Going All in on Hole in Ones

The sports of golf and poker have enjoyed a deep and complex relationship for several decades. From the halcyon heydays of poker rounders Johnny Moss, Thomas "Amarillo Slim" Preston, Jr., Walter "Puggy" Pearson, Bryan "Sailor" Roberts, and Doyle Brunson all the way to the contemporary dominance of Daniel Negreanu, Stu Ungar, Erick Lindgren, and Stu Ungar, the methodical nature of golf - which gives its participants a sufficient amount of time to go over and dissect their strategies and following moves - has a distinct and understandable appeal to a surprising number of poker's elite professionals. All of this doesn't come as a big surprise to Jamie Glazier, a highly acclaimed Mental Game Coach and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) practitioner based out of Australia. Glazier originally set up his Dare2Dream business to help amateur and professional golfers develop and incorporate a healthy and robust mental game into their careers. Indeed, a formidable lineup of golfers have come out and expressed their eternal gratitude to Glazier for working closely and personally with them in improving their respective approaches to the game. Bryden MacPherson, Grace Lennon, Ryan Haller, and Stacey Keating are just some of the world-ranked golfers who have attributed their consistency and positive mindset to Glazier's work.

Incidentally, Glazier's wife Jackie happens to be one of Australia's finest female poker players. Of course, this led to Jamie Glazier working with the world's best poker players in much the same way he helped out dozens of golfers from across the globe. Nowadays, Glazier has earned the trust of 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Champion Joe Hachem and Sydney-based online poker standout Brendon Rubie by applying his intimate knowledge of the mental game to the nuances and intricacies of poker. Thanks to numerous productive collaborations with elite players from both golf and poker, Glazier has found out that the basic mental game fundamentals between the two sports share striking similarities. For instance, players typically stick to a certain process from the start to finish of every hand or shot. Those who can follow that process for a longer period of time will inevitably end up playing the highest quality of poker or golf over a larger volume of hands or rounds.

There are videos of Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Daniel Negreanu, and other top-shelf poker players enjoying a few rounds of golf that can be watched on social media outlets and video-sharing websites. The partypoker YouTube account has a particularly wacky video of poker legend Tony G. goofing around on a golf course.

Clearly, golf and poker have an enduring connection that will thrive for generations to come.