Alright, so I stumbled across this little tidbit about Justin Thomas thinking Scottie Scheffler’s high-numbered golf balls are strange, and it got me thinking. I mean, who really pays that much attention to the number on their golf ball? But it sparked a mini-experiment in my own game. Here’s how it went down.
Phase 1: The Initial Skepticism
First off, I was totally on the fence. I grabbed a sleeve of my usual Titleists (nothing fancy, mind you). I saw the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4. Never really thought twice about it. But then JT’s comment kept nagging at me. “Strange,” huh? I decided to see if randomly assigning meaning to these numbers would affect my performance, even if it was all in my head.
Phase 2: Assigning (Ridiculous) Meanings
- Ball #1: “The Confident One.” Supposed to be my go-to for tight fairways, demanding tee shots where I needed to feel in control.
- Ball #2: “The Recovery Specialist.” This was my bail-out ball. Missed the fairway? No problem, #2 was there to rescue me.
- Ball #3: “The Putting Ace.” Seriously. Every putt, this ball had to go in. Pure delusion.
- Ball #4: “The Experiment Ball.” No pressure. Just swing away and see what happens. If the other balls landed in the water.
Phase 3: The (Humbling) Round
Okay, so I headed to my local course. Right off the bat, the first tee. I reached for “The Confident One” (#1). My thought process was literally like, “Okay, self, you GOT this. This ball knows you can hit a good drive.” Hooked it into the trees. Real confident, me.
Next, I sliced it into the rough. The ball was gone. Great start. Next one up was “The Recovery Specialist” (#2). I found my ball in the rough. I had a clear shot. Then I topped it about 50 yards. “The Recovery Specialist” let me down. I three-putted with the #3, so clearly, I’m no putting ace. I then grabbed #4, hit a drive 250 yards down the middle of the fairway.
It went on like that for a few holes. The pressure I put on myself based on the ball number was absurd. Instead of focusing on my swing, I was overthinking which ball I should be using and what it meant.
Phase 4: Realization and Adjustment
Around the 7th hole, I chucked the whole system. I grabbed whatever ball was next in my bag and just played golf. And guess what? I started hitting better shots. Funny how that works.
Phase 5: The Conclusion (and Why JT Might Be Onto Something)
Look, I’m not saying Scheffler’s high-numbered balls are affecting his game negatively (he’s Scottie Scheffler, for crying out loud!). But my little experiment did show me how easily our minds can play tricks on us. Adding unnecessary layers of complexity – even something as silly as assigning personalities to golf ball numbers – can definitely mess with your focus.
Maybe JT’s point is that Scheffler’s got some weird mental game going on with those numbers. Or maybe he’s just messing with him. Either way, it was a fun (and frustrating) reminder to keep things simple out on the course.
Bottom line: I’m sticking to my random numbered golf balls and trying not to overthink things. Unless, of course, I suddenly start playing like Scheffler… then I might reconsider!
