Week 52: A year on.....

Convenient fiction!

Feels

Reflecting on a year of sharing my golf journey and learning out loud, it's clear: I've had an incredible time. I have developed some great relationships on the way. We’re close to 1000 regular readers now and the blogs have been read almost 25,000 times. I’ve had support from all angles and an incredible amount of messages and positivity from those engaging with the blog!

This leads me to express my deep gratitude to everyone who reads, shares, comments on, and supports my blog—thank you!

Learning out loud presents a unique and challenging set of experiences. It feels like I have been writing a weekly story about how hard I have been failing. Its a little embarrassing at times! I have learnt to enjoy the odd successful ‘week’ knowing it is part of a bigger picture.

It is also immensely enriching at times and has helped me to cut through my own bullshit and weed out some thoughts and actions that are holding me back. A year of weekly writing has made me keenly aware of the narratives I've crafted for myself... most of which are convenient fiction. On reflection, many of these stories are to protect my ego, some to remain humble and others to keep me moving forward.

In the upcoming year, I'm committed to sharpening my focus on what truly 'makes the boat go faster' and what doesn't.

By the way, I've added a "Buy Me a Coffee" link if you feel generous and want to support my writing and endeavours. I love sipping coffee while penning down my thoughts, whether at cosy coffee shops or just pondering over a cup at home.

The Journey

I started back in late September 2022 with an outrageous plan, that included:

• Physical/Nutrition

• Psychological/Mental

• Technical

• Strategy

I optimistically believed I could plan and develop all aspects of my game with just 2-3 hours weekly! I WAS WRONG! I thought I could have some lessons, learn DECADE, learn how to train for Golf, learn strokes gained, then apply it all on the course to shoot low scores.

I overegged it but writing about my journey has enabled me to cut through the ideas that I initially believed. I sure it has helped a few of you to do the same.

My initial target was to get to a 5hc. Once I started lessons and understood how long learning new motor patterns could take and how complex it was to transfer to the course, this target swiftly became 7hc.

I started as a 10.9, swiftly went up to 11.9 and now sit at a 10.2 (via 9.6). On the surface, this may not seem like progress. However, when I think of the experience I have had, learning from coaching and all of the ‘practice’, I still feel as though I am moving in the right direction. Couple that with my 3 lowest ever rounds (non-counters) and it could have been much better. (My latest low round in a Stableford competition was a 74 and would have been a 2.2 differential.)

All that ‘work’ - minimal transfer

As I alluded to above, the feeling of progress is ‘limited’. Racking up hours at the driving range, reading and watching content to learn about my swing, studying stats and planning practice etc, has cost me a LOT of time and a fair bit of money.

The critical question now is: how will this translate to actual play on the course?

If I focus my attention on transferring my practice and physical work to the course, the results will follow. Some examples of ‘wasted time’:

a) reading ‘Learning to Optimise Movement’ by Rob Gray. (Just one of the books I have read on the ‘technical’ and nothing personal) A fantastic book, filled with theoretical and practical examples.. Building knowledge and understanding is great but how does that transfers to the course? Is this what is going to make me better right now?

It feels like convenient fiction to believe that it will move the needle for me!

b) block practice at the driving range. Dedicating a significant portion of my practice to repeatedly hitting the same shot over and over again with the same club, looking for that all important ‘consistency’. Is this what is going to make me better right now?

It feels like convenient fiction to believe that that will move the needle when i get on the course.

c) 2 billion reps of my takeaway. I understand that changing motor patterns takes time and reps. Lots of them! Getting the feel for a new move also would increase. However, how this transfers to the course, scoring and shot making, isn’t as clear to me in this part of my journey. Is this what is going to make me better right now?

It feels like convenient fiction to believe that that making sure my takeaway is in an ideal slot, is going to transfer to better scoring when it matters.

What will transfer and move the needle?

• Club face awareness and understanding the application of ball flight laws.

• Striking the middle of the face more often.

• Increasing distance potential.

• Playing more practice rounds with intent.

• Increasing variance and intent in practice.

• Submitting more scores and casual rounds.

Other things could move the needle for me including online lessons but this season, most, if not all, of my lessons will be on the course. I want to optimise my practice for transfer to the course and have lessons where I play.

Minimising inputs and JOMO

This has been the biggest thing for me this year! I started out as an enthusiastic and committed golfer, consuming so much content and trying to catch all. When things were challenging to understand I would often move on to something else and fill in the blanks with a story or procrastinate. This often didn’t give me time to benefit from the learning on offer! Moving froward, I am going to choose better things to procrastinate on rather than lots of things! Embracing the ‘Joy of Missing Out’ will be the bedrock to my decision making on new inputs this coming year.

So, the lingering question remains: What will truly improve my golf game?

Gallery