One of the most effective ways that I know to feel what is "real" in the golf swing is to SLOW DOWN. Whether you are trying to refine your swing or groove a new move, try the slow motion drill. At first, many of my students find this drill very difficult, but after a few days of practice, this drill opens up a new world of awareness!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
When is block practice a good thing?
I have talked extensively about the advantages of random practice, or sometimes called variable or elaborative practice. It is true that the more consistent your golf swing or technique, the more you should be using these types of practice when trying to "groove" your game. But when would constant, block or repetitive practice be useful?
To be clear, constant, block or repetitive practice has the "drag and hit" qualities about it. The player stands on the mat for minutes or hours at a time, whacking ball after ball. Often times, not even watching the full flight or roll to understand what is actually happening. Why would this technique ever be useful? Two times: (1) to establish tempo during the practice session and (2) to discover things about your technique.
One very overlooked aspect of practice is establishing a consistent tempo. Players should always start and end their practice session with focus on tempo. This usually sets the rhythm for the day if you are going out to play and if not, tempo will help you get the most out of your practice session since you are able to consistently deliver the club back to the ball with a good tempo (Not so easy when you start swinging out of your shoes). It is perfectly ok to stand on the mat using the block practice technique when focusing on tempo. You can create an interanl understanding of what is too fast, too slow or just right! I remember Tiger Woods saying one time that he can swing at 100%, but his comfort zone is around 80%. What's yours?
Discovery is not often a goal for most people when they practice....or...if it is, it usually happens by accident. The idea of discovery is very important for learning. For example, when you hit 5 balls (assuming ball position and your alignment are consistent), you will hopefully see the same ball flight. Now, what happens if you move the ball toward the target 2 inches? Does the ball fly higher and more left/right? What happens if you adjust your alignment so that the club approaches the ball from another angle. Does the ball curve? All of these are discovered using repetitive practice. This is not a place to groove anything, moreover you should aim to understand "what" is going on. One important point to understand: Establish a basic set up (with ball position, alignment, balance) and then change one variable at a time. When you understand the results, go back to the basic set up and change another variable. This keeps things somewhat consistent.
If you don't already realize how important it is to schedule your practice, do so now! When you divide up your practice session so that you have different goals, you will also have different practice methods to accomplish these goals. Certain parts require repetitive practice and certain parts require random practice.
So in summary, repetitive practice is not all bad. It just serves a different purpose when practicing. This blog is inspired by the book Practice to Learn, Play to Win by Mark Guadagnoli.
Steven
To be clear, constant, block or repetitive practice has the "drag and hit" qualities about it. The player stands on the mat for minutes or hours at a time, whacking ball after ball. Often times, not even watching the full flight or roll to understand what is actually happening. Why would this technique ever be useful? Two times: (1) to establish tempo during the practice session and (2) to discover things about your technique.
One very overlooked aspect of practice is establishing a consistent tempo. Players should always start and end their practice session with focus on tempo. This usually sets the rhythm for the day if you are going out to play and if not, tempo will help you get the most out of your practice session since you are able to consistently deliver the club back to the ball with a good tempo (Not so easy when you start swinging out of your shoes). It is perfectly ok to stand on the mat using the block practice technique when focusing on tempo. You can create an interanl understanding of what is too fast, too slow or just right! I remember Tiger Woods saying one time that he can swing at 100%, but his comfort zone is around 80%. What's yours?
Discovery is not often a goal for most people when they practice....or...if it is, it usually happens by accident. The idea of discovery is very important for learning. For example, when you hit 5 balls (assuming ball position and your alignment are consistent), you will hopefully see the same ball flight. Now, what happens if you move the ball toward the target 2 inches? Does the ball fly higher and more left/right? What happens if you adjust your alignment so that the club approaches the ball from another angle. Does the ball curve? All of these are discovered using repetitive practice. This is not a place to groove anything, moreover you should aim to understand "what" is going on. One important point to understand: Establish a basic set up (with ball position, alignment, balance) and then change one variable at a time. When you understand the results, go back to the basic set up and change another variable. This keeps things somewhat consistent.
