Golf Documentary in the Works


Director/producer Erik Anders Lang has announced the start of production of a new movie, "Be the Ball: A Golf Documentary," which looks at the history of the sport while conducting an experiment on the use of mind-control techniques on a select group of players. Lang proposes that mental fitness is more important than skill or physical conditioning in golf, and that honing mental acuity can take players "into the zone" to achieve demonstrable results in amateurs and pros alike.

The film will feature interviews with players like Bernhard Langer, Nick Price and Rory McIlroy; instructors and coaches including "Zen Golf" author Dr. Joseph Parent, Tom House (MLB pitching coach), and Tigers Woods' former coach Sean Foley; spiritual thinkers Ram Dass and Deepak Chopra, and dozens of celebrities known for their passion for the game, including Bill Murray, Kenny G, Kelly Slater and executive producer Cary Woods. Lang is supplementing his own financing of the film with a Kickstarter campaign.

Ever since Scots began whacking a ball across fences with sticks in the Middle Ages, golf has beguiled yet confounded millions and become an intellectual pursuit more akin to chess than a show of physical prowess. Like few other pursuits, golf has spanned the cultural gap between East and West, and is thought by some as the most Eastern of "Western" sports. Golf is both a challenging game and sport at once, yet more popular in terms of customer spending in North America than football, baseball, basketball and hockey combined.

Lang came to filmmaking from photography. Considered by David LaChapelle as his protégé, he moved into making music videos for Moby, Public Enemy and Escondido, as well as commercial films for Louis Vuitton, Hollister, Honda, Red Bull, Sony, Serato and TED. He hopes his latest film is illustrative and instructive, one that both entertains and educates with an overview of the game.

After establishing his thesis with background, interviews and commentary, Lang will convene a group retreat - a master class of pros, celebrities and amateurs - at a golf resort and put his theory of the mind-body connection to the test. There, teachers Dr. John Demartini; Tim Kramer; PGA Master Professional Scott Cranfield; Julie Elion; and Mahadeva Ishaya, the Scottish monk turned golf pro, will focus on the mental aspects of training, utilize scientific techniques like biofeedback and physiological telemetry, and methods ranging from meditation to Zen archery.

Subjects will play no more than an hour of golf at a time per day. A control group receiving conventional golf instruction will establish a baseline for the experiment. Then, the players will return home, resume their competitive play and the film will document their results. Lang expects to complete the film in time for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where golf returns to medal competition for the first time in more than a century.

"People have tackled elements of the mind-body connection in sport - and in golf in particular," Lang explains. "But nobody has yet undertaken a comprehensive overview, analysis, training and tracking of a multi-platform experience - a player's surrender to the vast potential of the mind's control over that little white ball - as 'Be the Ball' will do."

He continues, "There are many different ways of accessing the zone; spirituality is one of several ways to get there. We are combining that with a number of mind-based stress reduction models to make it achievable for both pros and amateurs."

Lang promises his film will ignite a global sports-spirituality movement. "There is no Holy Grail in golf," he concludes. "But many little cups of wisdom, serenity and focus that, used together, offer real potential to make a fundamental change in a player's success and satisfaction at every skill level. Our film promises to show players and fans the best of them."

"Be the Ball's" Kickstarter program will offer a variety of premiums for golfers, mystics and fans alike contributing to the fundraising campaign: autographed items, memorabilia, golf lessons, DVDs and other unique items. Premiums range from "good karma for one round" all the way up to taking part in the experiment on set with Lang.

In one, Lang promises, "My amazingly generous wife, [recording artist] Sia, will pull out her phone and record herself saying or doing pretty much whatever you want for 20 seconds. I will send you the video file so you can upload to YouTube, play at parties, or send to friends." He's also offering a download of an exclusive, previously unreleased new Sia tune, a cover of the New Orleans anthem "Iko Iko," for $1.

For more information about Lang’s Kickstarter campaign, visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/erikanderslang/be-the-ball-a-documentary-on-golf-and-sprituality.