Bette stilled her mind as she focused on the ball. She stared at it until everything else faded away.   She relaxed her grip on the shaft, started her backswing, and let her natural athleticism take over.  She started a controlled exhale just as she started her downswing, her core remained rock steady, her hips swung just before her arms whipped forward, lending the stroke momentum and support from her whole upper body, and then tightened her grip just before contact, snapping the shaft and ensuring a whipping motion from the club face as it blasted through the ball. Shhhwack!

She continued her steady exhale through the follow through, head still in the same position as it had been when she’d started her backswing.

“That’s what you mean by grip it and rip it, Bette?” Lea said sardonically.

They watched Bette’s ball sail away in a graceful arc.

Uh huh. Game on, chica!

“Think I’m getting my timing down,” the brunette observed with a touch of irony.

“Ah … yeah, Bette. Looks to be the case.”

Lea turned away to head towards their cart.

“But let’s see how you do with the putter. Drive for show; putt for dough, as they say.”

They shared another laugh as Bette caught up, and then dropped their drivers into their bags.

Lea was still shaking her head with a bemused smile as she looked at Bette before driving the cart down the path. “I never had that kind of timing, myself, you know.”

“Well, I don’t always have it, Lea.”

“Really? I always used to marvel at you athlete types, like some those people hitting buckets of balls with me, long into the night, at the practice range.  The pro who was teaching me had said that that kind of whipping, timing motion was a kinetic gift or muscle thing.  When I insisted on getting him to think of a way for me to get that same explosive, blasting, whipping effect on the ball, he said something like, “Sorry, but it’s talent, Lea.  It’s a gift.  Just like some tennis players.  The ball just explodes off of their racket.  Same in golf:  it’s a hand-eye coordination thing, and timing … but of course, you can enhance that with practice and technique.”