Is HEART coachable?

I posted this question on Facebook a few days ago after hearing on Golf Channel how much HEART Keegan Bradley has. Not to say most PGA Tour players don't have heart, but there is something "extra" about Keegan.

I knew him as a junior golfer, while I was working at Framingham CC (outside of Boston) and Keegan's father Mark was a professional at Hopkinton CC. The thing that struck me most about Keegan was his enthusiasm and excitement for wanting to play. He would always play with Jon Curran, Brian Accorsini and Scott Accorsini. His energy for the game was then and is now infectious. You can even see his energy before every shot as he gets ready. As one commentator put it, he looks like a High Jumper ready to explode!

So what is Heart and is it coachable? Heart is having the ability to dig deep and get the job done even if your chips are down. Heart is going the extra mile and pushing yourself back into the game. Heart is going beyond the expectations of others.

So is HEART Coachable? I would say yes. Let's look at HEART from a motivation point of view. There are two basic types of Motivation, Intrinsic and Extrinsic.

Intrinsic motivation are your own reasons for doing something. Maybe you want to challenge yourself, continue to get better everyday or get stronger. This person asks the daily question, "What can I do today to get better and closer toward my goal."

Extrinsic motivation are rewards for doing something. Maybe your coach gives you a reward when playing in a tournament or your parents reward you when you practice. This type of motivation comes from other people and not for your own reasons. It can be challenging to "go the extra mile" if you are motivated from someone else.

Not to say that extrinsic motivation is not motivating, it is, but when motivation comes from the individual and not someone else, this could be a pre-curser to HEART.

So how does one learn to have more HEART? Start with all the things you LOVE about your sport. If we use golf in this example, I would say that I love hitting the ball solidly; I love the high flop that drops and stops on the green; I love the comradery when playing with my friends; I love travelling to new places and experiencing their links; I love the nervous feeling I have when stepping up to the first tee; I love the feel of pulling off the impossible recovery shot, etc....I could go on and on. These reasons for loving golf build a pretty powerful belief that golf is fun and a sport that I want to excel at. All the reasons listed give me that intrinsic motivation to want to be the best that I can and never give up on myself.

There is certainly NO formula for coaching someone to have more HEART, but I thought it was an interesting question. I would love to hear your feedback on this topic. Thanks for reading.

Steven

Improve your golf results without changing your technique?

Yes!

If you are like the majority of the golfing population, you expect to see an improvement in your golf score when taking a lesson. The average golf lesson might look like this: You meet your professional, he asks you to hit a few 7 irons (in which he films). Together you look at your swing (compared to Rory McIlroy or Adam Scott) and your pro makes a few suggestions. You might work on this information during the last part of the lesson and conclude with the pro telling you to practice until you meet again. So the question comes up. Does the change in your swing technique mean that you will always improve your golf scores? No.

Too often doing NOTHING will help the golfer more than the "Secret" received in the lesson. However, through proper practice of your current technique, I would suggest that you will improve! Here are a couple of practice games / exercises that will help you UNDERSTAND your swing technique and how you might use it best.

(1) Stock Shot! Don't be misinformed that you HAVE to hit a draw to play good golf. There are many professionals that play a FADE, but the key here is having a consistent shot. All too often, we try and FIX the slice or hook on the course rather than adjusting our aim and playing for the curve. The point is to have a shot that starts and curves the same way everytime.

Stock Shot Game: Pick out 3 targets on the range (1 Long, 1 medium, 1 short). You will be hitting 9 shots into these 3 targets (3 to each), and you will do this by changing the target and changing the club after every shot. Let's use the Right Hander FADE shot as an example to explain the scoring. You get 1pt if your ball starts left of the initial target line and 1 point if your ball fades back to the target. OUT OF BOUNDS is LEFT so if the ball does not fade back, you lose 1 point. There are a possible 18 points on these 9 shots.

(2) Awareness. Sometimes just paying attention to your technique will help you establish a checklist of what you are doing. Pay attention to Ball Position, Aim, and Balance.

Ball Position: There is no one correct ball position, only guidelines. The most important aspect of where the ball should sit is (a) it should be before the bottom of the swing for irons, hybrid and even your metalwood and (b) just after for your teed up driver. If you find that you hit the ground before the ball, then experiment with the ball further back. The KEY is finding what position works best and keep it there. Make it part of your routine to check the ball position before you hit the shot.

Aim: What do you aim at? If you FADE the ball, then your starting aim will be slightly left of the target (for a right-handed golfer). Visa Versa for a drawer of the ball. No matter what your ball curve preference, include aiming into your routine. If you have a difficult time aiming at the target, find a piece of grass or discoloration just in front of the ball that will be a bit easier to aim at. Get GOOD at aiming.

Balance: When I practice balance, I try and simulate how each club might produce a different balance. For example, my driver might produce more balance toward the trail side of my set up compared to a knock down shot that might produce more balance toward the front side of my set up. Try this game "7 iron Three Ways." Find a target on your range or even on the course. Hit 3 different shots with your 7iron (1 with your balance more left, 1 with your balance more centered, 1 with your balance more right). Pay Attention to the quality of the strike (ball/ground) and the different trajectories. You might stumble on something that works great!

(3) Understand your TEMPO. A big part of keeping the swing technique together is having a consistent tempo. Because everyone's tempo is different, here is an exercise to help you find yours. First, start with your MAX tempo (Swing out of your shoes to establish 100%). Understand this feeling (hopefully, this is not your normal tempo). Next, find your 50% swing. Compared to the 100%, this will feel like a chip shot. I still want you to swing fully, but only at half speed. Finally, find the middle of these two and call that 75-80%. If this feels too slow, then speed it up and call it 85% or so. Likewise, if this feels too fast. Understanding where your tempo is between MAX and HALF will help you when you feel the pressure getting to you.

I am certainly not suggesting that all golf instruction is bad, but nothing compares to you understanding your own game. No one professional can tell you what works best, and thus I would suggest that you could improve your golf results without changing your technique. But you do need to PAY ATTENTION to your technique.

Please leave a comment if you found this information useful or would like to know more. Cheers!

/ Steven