We’ve all heard the saying less is more and the concept is very clear and well, simple.
These 3 words distill the idea of turning away from abundance so effectively, that it might hinder the widespread adoption of the deeper lesson, which speaks to how limitations create resilient processes leading to wonderful results.
The application of “less is more” which I’ve found easiest to speak to has to do with songwriting. There’s a saying which I think gets thrown around too much which asserts that “three chords and the truth is all you need.”
This trope refers to the abundance of songwriters in the middle of the 20th century who were heavily influenced by the folk, country and blues music being played by the African-American descendants of slavery and inhabitants of a young North America.
The truth , honesty, simplicity and often sorrow in their music evoked a visceral reaction from listeners and emerging artists alike. Perhaps due to the primal way in which we can all relate to the human condition and how it relates to suffering.
What people took away from these songs as they infiltrated hearts of the American-songwriter, was the structure. Don’t over complicate , keep it simple and the limitations might move you closer to what you’re really trying to say.
This is just one example of how exercising restraint when planning the execution of a task or in order to improve a process has two effects.
1) The process becomes infinitely more fulfilling as we explore the weaknesses which the challenge is exposing.
2) As the process become distilled and refined the product grows ever more resilient.
You may be wondering what all this has to do with golf? Well, in a world where the tools in our golf bags are becoming ever more specialised and clubs are so customisable for almost single use purposes I’ve found myself looking back on when I was learning to play.
I didn’t have 14 clubs, perfectly gapped wedges, optimised spin loft dynamics and torque-less, counter balanced putter.
Nearly everyone had the same Driver, 3w, 2-PW, 56 and 60 if you were lucky. Depending on your strength , the attributes of your golf swing and how you learned to play you often found discrepancies in equipment usages but you just learned to play around them…you learned to “golf your ball” as it were.
Make no mistake, I love what golf technology has brought to the game in terms of enjoyment and accessibility but the forgone days of learning to play a variety of shots were some of my fondest memories.
As a teenager I had pennant practice sessions where 9 hole matches were played but you were limited bringing your putter and two other clubs, which was often a 9 iron a 3iron for me. The impact these matches had on my golf game was profound.
The most interesting thing that happens isn’t the just physicality which is required to hit shots that you wouldn’t normally hit with those clubs but it’s what happens to your brain. You begin to plan, charting holes backwards in accordance to the yardages you ‘think’ you have at your disposal.
You surrender your ego to your limitations.
By this I mean you’re not even thinking about the 260 yards you need to get out of your driver cover that fairway trap, you’re thinking; “if I hit two consecutive three iron shots down this par 5, what kind of shot am I gonna have left with my 9i?… how do I lay up to my perfect 9i distance?… where’s the miss?”
This exercise in and of itself is the definition of learning to “score” in golf but that paired with reading fairway undulation to get the most out of your 3i off the tee and having to finesse a 9 iron only 100 yards begins to sharpen your body’s understanding of force and helps you learn the lost art of spin control.
I haven’t played 3-club golf in 20 years but what I have been doing of late is playing “short set” golf. There’s a couple of set up’s I’ve been using as I’ve split an old set of blades into two sets. One is
D, 20* , 4i, 6i , 8i , Pw, 56* or
D, 13* , 3i, 5i, 7i, 9i, 52, 58
What I’ve noticed the most when I return to a full set of clubs is the deeper understanding I have of what window to put the ball in (high, medium , low) and the amount of spin or speed i need to generate (dead hand knock down, fast hands and spinny etc) in order to control the distance.
What I don’t think a lot of golfers realise is that professionals do this every single time they hit a shot. The visualisation and intention required is the biggest difference when approaching a golf shot.
A perfect example is last week I hit a really high drawing 165 yard PW because if knew my chip 8iron wouldn’t have had enough height or spin to hold the green as it was blowing so hard down wind. In no world would I have thought to do that unless i absolutely had to.
Sure, with a full set of clubs in could pull the 9i and hit a full one at the right edge of the green and let the wind take it but now I know to hit a trap draw with a lofted club if I absolutely have to and I’m a firm believer in measuring a golfer’s game by the sum of his weaknesses & one less I have now.
Similarly, I’ve been working on a new album where I’ve been deliberately limiting the instrumentation and approach to recording the songs.
I’ve found the way I play piano counter productive to my songwriting in the way that I habitually add so many suspended notes to chords creating a false sense of intricacy. Really, what I didn’t realise I was doing was limiting the places where the melody of the song could possibly go.
To counteract this I’ve been writing on guitar where I’m not as technically proficient or even simply singing into a kind of loop thing I set up so I can be totally free of a perhaps learned , tired voicing as I loop melodies.
Another great example of how habits formed by familiar structures and an abundance of options can hinder a process, which might lead to a fulfilling journey to the most pure outcome.
The golf-dork by-product of this little journey I’ve been on is creating these fun sets to take with me every day as well as the swaggy little Sunday bags I’ve been hauling around getting praise from every looper in America. Must stress i haven’t been paid to say any of this.
Currently using a Koger Golf Bag.
Might be the mid-century modern version of a golf bag, screams Scandinavian hand crafted design, comes with a trendy water bottle and all the room you need for your short set. I also love Jones , Sentinel and McKenzie bags and planning on building some more sets so I’ll let you know which one I get next.
Do some research but it kinda depends what you’re in to.
Thanks for reading.
Cam
limitations spark freedom
I tried this for the last couple of weeks with an old irons set that I had sitting in the warehouse. Honestly, it completely changed the way I see the game. I feel like there is so many boundaries just using your stock yardage on each clubs and going full swing, which I guess is the norm for every golfer that did not play any competitive golf. Every golfers should have a “fun golf bag” and just experiment. Forget about the score - just try some new things!