Over the past thirty-two years of teaching golf for a living, I’ve come to the conclusion that the “trying” mindset is the biggest obstacle to improvement for the once-a-week golfer.
Let me explain before you write this off as complete nonsense. I don’t mean to imply that making improvements shouldn’t be a priority. When I hear a student proclaim that they are “… trying to keep their head down” or “… trying not to bend the left elbow” or (my personal favourite) “… trying not to think too much”, I’m aware that they’ve unintentionally set a ceiling on how much you can advance.
Very few of us have the time, desire or money to invest in regular instruction and assiduous practice, but every golfer has access to untapped ability once you become aware of the “trying game.”
What is the purpose of this psychobabble, then?
A built-in justification for failure is trying. We tend to resist change because the human nervous system is designed to maintain the status quo. Fear of the unknown frequently prevents us from acting on our conscious desire to get better. A logical justification for not achieving a goal is trying but failing.
Undoubtedly, skill level is important. It’s unrealistic to expect to score in the seventies consistently when you are plagued by a chronic “slice”, however, breaking ninety is not so much a question of refining technical skills, as following the advice of Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back when he exclaims:”… there is no try, only do.”
The majority of us do not have the time, desire, or resources to devote to daily practice and regular, supervised instruction like the Tour pros do. We tend to think that hitting range balls for eight hours a day is the only “secret” to success. Any golfer can, with an awareness, develop the mental skills to play “out of their mind.”
There are three steps to taking action in order to achieve a specific result. Create a plan for getting there next. Third, develop the (mental) skills that let you easily avoid the inclination to impose boundaries.
In terms of personal goals, I would love to consistently hit drives of 300 yards, but given my schedule, this is an unattainable objective. Simply put, I don’t have the time to acquire the necessary skill set.
Does that mean I was unsuccessful? Of course not, I have to either change the objective or the approach required to achieve it.
The message is clear-cut. To quote the late Canadian golf legend Moe Norman: “try smarter – not harder.”