If you don't already realize how important it is to schedule your practice, do so now! When you divide up your practice session so that you have different goals, you will also have different practice methods to accomplish these goals. Certain parts require repetitive practice and certain parts require random practice.
So in summary, repetitive practice is not all bad. It just serves a different purpose when practicing. This blog is inspired by the book Practice to Learn, Play to Win by Mark Guadagnoli.
Steven
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Are emotions a bad thing on the golf course?
Why is it that until 2010, Tiger Woods always made the shot when he needed it?
This topic has to do with emotions in golf and whether or not they are relevant.
When a player makes a shot and does a fist pump or chest bump, he/she is emotional. When a player spits out of disgust or throws a club after a shot, he/she is emotional. When a player fires the "S" word or gives a fan a high-five, he/she is emotional. What really is going on here? When a player gets emotional on the golf course, he/she is creating a path for memory.
Let's take Tiger Woods pre 2010. Tiger could call upon all the times he made the shot, sank the putt, hit the incredible recovery. He did this through becoming emotional when performing the act. The memory fried into his brain and he could bring it back whenever he wanted. Take a moment and think about where you were or what you were doing at 9.30am on monday, September 10, 2001. If you are like me, you probably don't remember. There were no special emotions attached to that day. Now think about the next day at the same time. That specific time period is fried into everyone's memories because of the amount of emotion attached to it. You probably could recall exact details about that moment.
So if emotions open some of portal to memory, how does it relate to our golf play / practice? I would venture a guess and say it makes more of an impact, but mostly on our negative practice / play. How many times have been SO UPSET after a round of golf that you reacted negatively toward your family or friends? How many times have you thrown a club or wasted shots because of haste to move onto the next hole. Getting this emotional will almost guarantee that you remember every detail about the bad shot, missed putt or poor round. Am I suggesting that you should throw your fist in the air like Tiger and give a big "YES" when you make big shot. Of course, I am! When you create the emotion associated with the POSITIVE action, you will be able to draw upon this later in the round, if need be.
Don't take golf shots for granted, they are hard. When you pull one off, don't be scared to give yourself a big ole pat on the back! Here is a video of some of Tiger's Emotions. Pay attention to his emotions and tell me if he will be able to recall these later on?
So now that you know the importance of emotions in the role of learning (positive or negative), you have a choice as to HOW you react to different situations / shots. When practicing, I would recommend that you introduce some sort of consequence in your training. This is especially important for the more-effecient golf technique. By introducing consequence to each shot, you are sure to get some emotions and attach some meaning to what you are doing. Stop the "drag and hit" method today! Allow yourself to express some feeling when you hit a good shot!
Here are some quick examples of consequence games / drills / ideas:
(1) Create a virtual fairway on the range (make it as tight as your skill level). Your goal is to hit 3 shots in a row to this fairway. If you miss, you start back to zero. Start your routine over after every shot.
(2) Play the star putting drill (FIVE balls in a star pattern at a length that is closely related to your skill level). When you make a putt, you move to the opposite side of the hole. Your goal is to make all five in a row. If you miss you start over. Play with a buddy and put a side bet on who wins 3 Stars first.
(3) Practice on the course. Play a shot on the golf course over water to a tight hole. Pull out your most expensive ball and play for birdie. If the cost of the ball means nothing to you, then simulate a situation such as "I need a birdie to win, or if I knock it where I am looking, I take my wife out for the best dinner ever" - You can make up anything really, but attach some meaning / consequence to the shot.
Once you start practicing with more consequence, with more meaning, it will become easier to become emotional (happy, glad, excited, focused, intense) when pulling off these difficult shots. The entire point is to create a way to remember the good shots when you need to.
Thanks for reading,
Steven
Credits/inspiration: Mark Guadagnoli
This topic has to do with emotions in golf and whether or not they are relevant.
