Amy Bockerstette Viral Moment Reveals Invaluable Lessons About Golf–And Life
Amy Bockerstette provided more smiles per video than many can remember when she played (and parred) the famous par-16th Stadium hole at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
In case you missed it–or even saw it multiple times–give yourself a treat. Millions of viewers already have. It will make your day. Again.
“Amy … you’re our hero.”
How a superstar named Amy teamed up with @GaryWoodland to win the hearts of the 16th hole crowd @WMPhoenixOpen.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/iRhZbvdjuP
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 30, 2019
The underlying lesson is how Amy’s pure positivity can help everyone manage the constant doubts playing golf presents. GolfWorld’s Mike Stachura writes a great piece on Bockerstette’s optimistic, confident manner in an invaluable lesson for us all.
It was a master class in human possibility, a teachable moment in the power of positive thinking, a lesson on how flimsy assumptions and limits are in the face of self-belief. Her self-talk of “I got this” echoed Dad Joe’s gentle reminder of “You got this,” and she moved confidently, joyfully from tee shot to bunker shot to eight-foot par putt. It showed us how easily we sometimes overlook the obvious, that the game might not be as complicated as we make it.
For Amy, though, it was just fun.
As her father said, “People asked me if Amy gets nervous. My answer is, ‘Amy doesn’t get nervous. She gets excited.’
“She absolutely savored the moment.”
“Amy has dreamt and thought of and pictured in her mind and imagined that type of stage. So to be there in front of that huge crowd, which would make just about anybody else buckle, that was her element. I can hear her saying, ‘They love me, they’re here to see me. And I know how to do this. I’ve hit this shot a whole bunch of times.’
“I know some of the guys struggling to make it out there can get a little nutty sometimes, a little head casey. They could learn some very valuable lessons from Amy as far as how not to do that.”
Watching Amy makes you wonder what we’re all so agitated about, what purpose is served by the flood of anxiety over first tee shots at the company golf outing or the member-guest chip-off or even that five-footer on 18 when nobody’s watching.
“She’s not burdened with self-doubt,” Joe says. “She’s gotten a lot of positive reinforcement, but it’s just not that complicated for her, and that’s part of the genius and brilliance of Amy.
The entire article is a keeper. Bookmark it to give yourself a boost when golf–or life–gets a bit overwhelming.
