What takes place away from the golf course affects what takes place on the golf course.  Two good examples are Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.  In the case of Mickelson, he’s being investigated by the federal government for alleged insider trading in the stock market and if found guilty could serve time in prison.  But even worse, the stress he’s experiencing could already be affecting his health since it was reported that he is “battling the lingering effects of strep throat” and a case of strep throat could easily be an advance indication of something more serious, such as cancer. The R.A. Bloch Cancer Support Center in Kansas City, Missouri, has conducted past research that indicates that stress produces hormones in a person’s body that impairs their immune system, and cancer cells in their body begin to multiply at a rate faster than their immune system can devour them. (This is called the Surveillance Mechanism Theory that was discovered by the late Dr. Carl Simonton.)  Note: Since writing this entry, Mickelson’s game has improved considerably so it’s possible (and I’m only saying possible) that he received good news from his attorneys assuring him that he would not serve any time in jail.  But this is only conjecture on my part.

In the case of Tiger Woods, his problems aren’t nearly as severe since, according to press reports, he is battling an ex-wife who is reportedly insanely jealous of his relationship with Olympic Skier Lindsey Vonn and she could be using his children to get back at him.  In divorce cases, when there is on-going anger and jealousy, the children are often used as pawns.  Tiger has two choices:  He can file with the courts to gain sole custody of his children (something that is unlikely to happen) or he will have to wait until his children are old enough to express their desire, to a judge, that they want to live with their father.  That could take quite some time since the children have to be of a specific age, which was the case with Tom Watson when he remarried.  Watson married a woman, also named Watson (who was the wife of another PGA golfer) who had abandoned her two young children to marry him.  Her unhappiness weighed heavily on their marriage.  After a number of years of mediocre golf (for him) the children finally reached the age where they could decide which parent they wanted to live with and his wife was awarded custody.  I assume her children are now living with them which would explain his improved performance.