When a player makes a shot and does a fist pump or chest bump, he/she is emotional. When a player spits out of disgust or throws a club after a shot, he/she is emotional. When a player fires the "S" word or gives a fan a high-five, he/she is emotional. What really is going on here? When a player gets emotional on the golf course, he/she is creating a path for memory.
Let's take Tiger Woods pre 2010. Tiger could call upon all the times he made the shot, sank the putt, hit the incredible recovery. He did this through becoming emotional when performing the act. The memory fried into his brain and he could bring it back whenever he wanted. Take a moment and think about where you were or what you were doing at 9.30am on monday, September 10, 2001. If you are like me, you probably don't remember. There were no special emotions attached to that day. Now think about the next day at the same time. That specific time period is fried into everyone's memories because of the amount of emotion attached to it. You probably could recall exact details about that moment.
So if emotions open some of portal to memory, how does it relate to our golf play / practice? I would venture a guess and say it makes more of an impact, but mostly on our negative practice / play. How many times have been SO UPSET after a round of golf that you reacted negatively toward your family or friends? How many times have you thrown a club or wasted shots because of haste to move onto the next hole. Getting this emotional will almost guarantee that you remember every detail about the bad shot, missed putt or poor round. Am I suggesting that you should throw your fist in the air like Tiger and give a big "YES" when you make big shot. Of course, I am! When you create the emotion associated with the POSITIVE action, you will be able to draw upon this later in the round, if need be.
Don't take golf shots for granted, they are hard. When you pull one off, don't be scared to give yourself a big ole pat on the back! Here is a video of some of Tiger's Emotions. Pay attention to his emotions and tell me if he will be able to recall these later on?
So now that you know the importance of emotions in the role of learning (positive or negative), you have a choice as to HOW you react to different situations / shots. When practicing, I would recommend that you introduce some sort of consequence in your training. This is especially important for the more-effecient golf technique. By introducing consequence to each shot, you are sure to get some emotions and attach some meaning to what you are doing. Stop the "drag and hit" method today! Allow yourself to express some feeling when you hit a good shot!
Here are some quick examples of consequence games / drills / ideas:
(1) Create a virtual fairway on the range (make it as tight as your skill level). Your goal is to hit 3 shots in a row to this fairway. If you miss, you start back to zero. Start your routine over after every shot.
(2) Play the star putting drill (FIVE balls in a star pattern at a length that is closely related to your skill level). When you make a putt, you move to the opposite side of the hole. Your goal is to make all five in a row. If you miss you start over. Play with a buddy and put a side bet on who wins 3 Stars first.
(3) Practice on the course. Play a shot on the golf course over water to a tight hole. Pull out your most expensive ball and play for birdie. If the cost of the ball means nothing to you, then simulate a situation such as "I need a birdie to win, or if I knock it where I am looking, I take my wife out for the best dinner ever" - You can make up anything really, but attach some meaning / consequence to the shot.
Once you start practicing with more consequence, with more meaning, it will become easier to become emotional (happy, glad, excited, focused, intense) when pulling off these difficult shots. The entire point is to create a way to remember the good shots when you need to.
Thanks for reading,
Steven
Credits/inspiration: Mark Guadagnoli
Friday, February 11, 2011
Practice doesn't always equal learning
So as you may know by now, I love learning about how to practice, how the elite athletes train and, in general, why some people succeed and others do not. Today's post is a bit about a book I would recommend called Practice to learn, Play to Win by Mark Gaudagnoli and a bit about a recent session I had with one of my junior groups.
I recently had a meeting with our Junior Elite Squad. When we started the session, I had everyone sit down at a table and think about a typical practice session they had during the summer. With the "Deer in the Headlights" staring back at me, I pushed a bit more. I wanted them to tell me (1) How often per week / month do you practice (2) How do you practice (3) What do you normally practice and (4) How do you know what to practice? WOW! Crickets could be heard within a hundred miles. Huh? Whattaya mean HOW or WHAT we practice? That was the typical response. I then took a step and asked "Do you SCHEDULE your practice in advance? This is where I almost LOST my squad. Here we are, suppose to be "Elite Junior Golfers," with handicaps ranging from 0-12, and no one had an idea on applying/learning information to becoming a better player. (BTW, learning these techniques on the golf course will help you become anything you want in LIFE too).
