Fred Astaire and Tiger Woods

What does one of the greatest dancers have in common with the world number one golfer? During the recent holiday, it hit me when I saw a clip of Fred Astaire in the movie Royal Wedding (1951) dancing with a coat-rack, making it do whatever he wanted and take on a life of its own to become his partner. Later that day, I saw a commercial of Tiger bouncing a golf ball on a club, stopping the ball whenever he wanted- like a soccer player trapping a ball on his foot, and finally hitting the ball in mid-air long and straight. Miraculous to relate, Tiger was able to accomplish the 30 second segment in only 4 takes.

My wife and I are fans of the TV shows "Dancing with the Stars" and "So You Think You can Dance?" When Fred Astaire danced it was like someone floating on a cloud- effortlessly. Where did he get the idea to dance with a coat-rack? Pure imagination. The same applies to Tiger-he has hit so many incredible golf shots that the expectation is he can hit one whenever he wants, or needs. In fact, during one of his three US Amateur wins when he needed to make a tough, down hill, side hill shot to a tight pin position to save par- he told a reporter "watch this," then made the shot. He has the imagination and confidence to believe he will make the shot.

Think golf and dance have nothing in common? Think again. What is striking is that in both of the above performances the same elements were involved- namely, practice, precision, visualization, impeccable timing, confidence and raw talent- in a word perfection. Both Fred and Tiger are artists. Both use their feet and the rest of their bodies follow their lead.