I’ve been asked many times in my professional coaching career what I think is the most important piece of advice I could give a golfer. Strangely enough, my answer would be the same as if I were giving a non-golfing friend advice on making more money, furthering their professional career, finding a job… or actually, just about anything. Have a crystal clear vision of what you want, and don’t really waist any energy on what might get in your way, or what you don’t want.
Too many golfers out there put to much energy and focus into trying not to do anything wrong at the driving range. Too many golfers out there put to much energy and focus into thinking about where they don’t want to hit the golf ball on the golf course. If you spend your life trying not to make mistakes, most likely you will not get very far life… and the same goes for your golf.
Try setting the following goal for yourself the next time you go to the driving range, or go out to play on the golf course:
- On the golf course - Focus solely on what you want in each golf shot, and nothing more. No need to worry about trying not to hit the golf ball to the left or to the right… consider that wasted energy. If a thought like that creeps into your head, fill it with a thought like “I will hit this ball right in between those two trees in the distance!” And remember, the mind is only capable of thinking of one conscious thing at a time… so make it something you want rather than something you don’t want!
- At the driving range - Focus only on the fixes, not the faults. As long as you know what it is that’s making your golf ball react the way it is, there’s really no need to waist your time worrying about what you don’t want to do wrong… instead, put all your energy into working on what you need to do right to get the results you want. Find a good drill that will help you come up with a feeling of what it is that you’re looking for to groove a proper golf swing!
In closing, I can almost promise you that if you set this as a goal for yourself, it’d be nearly impossible for you to get any worse… and you’d have a really good chance of getting better!