So to get the conversation going, I asked my best player to tell me what he does. His response was, "I don't really schedule my practice. I go off of how I am feeling instead." He continued, "I am committed to becoming a good player. On the range, I warm up with a few short irons and then hit for an hour or so. I finish up with a drill where I curve the ball." He said, I believe in hitting LOTS of balls to groove my swing. He continued to tell me that is how Vijay Singh practices...ball after ball after ball. According to Guadagnoli, Vijay is one of the hardest working guys on the PGA Tour. But does that mean he hits ball after ball using the "Drag and Hit" method? I would venture a guess and say NO. Vijay may be working hours on the range, but his method is more QUALITY than quantity. The number of balls Vijay hits is not as important as understanding the whys/hows/whens to hitting different shots. Vijay has a hitting station with clubs on the ground to understand his alignment and ball position. He takes his time after every shot to think about what has happened and lets the shot SINK into his mind. I would imagine that Vijay, being the ultimate role model for practice, is MENTALLY tired after a practice session. Are you?
Often times we have the preception that the number of balls hit or number of putts stroked the same way at a hole is the most important. This type of practice is called repetitive or mass practice. It is how most people practice, because there is an idea of "the more balls, the more I will teach my muscles to remember." Mark talks about this in great detail in his book. Our brains are wired to take in and then forget information. For example, think about the last time you were on vacation and wanted to order a pizza. You looked in the Yellow Pages or internet, and found the number to the pizzeria. You said the number several times to yourself so you wouldn't forget it and then dialed the number. One hour later, could you recall the number? Probably not. This is how most people practice golf. Practicing the same type of shot, to the same target with the same club without any regard for all the "hows/whys/whens." When it is time to recall that shot on the course, can you do it? If you are anything like the telephone number example, you have disgarded the information since your last practice session on the range. Repetitive practice with regard to learning is most often ineffective.
If repetitive practice is so ineffective what are some other strategies?
(1) Slow down your practice session to give yourself time to "soak it in."
(2) Schedule your practice so that you know in advance what to work on.
(3) Give yourself a goal for your practice session...the WHY are you doing this?
(4) Always set up a station with clubs on the ground showing alignment, ball position.
(5) Keep a Golf Improvement journal. Write in it after 5 shots. What is happening in your practice?
A typical 60 minute practice session might look like this:
5 minutes for warm up - your focus here is TEMPO. This is a session where repetitive practice is ok. The key is to focus on your speed and rhythm. Don't judge the results, just feel the beat.
20 minutes for discovery - Here, you are focusing on finding out what happens when you adjust different factors in your golf swing. For example, set up your station and hit 5 shots with normal ball position. Stop and think about what type of shot you hit. Now, move the ball 1inch forward (let's assume you are hitting a 6 iron). Hit 5 shots and take note to what happens. You are not judging your ability here. Then, move the ball back. Try aiming more left, more right, and so forth. Hit five shots with each adjustment, and write down in your journal what happens.
5 minute break for water, to clean your clubs and to think about the first 25 minutes of practice. How's it going? Write it down.
20 minutes for refinement - Let's say you want to "groove" your long irons. If you are a better player, your swing is probably more consistent, so you will want to hit less balls before change clubs (change the club and target after every 3 shots). With refinement (think Vijay), you (a) start every shot behind the ball and go through your routine. Take a practice swing, feel the move you want to feel, step forward and hit the shot. THE KEY IS WATCHING THE BALL LAND, ROLL, AND THEN YOU STOP TO THINK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED. This is vital. Describe to yourself everything about the shot from routine to roll. Repeat with 2 balls and change clubs. (b) play the course on the range. Change every shot and every situation. By starting over, you are forcing yourself to slow down, keep the same tempo and let the "learning" sink in.
7 minutes for Tempo. Again, repetitive practice is ok, because your focus is on the beat of the swing, not learning a particular move. Don't judge your result or ball flight here. Groove your Flow!
