Okay, let me tell you about this weird thing that happened. I recently took one of those online courses, you know, about the psychology of golf. Thought it might help shave a stroke or two off my game, mostly dealing with nerves on the tee.
Taking the Course
So, I signed up. It was mostly videos and some reading material. They talked a lot about the usual stuff: focus, staying present, visualization, building a solid pre-shot routine. Pretty standard, but hearing it laid out helped. Some bits were genuinely useful, like how to handle pressure when you’re standing over a short putt you absolutely have to make. Or how to deal with those nasty thoughts after a bad shot. You know, the mental chatter.
I was taking notes, mostly keywords that jumped out at me. Things like:
- Pre-shot routine
- Visualization
- Target focus
- Breathing
- Acceptance (this was a big one after shanking one into the woods)
- Yips (thankfully haven’t had those… yet)
- Pressure putt
Just jotting them down, hoping some of it would stick next time I was out on the course.
The Weird Connection
Then, a few days after finishing the main modules, I was just sitting there, kinda reviewing my notes. Looking at this list of golf psychology terms. And I don’t know why, but I suddenly thought, “Huh, some of these words would fit together nicely.” Like in a puzzle.
I’ve always enjoyed a good crossword, the kind you find in the newspaper, maybe tackle it over a coffee. Never thought about making one though. Seemed like wizardry. But looking at those golf terms… an idea started brewing. Why not try making a crossword puzzle themed around this golf psychology stuff?
Making the Thing
So, I grabbed a piece of graph paper. Yeah, old school. Started trying to fit the words together. ‘Focus’ was easy, nice short one. ‘Routine’ was a bit longer. I tried to make the clues relate directly back to the course content, but in a simple way.
For ‘Routine’, the clue might be something like “Golfer’s repeatable pre-shot sequence (6)”. For ‘Yips’, maybe “Sudden wrist twitch, golfer’s nightmare (4)”.
Honestly, building the grid was the hardest part. You get a few words in, and then you’re stuck. A word you really want to include just won’t fit without messing everything else up. Had to ditch a few cool terms, like ‘cognitive dissonance’ (probably too fancy anyway, right?). Had to swap some out for shorter synonyms or related concepts. It was a lot of erasing and rethinking.
I spent maybe two evenings fiddling with it. Drafted the clues, then tried to make them a bit clearer, but not too easy. You want a bit of a challenge, right? It wasn’t perfect, definitely not professional grade like you see in the big papers.
Finished. Kinda.
In the end, I had this rough, hand-drawn crossword puzzle all about the mental side of golf. Filled with terms straight from that course. It felt pretty good, actually. Not because the crossword itself was amazing, but because I’d actually made something. Took these concepts from the course and twisted them into a totally different format.
It’s funny how things connect. Took a course to fix my golf swing (or rather, my golf brain), ended up making a crossword puzzle instead. Haven’t actually tested if my golf game improved yet, but hey, at least I got a decent puzzle out of it. Shows that learning something new can spark ideas you never expected, I guess.
