Mindset for golf

What type of mindset does it take to play golf well? What is mindset? In Carol Dweck's book, Mindset, Dweck names two disctinct mindsets, the FIXED mindset and the GROWTH mindset.

If you are a player with the FIXED mindset, you often times attach how smart or good you are with your results. You view these abilities and/or talents as "innate" and therefore cannot be changed. If you are this type of player, you might avoid challenges for they might "expose" any of your weaknesses. A golfer with the FIXED mindset might hop around from coach to coach or caddy to caddy looking for someone to stroke his/her ego. You are often looking for a quick fix. Sometimes you might get defensive and uninterested in anything long-term. You are looking for validation of your skills as a golfer because it also validates you as a person. You shoot a good round of golf and you are the life of the party...you shoot a bad round and LOOK OUT! Are you this type of player?

If you are a player with the GROWTH mindset, you accept failure as part of the process. You realize that your confidence or self worth as a player is not determined by one bad result. If you are this type of player, you seek new challenges to stretch your potential. You are not interested in "showing off" your skills, moreover you understand that learning new skills will only help you meet the challenges of a new round. You often times stick with ONE coach or caddy through thick and thin, because you know that with golf (and life) there will certainly be peaks and valleys. You see criticism as constructive and necessary in the learning process of your game. You do not need other people to validate your self worth as a golfer because the two are independent. You are often times a happier golfer (and person). Are you this type of player?

Which mindset is best to play golf? Which mindset is crucial when developing as a world-class player? Without knowing the players personally, look at the top 10 in the world and guess which mindset they might have: FIXED or GROWTH

1. Lee Westwood (Growth..222th in the world in 2001 to climb up to the top position)
2.Tiger Woods (Growth in golf...constantly chasing Nicklaus. Fixed in personal life? Perhaps?)
3.Martin Kaymer (Newcomer...Looks growth...time will tell?)
4.Phil Mickelson (Growth...How many would Phil have won without Tiger? Keeps on plugging)
5.Steve Stricker (Growth...Climbed back from 189th on the PGA Tour in 2003 to Nr.5 in 2010)
6.Jim Furyk (Growth...Never changed his swing even though it looked funny = US Open win)
7.Paul Casey (Growth..Looked over for the ryder cup and still continues to perform)
8.Luke Donald (Growth..Back from injuries, continues to grow as a player)
9.Graeme McDowell (Growth...US Open winner and Ryder Cup hero)
10.Rory McIlroy (Newcomer...somewhat...Growth. Confident enough to pick his home tour because of feels more comfortable. We'll see if he returns to the PGA Tour for the challenge)

If you see anything different here, I would love to hear it.

Keep on growing!!!! Steven

Junior Golf Development

Well, our club Tranås GK will be focusing more on junior golf development and recruitment for the upcoming season (2011). In addition to the Long Term Athletic Development plan that we started in 2009, we will be adding recruitment into the local primary schools as part of the development. Currently, we have between 75-85 juniors in training and with adding almost 90 hours in recruitment we will be meeting as many as 600 kids (many who have never touched a golf club). If we can get the kids to buy into our goals (1) Golf is Fun (2) Kids fit in at Tranås Golf Club (3) Kids are good it golf (4) Kids will meet their friends at the golf course (5) Golf feels good...we believe that we can create life-long golfers.

When the kids enter our program, they are assigned a "Hat Color." As they develop, the hat color and numbers will change and the kids move through 4 basic levels (a) Little Juniors (b) Beginner Golfers (c) Junior Golfers (d) Junior Champions.

Our program does not resemble the norm with kids lined up on the range wacking (or rolling) 7 irons off the tee. We have many stations and the kids move through each station in about 5 minutes or so. Check out a clip below:

Face and Path straight = Hook?

If you hit down on your irons with a square face and square path, you might wanna aim the direction of your swing left to hit the ball somewhat straight. This is, of course, an "over-simplification" of what goes on. For more in-depth, click here with Brian Manzella.

Steven

Great Advice

After Robert Garrigus won the PGA Tour's Children´s Miracle Network Classic at Disney, he said to Golf Channel's Tim Rosaforte "It's not how I play, it's how I act when I play." Great stuff!

Winter lesson

Improve your putting

Want to improve your putting this winter, check out some stats from the PGA Tour. Looks like they are getting better...

Save your Back!

For a golfer, lower back pain is common. According to the stability/mobility chain, the problem usually lies in the hips (moble) or the upper back (moble). If these do not work correctly, the lower back (stable) becomes moble. If the lower back becomes moble, you could experience pain. See your local TPI Golf Professional (or a doctor)to fix this problem.