What time period do you play? Every golfer has expressed a threat to give up the sport in a fit of utter humility. Quite few people actually follow through. Why? Because every dedicated student believes they have what it takes to play a respectable game.
The discrepancy between knowledge and results is one of the game’s most annoying features. The same way that a basic understanding precludes breaking 90, a thorough understanding of swing mechanics does not guarantee improved performance.
Do you practice consistently and put money into regular training, but see little to no progress? After a series of formal lessons, it’s not unusual to hear students complain that their game has declined.
With consistent training, we anticipate improving in the majority of sports. Our skill level advances along with our confidence. Taking a lesson is frequently a last resort for golfers who are resigned to the fact that their game will get worse. Although it might be well-founded, this attitude does little to boost confidence.
Most once-a-week golfers hold the misconception that poor swing mechanics are the cause of one poor shot. This belief sets up an endless cycle of trying to “fix” their swing. Is the difference between performance on the practice range and the golf course the result of deteriorating swing mechanics or is it just a lack of confidence?
A typical response to a poor shot is the automatic propensity to try to figure out what went wrong as soon as possible. The implicit premise is that flawless mechanics will produce flawless outcomes. The cycle of fault-finding and error-correction might be broken by adopting a new attitude.
What if we believe that missed shots are unavoidable? Instead of using perfect shots as the yardstick, why not ingrain the belief that golf is a game of “misses”? Create your own scorecard based on the caliber of your mishits rather than using par as the standard. You could create a scoring system in which each shot is given a score between one and ten.
My experience teaching over 11,000 students has shown me that this shift in perspective is an effective way to boost confidence right away after a missed shot. When evaluating a shot, using numbers helps keep your emotions in check and helps you concentrate on the upcoming shot by removing any emotional attachment.
Being confident is a decision. The cards are stacked against you when playing golf. When you think of perfect shots as happy accidents, you’ll be able to concentrate on improving the caliber of the bad shots and keep the level of confidence you need to consistently play at your best.