I’ve been threatening this for a while but wanted to spend some time to make sure what I was experiencing was not awash with emotion and had time to settle with me.
Falling into traps
Experiment - how little do you need to improve at golf (or at anything)?
List all of the products you have purchased or subscribed to, to improve your golf.
Give each one a rating of 1-10 on how well that product has ‘improved’ your golf.
Give each one another rating of 1-10 for how consistently you have applied that product to improve your golf.
Notice anything?
Foe me, it has very little to do with the quality of the product - I have purchased some incredible products that do some of the thinking for you but if you’re not consistently applying them, they are just another product on the shelf.
Just to confirm… I have engaged with several amazing products in the last year, that are solid value for money and applied consistently and correctly may move needles in the right direction. This reflection is very much questioning my approach and planning for the future.
I’m a hacker - my needle is shifting left and right, sometimes its stationary, sometime i think it may even be a knitting needle :-)
Almost everything is trial and error. Experienced coaches have vast knowledge of the golf swing and solutions to make some momentary changes but even those individuals are trialling ‘a’ solution, testing it and reviewing to see if it is moving the needle. Solutions aren’t fixed for everyone.
Golf improvement is thriving on products and continuous failed attempts, not on improvement.
“What is good is easy to get” - Epicurus
Questions I have been asking myself when planning my approach for the next 6 months;
Is learning the biomechanics and anatomical aspects of ground reaction forces going to move my needle? (Extraneous detail)
Do I need a strokes gained app to get better at golf?
Do I need a 10 week golf improvement course for £/$300 to get better at golf?
What are my ‘big’ pillars?
Where does ‘enjoyment’ intersect with ‘improvement’ for me?
Almost 1 year ago I embarked on a golf improvement journey. On the way, I have picked up some knowledge; some of which i have been able to apply, some of which I haven’t.
I have spent lots of my precious time and money on many things.
My consistency of approach, I would score as a 7/10.
My application of approach, I would score as a 6/10 (lots of learning and focus required here to improve).
I have my own improvements to make in terms of how I apply and learn!
What i would do differently if i was starting all over again?
What would be my ‘BIG’ pillars of improvement?
How stripped back would it look?
Tentative ‘Stripped Back’ Plan
Exercise - daily steps and resistance/strength training (cost associated)
Learning - ball flight laws (knowledge) practice hitting them (application)
Practice
monitor strike on the face (knowledge) practice moving strike (application)
hit off grass as much as possible including different lies
focus on my behaviours such as time between shots, pre and post evaluation, emotions and pressure
have fun playing games and scoring against objectives
Volume - increase total volume of balls across the week (time associated)
Last year I planned to attack all aspects of what I imagined better performance would look like. (revisit The Plan, my first ever post if you don’t believe me!)
I planned too much.
I gave myself too much to do.
Big question…
If I stripped away strokes gained, specific training programs, apps, books read, golf improvement tools such as tour balls, subscriptions and even lessons to a certain extent, could I have arrived at the end of the year in a similar position as I am now?
Question for you
Is there anything you can strip back to provide specific focus on your ‘big pillars’?
It’s like “looking in a mirror” reading your article. i have spent so much money on gadgets over the years and a lot of them didn’t make a huge change. My biggest improvement has been on 2 things:
1. analysing where i was dropping shots and put 90% of my practice into that area. 110 yards in was my weakness- i now spend 2 range sessions a week on aim, alignment and accuracy - trackman games are brilliant for this. when the weather improves, i will play 3 or 4 holes at my course, just playing the approach shots and putting. It’s working for me.
2. Mental side of the game - keeping balanced, stop mentally scoring and trying not to get ahead of myself. “protecting the ball” is my favourite game. Start the round with “1 ball only” and seeing how many holes you complete with only 1 ball. it really helps on course management and staying focused on your routines.
loving your content - are you on other
social media platforms as well?
Philosophically, the good thing is that you'll never know! Personally I'm very positive on the data side, the lessons side and being proactive as I think it makes a (big difference). You can step back from things and see where they lead, and it'll be good days and bad days, but it's whether you want to be where that is that counts most!