Mind Over Sports

When I read the story in USA Today about 22-year old Curt Hocker’s five holes in one in one week at the El Paso Golf Club in Kappa, Illinois, I decided to call him and find out what had transpired in his personal life just before his remarkable achievement.

As many of you who read my column know, I’m a strong believer that what goes on off the golf course has a powerful impact on what transpires on the golf course. In other words, if an athlete is having personal issues and is experiencing problems in his or her personal life, until those issues are resolved (or at least begin the process of resolving them) the athlete will generally not perform anywhere near his or her skill level. And such was the case with Curt Hocker. Curt told me that he has great parents and great friends and that he had, indeed, gone through some “hard times.” He said that “things weren’t going right for me but because of a lot of support from a lot of different people, I was able to get a lot of stuff off my mind.” He told me that after getting the “stuff” off his mind he began playing the best golf of his life. The result: eight holes in one this year and two double eagles. Making a hole in one on a Par 4 Hole is a remarkable achievement. Curt made four! Curt is still young but obviously has an excellent future ahead of him as a professional golfer if he practices hard and doesn’t allow his issues to be bottled up as before and keeps his life in harmony. Quantum Physicists would maintain that Curt and the golf ball and cup were connected. I agree. And I believe Curt actually created those holes in one and double eagles. They didn’t just happen because of luck.

POST COMMENT:  After posting this article about Curt Hocker, I received a phone call from a reporter from one of the national Golf magazines who informed me that they had tried to set up a meeting with Curt to question him about his holes in one and Curt refused.  So it’s possible the entire episode was a hoax.