Last week saw one of my favourite sporting events of the year take place, the Winter X Games. While watching the athletes performing seemingly impossible stunts is what originally drew me to the competition it is not the reason I am still watching four years after I first saw the event. What keeps me watching is the passion of the athletes and the commentators. I have yet to see an athlete in any other sport who is excited about what they do as the athletes at the X Games. I would put this down to the element of risk in action sports meaning that only those with the most passion are willing to take enough risk to reach the top level.
It is from the passion and excitement of the competitors at the X Games that I believe golfers can learn. None of the athletes are out there for money, the risk is too great to do it for money, they are all out there because they love what they do. They want to showcase their abilities and push the boundaries of what is possible. Not only do they want to do their best, they everyone else to do their best. In 1999 all of the skateboarders were so eager to see Tony Hawk land "The 900" that they passed their attempts to give Hawk more attempts to land it. The other athletes were more passionate about progression in their sport than they were about their individual chances of winning a gold medal. This something I think about in when playing match play golf. I am not going to give the other person the match but I want to see them play well. The most fun match I have ever played was one where the golf was of high quality; our better-ball score was ten under par and we were willing each other to make every putt. When I play for the joy of the game rather than to win I have more fun and I play better.
I am sure you have been told to trust your shot at some point while playing golf and this is something else on display at the X Games. In golf despite the advantages of trusting the shot you are going to hit it is very easy not to. In action sports if they do not trust what they are doing completely they will not do it. The reason it is easy for a golfer to hit a shot they do not trust is because of the lack of serious consequences. Even if the outcome of the shot is disastrous the player is still fine whereas in action sports serious injury could be the outcome. At the X Games we see what is possible if a person trusts their abilities and I believe golfers can learn from this.
Trust in your abilities is only half of the trust however, trust in an athlete's equipment is a just as important in golf as in any other sport and at the X Games it is again more apparent because of the risk factor. I am not a big believer in it being necessary for most golfer's to have top of the range equipment but I do believe everyone, regardless of ability, needs to have faith in their equipment. In action sports there is more of an incentive to make sure your equipment is just right in order to avoid excessive risk. When you see what the skiers are doing of course they are going to check their bindings one extra time to give them peace of mind. In golf this could mean cleaning your clubs more often or checking the lie angles of your wedges just so you know your equipment is giving you as high of a chance as possible to perform your best.
As golfers I think we can learn from the passion and trust of competitors at the X Games but I think the biggest lesson we can learn is from the determination certain competitors show. There are some fantastic stories of determination and perseverance and among my favourites is that of the Moore brothers. In the 2013 snowmobile freestyle event the younger brother Colten watched his older brother Caleb crash on a backflip trick and be helped into an ambulance. Colten then went for his run and crashed on the same jump suffering a separated pelvis. By the time Colten reached the hospital he found his older brother unconscious. A week after the accident Caleb died.
Despite having his own serious injuries to recover from Colten was back riding shows just months after the accidents. One year later Colten Moore returned to the X Games and won the gold medal in snowmobile freestyle in memory of his brother. I tell this story because it shows the commitment Colten had to following his heart. He could have walked away from the sport after his brother's death and no one would have questioned his decision. In life there will always be challenges and in some situations what we want to do is not going to be a decision some people understand. Without seeing how riding freestyle makes Colten Moore feel his decision to return seems senseless. But if you see the smile on his face you would have no doubt it was the right decision. The final point I would like to make on this story is on the importance of supportive friends and family. Despite his brother's death Colten still has the full support of his family when he rides and that is invaluable in any situation. Having a supportive group around you can go along way towards helping you reach your goal, whether that be in snowmobiling, golf, or life in general.
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