

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were coming up, like can you really do this or

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things like that, and how did you overcome that if

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that happened during that.

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Time, Yeah, definitely. So that was my third attempt.

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My previous two attempts, I think on the first run

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I maybe made seven. Second run, I think I got

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to about forty and so obviously in the world record

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I think was one hundred and thirty six at that point,

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so previous two times obviously.

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I didn't make it there.

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But then I thought, it's rather than trying to see

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it as me get into forty eighty one thirty, just

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seeing in cycles of ten and then when I got

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to ten, I just started again at one and then

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kept on going. So again we're talking about the mental

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side of it. That just really helped to keep me

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quite present and not to get too far ahead, and

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also to keep everything very manageable that I was never

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on one hundred.

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And thirty seventh part to break the record.

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I was aware that it was one hundred and thirty

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seventh part, but it was more in my mind that

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it was just the seventh part of that particular cycle.

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So that helped to kind of keep me in a

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better place mentally in order to achieve that.

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And then.

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That was it, really And there were a couple of

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puts which looked like they were missing but went in.

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And you always need those good breaks here and there

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with that's in around the golf or with that's in

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a ten foot part. So that's pretty much some of

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the keys to it.

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When you were in that experience or when you have won,

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have you ever felt like being in what we call

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the zone where things kind of like are quiet or

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maybe slowed down, or just do you enter into maybe

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an altered space where it seems so easy.

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That's a great question.

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I think when when a lot of players perform well,

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they do experience that that kind of feeling because it's

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almost well for me anyway, it's almost like nothing else

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is really going on outside of that present moment and

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that present shot.

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But you almost have to enter a state like.

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That to be able to focus on all of the

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things you need to in order to pull off that

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given shot in order to to really perform, because if

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any of the other things start to enter your mind

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and you don't use them as fuel and use them

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in the right way, it can very quickly derail you.

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And that can translate itself into a misshot or a

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mispart or a bad run of holes, which can end

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your chances of winning a tournament. So, yeah, to answer

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your question, and it's happened a few times, it'd be

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nice if that happened a little bit more, and I

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think we will strive for that and we will try

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and do our best in order to enter that state.

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And that's where it's such a mix of physical and

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mental because if the physical parts are in a good place,

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if you're well rested, you always give yourself that chance

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for everything to fall in line, and then the mental

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side can really come out because it's you've got a

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great game for it to work on on top of

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that week.

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So it really is trying to take care of the

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whole picture.

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And that's a battle that I think a lot of

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golfers constantly face on a week to week basis. But

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when we do get it right, that that feeling is

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pretty cool. And then when that translates into achievement or

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winning a tournament, then obviously that's very special.

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If you ever experience any like kind of doubts when

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you're cunning or shipping or driving, and it's so like,

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how do you kind of address that to kind of

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you know, shift it in that sense, it's a great question.

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And that can happen a number of times, and it

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does happen to me a number of times in the past,

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and it will happen now, and it will.

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Happen in the future. I think for me.

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It sounds very cliche, but having a good routine, having

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when I say a good routine timing that is quite

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similar where the body just falls into a bit of

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a flow where those doubts can come to mind. But

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when you're working at a good time, everything just seems

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to flow a little bit better and hopefully the body

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coordinates itself a little bit better to override the doubt

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that comes into mind.

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And then on top of that, just having.

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A couple of key key thoughts that are very simple

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with in this wing, and if the doubts come to

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the forefront of the mind, to just try and replace

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those with a key thought. And I hope that between

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the key thought and good timing of the body, that

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the dat can hopefully be overcome. And that isn't always

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a case, but I think that that gives certainly gives

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me the best chance of overcoming those doubts because I

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do have them.

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Do you ever consider that the doubts are actually trying

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to help you succeed and that they're coming up at

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a time when you're on the pinnacle of more success,

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either in that shot or that or that hole or

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that round, And it's just almost a test to say,

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we're checking to see your resolve in how much you

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believe in the success you're about to have.

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That's a great question, and I think you're right, I think,

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and it's in those periods where you begin to push

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some of your limits and you come through those, you

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learn if you don't come through those again, they're a

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great They're a great learning process.

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It is.

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It is definitely a test of your resolve and a

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test of how much you truly believe in yourself. But

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I also think it comes down to self awareness as well,

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because there are times when doubt can actually be your friend,

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when you may be taken on a shot that is

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a little bit risky, and the swing is feeling a

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little bit ropey, and the doubt creeps up to go, actually,

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what are you doing here. Let's be a little bit smarter.

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Let's just step away from this and let's rethink. So

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I believe it does come back to the self awareness

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that when is that doubt actually helping you? When is

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it giving you a signpost to say, hey, that's step back,

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or when is that doubt trying to limit you? And

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in both the examples they a doubt, but in one

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example it's working with you, the other example it's not.

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And I think differentiating between the two requires a self

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awareness and then trying to react in the correct way

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then requires putting that into action. So I guess you've

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just got to try and read this situation and read

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your self to the best of your ability.

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And you beautifully explain that. I feel because a sense,

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that kind of mental inner talk is actually different those two.

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Versions about they are.

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Yes, you have a very unique cultural background. I wonder

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do you does that help you at all playing golf?

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Do you pull from any of your cultural you know,

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kind of straints or history or things of that nature

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to I guess feel stronger or more confident or things

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like that.

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On the course, Yeah, I would say so.

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I think that is probably a natural part for most

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people that we rely on some of our past experiences

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and how we've learned.

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In order to try and help us in the future.

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And I come from the UK, but from an Indian family,

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again very cliche, but a lot of hard work in

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the family and discipline, and also faith in God and

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believing in a higher power than things happen for a reason,

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and that those those are some very big things which

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have shaped me and continue to shape me.

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Yes.

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And have you had that kind of experience where you,

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let's say, you call on that faith of God or

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the divine when you're playing and you felt something kind

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of take over in a positive way or like kind

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of help you or things like that. Does that ever happen?

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Yeah, yeah, it has, whether that is simply belief or

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whether that is a higher power. I think I believe

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in one of those two things. But yeah, I've definitely

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experienced that in the past. And again it's as we

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were talking about before in terms of getting in that zone.

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Maybe that is part of it. That it's just a

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feeling of peace and being at one with whatever it

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is that we're doing in that present moment, whether that

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is hitting a shot, whether that is walking down the fairway,

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or whether that is getting groceries from a store. These

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are things that are about life and peace and just

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the interconnectedness of all things really. So I've definitely experienced

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that in the past, and i think ironically that's something

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that I'm trying to be a bit more wary of

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implementing in my life now because it is there, but

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it's also something that maybe hasn't been as much in

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the forefront as what it was in the past for me.

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So it's quite interesting actually talking about this now because

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it's something that I've I've thought of a lot over

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the last couple of weeks.

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Really, Yeah, it's interesting.