Jake Owen Says Music Is on Par With Golf

As a former competitive golfer, Jake Owen has learned some valuable lessons from the game, He also sees an interesting parallel between playing golf and playing music for a living.

"[Golf is] a solitary sport and you keep your own score," Jake tells Florida's Palm Beach Post newspaper. "You can cheat if you want. My dad always used to say that to me: 'Son, you can cheat if you want to but you're cheating yourself.' You have to face that. In music, it's also a solitary activity. You can sit down and write your own songs, but in a round-about way you can cheat yourself about how hard you're working. More than anything, you can't become great at golf without working really hard at it. It doesn't just come easy and neither does music."

Jake also says golf, and in particular a book called 'Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect' by sports psychologist Bob Rotella, helped him build self-confidence.

"It carries over into life in general," says the singer. "It's based upon being very confident and that's true in music, too. But I don't think golf is about being perfect, because you don't hit every shot perfectly. You might hit one perfect and the next in the bunker and you've got to figure out how to get out of there and hit the next shot great. The same thing with music. Every day is going to be different: different circumstances, different venues, different crowds. You have learn to deal with that and keep your confidence. Some days I'm not going to be feeling well but I've got to get out there and pretend like I am. I learned that from golf."

Jake's most recent single, 'Eight Second Ride,' takes place in a pick-up truck, not a golf cart.