Bob speaks out
About twelve months after our accidental meeting, Dave sent me a draft for this manuscript. While I was honored that he made me the central character, I was afraid that his readers would get the impression that their game would magically improve by simply snapping their fingers.
If that was the message you inferred, it was not my intention. There are no panaceas to your best golf. Learning to control your mind could well be the most difficult task in the world.
Difficult, however, doesn’t mean impossible.
Golf is the most frustrating sport ever invented. Even the best players in the world have no idea how well they will play on any given day. One day the driver feels like a sledgehammer and the next day it feels like a feather. One day every putt is attracted to the hole like a magnet. The next game, the hole is the size of a pin head.
That’s the nature of the game. There are no absolutes; no recipe for guaranteed results.
The basic premise underlying this manuscript (in my opinion) is learning to play by feel. The average golfer is so bound up with proper mechanics that his/her sense of feel is completely submerged.
Learning how to reduce the natural tendency to focus on mistakes is the first key to re-awakening your sense of feel. Most of us will never totally eliminate the tendency, but awareness is often curative.
I am certain the ideas presented in the chapter on golf Instruction are not intended to demean or discredit the association of certified teaching professionals.
As a former 25 year member of the Canadian Professional Golfers’ Association, I can relate to the challenges of providing simple, effective golf instruction to the casual player, who has neither the time nor money to invest in regular practice and lessons.
Perhaps a slight shift in viewpoint, from concentrating on mistakes, to reinforcing a player’s natural ability, would work wonders in lowering the average handicap.
As Dave points out, our god given talents vary widely. But all of us can play a more consistent game if we understand the mental barriers and learn to overcome them.
Dave singles out his target audience as the golfer struggling to break ninety. Nonetheless, his discussion on the effects of language on performance is applicable to all skill levels.
We are conditioned to equate results with effort. In every other sport, success is commensurate with trying harder.
Golf is the polar opposite; your golf game will only improve once you accept the fact that less is more. This shift in paradigm is one of the most difficult concepts for many players to accept.
Yet this is exactly what happens when the apparent “fluke” shots appear out of nowhere.
The notion of habits may seem overly simplistic. Yet our habits govern our existence. Our daily existence is based on a collection of habits that have been ingrained with years of practice. The concept of comfort zones is simply a convenient way to describe a collection of unconscious habits.
While Dave discusses the power of habit, he glosses over the fact that habits serve a purpose. In order to break a habit, you must replace it with a new empowering habit. Our mind and body are constantly seeking balance.
Our nervous system always seeks the path of least resistance. It craves mental stability. Change is the biggest fear we face, in life and in golf. The “fly in the ointment” is that you will keep doing what feels comfortable – even if it doesn’t work!
The self-protection mechanism to maintain the status quo is often irresistible.
Nevertheless, the habit of reinforcing the memories of your best shots on a regular basis is a worthwhile venture.
Attempting to incorporate all the suggestions in this text can be mind-boggling. Pick and choose the ideas that make the most sense.
Give them time to develop. Slight changes are huge!
Once you discover your innate swing, I am convinced that you can, with a little patience and intelligent experimentation, take your game to a new level of consistency.