Is it just me, or is watching golf without the gallery somehow preferable; and what can we learn from this phenomenon of sorts that can help our own golf games? I’ll pull on this thread herein…

…but first let’s break down the results of “the Dustin Johnson show”:

D. Johnson wins his 22nd PGA tour event with a blistering 30 under par performance at The Northern Trust at the TPC Boston in Norton, MA.

Here’s a truncated breakdown: 1. Dustin Johnson, -30, $1,710,000. 2. Harris English, -19, $1,035,500. 3. Daniel Berger, -17, $655,500.

Notables not making the cut were Tony Finau, Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau, Jason Day, Cameron Champ and Jordan Spieth.

I highlight these great players only to point out to us mortals playing this game that it is tough to play well all of the time; let’s give ourselves a break when we don’t play as well as we’d like eh.

The defending champ was Patrick Reed who ended T49 with -7 along with the likes of Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and Zach Johnson; each player pocketed $23,169. By the way, Tiger Woods ended T58 with Adam Scott with -6; each took home $21,565 for their efforts.

It is worth pointing out that Scottie Sheffler turned in a round of 59, becoming the 12th PGA player to shoot a below-60 round in sanctioned play.

Now, regarding the new normal of watching gallery-free golf; I found myself in a bit of a “zone” watching some fantastically talented athletes hit so many fantastic shots. We’ve all experienced playing in the “zone”, but I’ve never experienced this state of mind watching golf on television.

I am sure it is because of the lack of the distractions, and the judgmental nature of those distractions, that come from a gallery.

Without those distractions I was able just to watch some guys out playing golf; there was no judgement of any given shot like gasping at poor shots and wild applause for great shots and polite clapping for accomplishments like saving par.

That judgment-free environment allowed me to watch in the zone, similar to being in a judgment-free state of mind on those days where I was lucky enough to play in the zone.

Perhaps there is something positive we can glean from this observation, that is, can we play with just a little less judgmentalism?

I think that if we can be less judgmental then our emotional state will be more even keeled, and our bodies and hands will be that much more relaxed and able to perform more fluidly and consistently when we only have the objectiveness of the situation at hand to deal with.

Should you like a little more information on this topic, I created a simple video where I take a look at practical ways to protect our emotional state and play better golf, or at least play a more enjoyable game of golf.

Signing off for now, Ted Williams.