3 minutes to summarize this range session. Write down in your journal what happened, tempo, shots, everything.
There you have it. Inspiration from Mark Guadagnoli's book Practice to Learn, Play to Win.
Regards,
Steven
I recently had a meeting with our Junior Elite Squad. When we started the session, I had everyone sit down at a table and think about a typical practice session they had during the summer. With the "Deer in the Headlights" staring back at me, I pushed a bit more. I wanted them to tell me (1) How often per week / month do you practice (2) How do you practice (3) What do you normally practice and (4) How do you know what to practice? WOW! Crickets could be heard within a hundred miles. Huh? Whattaya mean HOW or WHAT we practice? That was the typical response. I then took a step and asked "Do you SCHEDULE your practice in advance? This is where I almost LOST my squad. Here we are, suppose to be "Elite Junior Golfers," with handicaps ranging from 0-12, and no one had an idea on applying/learning information to becoming a better player. (BTW, learning these techniques on the golf course will help you become anything you want in LIFE too).
So to get the conversation going, I asked my best player to tell me what he does. His response was, "I don't really schedule my practice. I go off of how I am feeling instead." He continued, "I am committed to becoming a good player. On the range, I warm up with a few short irons and then hit for an hour or so. I finish up with a drill where I curve the ball." He said, I believe in hitting LOTS of balls to groove my swing. He continued to tell me that is how Vijay Singh practices...ball after ball after ball. According to Guadagnoli, Vijay is one of the hardest working guys on the PGA Tour. But does that mean he hits ball after ball using the "Drag and Hit" method? I would venture a guess and say NO. Vijay may be working hours on the range, but his method is more QUALITY than quantity. The number of balls Vijay hits is not as important as understanding the whys/hows/whens to hitting different shots. Vijay has a hitting station with clubs on the ground to understand his alignment and ball position. He takes his time after every shot to think about what has happened and lets the shot SINK into his mind. I would imagine that Vijay, being the ultimate role model for practice, is MENTALLY tired after a practice session. Are you?
Often times we have the preception that the number of balls hit or number of putts stroked the same way at a hole is the most important. This type of practice is called repetitive or mass practice. It is how most people practice, because there is an idea of "the more balls, the more I will teach my muscles to remember." Mark talks about this in great detail in his book. Our brains are wired to take in and then forget information. For example, think about the last time you were on vacation and wanted to order a pizza. You looked in the Yellow Pages or internet, and found the number to the pizzeria. You said the number several times to yourself so you wouldn't forget it and then dialed the number. One hour later, could you recall the number? Probably not. This is how most people practice golf. Practicing the same type of shot, to the same target with the same club without any regard for all the "hows/whys/whens." When it is time to recall that shot on the course, can you do it? If you are anything like the telephone number example, you have disgarded the information since your last practice session on the range. Repetitive practice with regard to learning is most often ineffective.
If repetitive practice is so ineffective what are some other strategies?
(1) Slow down your practice session to give yourself time to "soak it in."
(2) Schedule your practice so that you know in advance what to work on.
(3) Give yourself a goal for your practice session...the WHY are you doing this?
(4) Always set up a station with clubs on the ground showing alignment, ball position.
(5) Keep a Golf Improvement journal. Write in it after 5 shots. What is happening in your practice?
A typical 60 minute practice session might look like this:
5 minutes for warm up - your focus here is TEMPO. This is a session where repetitive practice is ok. The key is to focus on your speed and rhythm. Don't judge the results, just feel the beat.
20 minutes for discovery - Here, you are focusing on finding out what happens when you adjust different factors in your golf swing. For example, set up your station and hit 5 shots with normal ball position. Stop and think about what type of shot you hit. Now, move the ball 1inch forward (let's assume you are hitting a 6 iron). Hit 5 shots and take note to what happens. You are not judging your ability here. Then, move the ball back. Try aiming more left, more right, and so forth. Hit five shots with each adjustment, and write down in your journal what happens.
