One Putt - and it's a birdie!
Free Tips, No Fluff
Something I Learned On the Course Today
Today was another beautiful day to be on any golf course. It was particularly awesome to be on an immaculately kept private club with the amazing guys who play in the Bo White Memorial Summer League. As we near the end of our season, the competition for the Memorial Trophy is beginning to heat up. At this point I would say anyone currently in the top ten positions is in contention. The competition is serious, but also casual and always friendly.
A Positive Start
As always, it was my intention to play my best game this morning. And, as fate would have it, I struggled. Too many lost balls, and blow up holes to make the points I needed to increase my tenuous hold on third place. As I analyze what went wrong, I am coming to the conclusion it was primarily course management that got me in trouble at the start. Going for the hero shot instead of just punching out and accepting that one point for a bogey is better than a zero for having to pick up.
Problematic Pattern
I am starting to see another pattern that undermines my game. It has to do with confidence. When I hit the first ball straight an long on the first tee it boosts my confidence to hit the second shot with the same confidence. On the other hand if I happen to duff one off the tee, the second shot becomes less confident and the chances of hitting it fat or thin increases significantly.
Snowball Effect
The epiphany I had as a result of thinking this through today is that I believe my confidence level may well be related to my course management. Poor course management leads to taking more risky shots. More risky shots leads to more balls landing in trouble. More balls landing in trouble leads to taking even more risky shots to try to make up for the lost shots. So it has a snowball effect. Today I did not recognize that that snowball was beginning to roll soon enough in the round to break the pattern.
Roll that Snowball the Other Way
I am thinking it is more than just a matter of stopping the snowball of trouble from rooling me over. There are a few things I might be able to do to start that snowball rolling the other way. Instead of depleting my confidence, I need to find ways to build confidence. I suspect better course management may be the main key to turning that around.
A Few Ideas
Here are a few things I plan to do more intentionally next time I’m on the golf course. I need to make a point of taking time at the set up of each shot to identify where the trouble is. Too often I just aim at the pin and fire. I need to first visualize: where will I be if I come up short? where will I be if I thin it long? which way with the wind push it? Then, set up my aim where it is least likely to land in catastrophic trouble. So if there is water or thick trees on the left, it is better to be in the rough on the right than in the trouble on the left…so cheat my aim right.
Secondly, stop rushing my shots. I have a routine in my setup. When I don’t go through that routine, in increases the chance of taking it fat or thin, or shanking it off into a bunker. And finally, stop thinking about how many points I have – or points I need – and just focus on making this next shot the best possible shot.
