I have once again proved the rule that applies to home renovations, the integration of new software in any business, and projects such as writing books: take whatever time you think it will take and triple it. About seven weeks ago, I realized that I wouldn’t have my Quiet Mind Golf book ready for publication this spring. It also occurred to me that the last chapter was very, very long. Then I had a brilliant idea like in cartoons when a lightbulb appears over someone’s head: Put the last chapter out as a stand-alone book! Just get the damn thing on Amazon. I set a deadline of midnight Sunday ..read more

After feeling stuck and tired of inconsistency, I went to Tim O’Connor for lessons at The Golf House. With Tim, I learned how to swing freely through the ball toward a target. I now strike the ball better than ever, and I can hit draws and fades at will. I am confident that I will shave a couple of strokes off the card next season. Tim has been a big help. I am grateful for his insights and patience. Larry Kich Frustrated by my golf game and overwhelmed by all the information people told me, I went to Tim O’Connor for lessons. His quiet-mind approach and target-focused coaching has made my b ..read more

I love this. In a high-gloss golf instruction world teeming with high-production videos and digital devices comes a reminder that simple and cheap can be amazing. Take a gander at this wonderful bit of vintage Tom Watson that a friend sent me this week. The video nicely jives with my image of Watson as no-nonsense, down-to-earth guy. In the video, ol’ Tom shows how you can fashion a coat hanger into a training device. Yes, a measly wire coat hanger. It’s great to listen to the Huck Finn of golf talk and demonstrate how a mangled piece of wire can help you hit the ball better. I invite you t ..read more

When I start working with a new client, I will almost always play a game of catch. (To read my latest blogs, please visit toconnor.substack.com) While I walk around, the student stands in one place and throws a golf ball to my out-stretched hand, which is sometimes high and low, but always moving. Without fail, the person will throw the ball accurately to my hand every time. I’ll then ask them how they did it. The answer is almost always: “I have no idea.” Well, here’s why: My hand is their target. Their intention is to throw the ball to the target. It’s simple. The body just acts on their ..read more

Thanks for coming to my website. FYI, that I have moved my blog to Substack and even given it a name: Up & Down. You can find me there on toconnor.substack.com. In moving to Substack, I’m taking a deeper dive into writing, and posting more often. It’s my hope that if you’ve enjoyed my stuff in the past, or you’re intrigued, that you’ll take a look at my new blogging home. The website will continue to provide information on my golf and life coaching, programs, books and the Swing Thoughts podcast that I co-host with Howard Glassman, AKA Humble. Thanks for your support. Tim   ..read more

It was bound to come up. I was hoping it might not, but it did. We had a couple over for dinner on New Year’s Day. We had a wonderful time, doing what couples do: reviewing our Christmas holidays and what we did on NY Eve—for the record, we made it past midnight—and the state of our dogs and kids. Then, the question was asked. “So, Tim what are your goals for this year?” There it was. I took a breath and offered that I was focused on finishing a non-fiction golf book by the end of February, and that I wanted to finally finish editing a novel that’s been in the works for too many years. “Tha ..read more

How cold is -30 Celsius? It’s so cold that when you throw boiling water in the air, it instantly crystallizes as my niece Siobhan demonstrated during our visit to Canmore, Alberta the week before Christmas. There’s cold and then there’s cold.   Where I live in Guelph, Ontario, it can get down to -10 Celsius in January and February. To me, that’s cold. With some wind, it can feel like about -20, which is serious cold.    On those -20 with the wind-chill mornings, I have to drag our boxer dog Freddie off the front porch. Poor fellow. I can’t help but th ..read more

The best advice—or at least the advice I recall most vividly—that I ever got from my father was not about golf, school or business. It was about how to talk to a girl. Early one morning in our suburban living room, both of us in our pyjamas sitting on our floral coach, I told Dad about my predicament. At my high school, there was this angelic black-haired girl with dark brown eyes and olive skin. I was completely head-over-heels. But I was in Grade 11. She was in Grade 10. I didn’t know her or any of her friends. I couldn’t just walk over and start talking to her. I had no idea what to say. W ..read more

Other than at work, most guys would rather put their hand into a burning flame than tell another man what to do. Even if it’s couched as a polite ask. And even if whatever the other man is doing is bugging the hell out of us. We suck at speaking up for ourselves. It happens in golf all the time. Let’s say you’re setting up to putt, and you notice that a member of your group is standing behind you on your line. He’s gathering intel on how his ball may roll. You think about asking him to move because you can see him in your peripheral vision. He’s distracting. But you rationalize that the guy i ..read more

During a Zoom group coaching call last week, one of our participants was fidgeting like a five-year-old  after a birthday party. My Golf is Life online group was discussing some on-course strategies when—with obvious exasperation—he blurted, “Yes, that’s great. But what do you think about when you’re over the ball?” Everyone laughed. He hit a collective nerve; it was a flashpoint of recognition of everyone’s never-ending search for the right swing thought that will bring sweetness, light and soft draws. The question about ‘what to think about’ is one of golf’s greatest mysteries. Conside ..read more