Disclaimer: I’m not a tour caliber player or a certified teacher. I’m just a guy who loves to play golf, has the luxury of being able to practice quite a bit, and currently carries a two handicap. So, take what I’m saying with a grain of salt. But I believe that the points I outline below can help most average golfers who are looking to break through to the next level.
Alright little Timmy, here’s the cold, hard truth that you’re coddling, participation trophy-giving parents probably didn’t tell you: Golf is hard, really hard. For anyone who’s tried to play at a high level, you know that breaking through and finding sustained excellence can be a maddening process. You can go to the driving range and hit the ball pure for an hour and then step on the course and have a wildly different experience. The incongruity of your ability to play good golf when there’s no pressure versus your poor performance when you want it the most is pure cruelty. Why is that? I’m not 100% sure but in this post I’ll give my opinion on what plagues many good, and even great, golfers. The aspect of golf that I believe makes it one of the toughest sports to master is the amount of down time you have to let your mind wander and lose focus on the task at hand.
In most other sports, players benefit from the lack of idle time and often can turn off their brain and rather react to perform the most critical action necessary to be successful. That’s not to say that other sports don’t need a mixture of physical gifts and mental strength, it’s just that most sports happen much quicker and don’t allow athletes to over analyze their process. Let’s take basketball for example. Steph Curry will likely go down as on the of greatest shooters in basketball history and if you analyze his shooting stroke its fundamentally sound. But when Steph’s on the court, he’s not focused on whether his elbow is aligned perfectly under his wrist, if his feet are perfectly squared under him, if he’s holding the ball in his favorite way, what his teammates will think if he misses, or what will the consequences be of missing. Because basketball happens so rapidly he’s forced to rely on his preparation and react to the tasks that are presented to him. And it's his fundamentals and hours logged practicing that are the backbone of his greatness. I wholeheartedly believe
that Steph would not be the player that he is if he over-analyzed his approach every time he shot the ball.
Now it would be foolish of me to say that basketball and golf are the perfectly analogous. But the point that I’m trying to make is it’s very easy to become distracted from the task at hand in golf due to the time that you’re left alone with your thoughts. And this, in my opinion, is one of the biggest limiting factors to golfers of all skill levels from finding repeated success on the golf course.
So how do we fix that? Good question! I don’t know… the end!
I’m kidding. Here are some helpful tips that I employ on the course to play my best golf.
Tip 1: Have fun
Don’t worry when you’re out on the golf course. Far too many times have I found myself sweating the outcome of my golf game almost always to my detriment. I constantly fight the urge to want the end result at any cost. But golf shouldn’t be about that. Rather golf is about enjoying the journey. There’s so many measuring sticks in golf (e.g. the score of the hole, breaking 70, breaking 80, breaking 90, etc.) but the thing that we should all realize is that it’s a game. If you’re reading this article you’re probably not playing golf for a living to put food on your families table. Whether you sink that last putt for 79 vs. 80 is truly inconsequential in the grand scheme of life. Hopefully you’re healthy and happy and if you’re able to get out onto the golf course, then you’re pretty lucky. So, chill out and have fun.
Tip 2: Be a narcissist
Ok. I’ll admit it. I tried to make this tip sound more controversial than need be. Hopefully some big publication will pick up on this tip and blast Form Over Function all over the news. I can see it now: Local blogger tells golfers to be selfish!
Well, that was a fun daydream! But I digress…
In all sincerity, the point that I want to make here is that to play your best I believe it helps to really focus on yourself and shut out every other thought if possible. For four hours, be a narcissist and don’t think about anyone else. So, what do I really mean here? Don’t focus on how you think others will perceive your game to be. Don’t focus whether you’re the longest driver in your group. Don’t focus on anything other than yourself. Focus on your swing. Focus on your attitude. Focus on the things that you can control. Focus on the things that make you the golfer that you are.
Tip 3: Have a short memory
Most people don’t know this about me but I’m a psychic. I can see into your future. Spoiler alert: You’re going to hit a few bad shots the next time you go out and tee it up in a round that matters.
Some bad shots sting more than others. But the one thing that I can tell you that is true about each bad shot you hit is that it is your choice on how you react to that shot. Once you’ve hit a poor shot, take a second to think about what you could have done better and then put the shot behind you. The only thing that matters now is how you handle your next shot. Having a short memory can be extremely helpful to put the past behind you and focus on the task at hand.
On the flip side of the coin, you’ll probably also hit a few great shots during your next competitive round. Take a second to bask in your glory but then put the shot behind you and move on to focus on your next shot. Don’t let your mind linger about how wonderful you are after one well struck shot. Focus on the task at hand and prepare yourself fully for the next shot. This will help you close your round like a champion by focusing on converting opportunities instead of wasting opportunities by not being prepared to execute the close.
Having a short memory can be a key ingredient to your long-term success. Remember, each shot you hit is an isolated event from prior shots. Do your best to focus on the task and hand and don’t spend too much time analyzing or celebrating your previous ones.
Tip 4: Focus on the process, not the result
For long-term sustained success, you need to focus on the process. As I mentioned earlier, golf is hard. You can’t make swing changes just because you hit one bad shot or because you didn’t shoot in the 70s like you were hoping you would. Often you can do everything right and still come away with a less than desirable score. That’s because golf is hard. The natural elements of the course can be unpredictable. Your ball may have hit a bump on the green. The wind may have blown you off line. Don’t become overly obsessed with the result and rather become obsessed with the process.
Do your best to commit to a process to prepare yourself for success and then measure results over longer periods of time (not from round to round). Ask yourself a couple simple questions: Is my handicap trending up or down over the past 6 months? Over the past year have I improved in the areas that I set out to improve?
By focusing on the process and not the result, you should be able to isolate areas of your game that you want to improve and then improve them. If you begin to become a creature of recency you’ll likely end up chasing your tail.
Conclusion
Breaking through to a new level is no easy task. It takes a lot of time, effort, focus and practice. But if you’re putting in the work with a solid plan and not seeing results, think about the tips I’ve outlined here. Focus on your process; the results will come. Have a short memory with your game on the course; focus on the task at hand. Shut out distractions and worries that you can’t control; focus on your game. And last but not least, loosen up and have some fun. That’s what golfs all about. If you do those things, I believe that your desired results will follow.