5 minute break for water, to clean your clubs and to think about the first 25 minutes of practice. How's it going? Write it down.
20 minutes for refinement - Let's say you want to "groove" your long irons. If you are a better player, your swing is probably more consistent, so you will want to hit less balls before change clubs (change the club and target after every 3 shots). With refinement (think Vijay), you (a) start every shot behind the ball and go through your routine. Take a practice swing, feel the move you want to feel, step forward and hit the shot. THE KEY IS WATCHING THE BALL LAND, ROLL, AND THEN YOU STOP TO THINK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED. This is vital. Describe to yourself everything about the shot from routine to roll. Repeat with 2 balls and change clubs. (b) play the course on the range. Change every shot and every situation. By starting over, you are forcing yourself to slow down, keep the same tempo and let the "learning" sink in.
7 minutes for Tempo. Again, repetitive practice is ok, because your focus is on the beat of the swing, not learning a particular move. Don't judge your result or ball flight here. Groove your Flow!
3 minutes to summarize this range session. Write down in your journal what happened, tempo, shots, everything.
There you have it. Inspiration from Mark Guadagnoli's book Practice to Learn, Play to Win.
Regards,
Steven
Monday, February 7, 2011
Junior Golf Monkey See, Monkey Do...
Today was my son's last ski practice. I can't help but being impressed with how much he has learned within the last 5 weeks. Being a Junior Golf Coach myself, I am also impressed with the quality of instruction, coming mostly from parents.
Taking a "Monkey See, Monkey Do" approach, the parents would take the kids to the top of the hill. There are 4 parents in the group of about 20 kids. One parent skis down to a designated stopping point and shows the kids the technique. One by one the kids followed down, some falling, some not. The the other parents followed in the same pattern until all had gotten down the hill. They showed how to turn and little techniques to the keep the kids upright. Otherwise, I think the kids figured alot out on their own. As they continued time after time going up the hill and more or less performing the same routines with the parents, it was amazing to see the development of skill from week to week.
I started comparing and thinking how this could relate to golf. I teach the kids developmental skills in all areas of golf. We build upon previous skills and move forward. But, there was something about this parental approach (monkey see, monkey do) that was intriguing, and very effective. So it begs the question. Are we making jr golf development too difficult? Are we trying to be too cute and creative? Could parents be better junior development coaches than pros?
Think about how you teach juniors. Do you show them and then let them go off to figure bits and pieces on their own? Do you teach them step by step the ins and outs to various golf techniques?
Leave a comment if you are interested in this topic. Thanks.
Steven
Taking a "Monkey See, Monkey Do" approach, the parents would take the kids to the top of the hill. There are 4 parents in the group of about 20 kids. One parent skis down to a designated stopping point and shows the kids the technique. One by one the kids followed down, some falling, some not. The the other parents followed in the same pattern until all had gotten down the hill. They showed how to turn and little techniques to the keep the kids upright. Otherwise, I think the kids figured alot out on their own. As they continued time after time going up the hill and more or less performing the same routines with the parents, it was amazing to see the development of skill from week to week.
I started comparing and thinking how this could relate to golf. I teach the kids developmental skills in all areas of golf. We build upon previous skills and move forward. But, there was something about this parental approach (monkey see, monkey do) that was intriguing, and very effective. So it begs the question. Are we making jr golf development too difficult? Are we trying to be too cute and creative? Could parents be better junior development coaches than pros?
Think about how you teach juniors. Do you show them and then let them go off to figure bits and pieces on their own? Do you teach them step by step the ins and outs to various golf techniques?
Leave a comment if you are interested in this topic. Thanks.
Steven
Thursday, February 3, 2011
How's your environment
So you say you are not getting any better? You have taken lots of golf lessons and don't feel as though you are applying any of the fundamentals. You start to wonder if it is worth all the money for lessons when you don't see the results. Does this sound familiar? If so, you might look at your environment. I come across golfers all the time who claim the above and more. There is no time for practice and when they do have time, they want to play. The results are often a little worse than expectations, and there is no real development of golf going on here. So what do you? My answer..."Change your Environment."
There have been many studies that have shown how environment affects people beyond belief. For example, I lived in America for 29years...had a certain individual way of thinking...definitely a more conservative way about me. I now live in Sweden (5 yrs), think more about the community as a whole and have become definitely more liberal (with my clothing, thinking). The environment changed and so am I adapting with it.
Look at your golf environment. Who do you play with? Who do you practice with? Where do you practice? Where do you play? Does your family support your free time? Do you allocate resources for better results? If you are like most people, you probably practice with the same people doing the same things and probably expecting different results. What did Einstein say about insanity?
To change your environment, I want you to try a few things:
(1) Practice. This is a pretty big deal for improvement, but most people do it incorrectly. (1a) Think about where you normally practice, and then give yourself a break from that place. If it is the range, then stay away from the range for this time. (1b) Think about WHAT you normally do when you practice and do the opposite. If you bang balls on the range, then stay away from that for 2 weeks. You could maybe go out to the golf course with 3 or 4 balls and play shots from different spots or situations. (1c)Think about HOW you normally think when you practice, and change your expectations. For example, you could focus your time on creating a good tempo or practice HOW TO AIM. Make it simple from the beginning so that you can build momentum to change your environment.
(2) Play. Who do you play with? Make an effort to play with different people. Sometimes, when a player is "comfortable" with his/her group, it can be easy to lose focus or concentration and just do the same thing over and over. With new people or (even a different course), there is a requirement to focus more on your game. Often with this type of focus comes a new understanding about parts of your game.
(3) Think. Try and think differently. It is not enough to think of yourself as a 10 handicapper if you are at 18, but thinking about developing as a golfer will often times open your mind to the possibilities of becoming better. Think about where you want to go and knowing that golf is a lifetime process, your thoughts will lead you to change your environment. Don't accept the "Water-Cooler approach" of pissing and moaning about the lack of get better! Do something about it and start thinking differently.
If you truly want to get better, look first at your environment and see if it supports your development. If not, change it!
Steven
There have been many studies that have shown how environment affects people beyond belief. For example, I lived in America for 29years...had a certain individual way of thinking...definitely a more conservative way about me. I now live in Sweden (5 yrs), think more about the community as a whole and have become definitely more liberal (with my clothing, thinking). The environment changed and so am I adapting with it.
Look at your golf environment. Who do you play with? Who do you practice with? Where do you practice? Where do you play? Does your family support your free time? Do you allocate resources for better results? If you are like most people, you probably practice with the same people doing the same things and probably expecting different results. What did Einstein say about insanity?
To change your environment, I want you to try a few things:
(1) Practice. This is a pretty big deal for improvement, but most people do it incorrectly. (1a) Think about where you normally practice, and then give yourself a break from that place. If it is the range, then stay away from the range for this time. (1b) Think about WHAT you normally do when you practice and do the opposite. If you bang balls on the range, then stay away from that for 2 weeks. You could maybe go out to the golf course with 3 or 4 balls and play shots from different spots or situations. (1c)Think about HOW you normally think when you practice, and change your expectations. For example, you could focus your time on creating a good tempo or practice HOW TO AIM. Make it simple from the beginning so that you can build momentum to change your environment.
(2) Play. Who do you play with? Make an effort to play with different people. Sometimes, when a player is "comfortable" with his/her group, it can be easy to lose focus or concentration and just do the same thing over and over. With new people or (even a different course), there is a requirement to focus more on your game. Often with this type of focus comes a new understanding about parts of your game.
(3) Think. Try and think differently. It is not enough to think of yourself as a 10 handicapper if you are at 18, but thinking about developing as a golfer will often times open your mind to the possibilities of becoming better. Think about where you want to go and knowing that golf is a lifetime process, your thoughts will lead you to change your environment. Don't accept the "Water-Cooler approach" of pissing and moaning about the lack of get better! Do something about it and start thinking differently.
If you truly want to get better, look first at your environment and see if it supports your development. If not, change it!
Steven
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