We can do this, New Year, New Goals 2021.

Over the last 4 months I have written a number of  articles with the purpose of encouraging you all  to find a life with golf.  Not only has it made me more passionate and understanding I hope I have connected with you and woken the golfer inside of you.

Summer is a great time to start to learn the game of golf.  Imagine this – an early morning tee time at your local golf club, perfect conditions, no wind, birds blissfully singing, fresh green fairways and a great excuse to catch up with friends.  9 holes will only take you 2 hours, perfect for a yummy brunch & latte before heading home.  The same goes for early evenings, 9 holes on a perfect twilight event with a casual bite to eat.

Many of you may have taken beginner clinics and are now needing the encouragement to take it to the next step, here are some ideas below that may trigger you to get it happening.

FIND YOUR FAVOURITE PRACTICE RANGE

Find your closest driving range where you can turn up anytime of the day.  This is a place where you don’t have to rely on anyone to play with, it takes no time at all to hit a bucket of balls.  Practice in a comfortable setting means more practice, which leads to more good golf, which leads to more golf.  Many ranges are open until 10pm, go alone, meet a friend or go with a partner. 

BUY IN BULK

Many public courses offer green fees at discounted rates when you buy packages of 10, 15 or 20 rounds. You’ll be motivated not to let any go to waste.

PLAY PAR 3 COURSES

You’ll be surprised how quick and easy it is to get around a par 3 course. Usually not too busy and can play with your kids.

HOLIDAY GOLF

Wherever you are on the Victorian coast line there are so many options to play golf.  Before you head away google your holiday destination for public golf courses, throw in 3 or 4 clubs, golf glove, tees, a small bag of balls and some sensible shoes. (throw in a small club like a wedge so you can take one of the kids :))

PLAY WITH YOUR PARTNER

Stop negotiating; make the game something you both look forward to. Nine holes and dinner is a great date night.

GOLF & FITNESS GOALS

Over the last 6 months I have made a concerted effort on fitness & strength, all for golf.  I needed motivation to get started and I find it so much easier when I have a reason and a goal.  If your New Year’s resolution is to gain overall fitness, achieve it the fun way by playing as much golf (walking) as you can. Improve your strength ( see past blogs ).

TAKE A FRIEND

Start with the range and then move to nine holes. Be patient, complementary, and give him or her enough encouragement to enjoy the round. Golfing life is going to be really fun once they’re hooked.

PACK GOLF SHOES IN LUGGAGE

Flying with clubs isn’t always prudent, but you can still allow for the possibility of renting a set if the opportunity presents itself on a business trip or holiday.

BUY A NEW GOLF TOY

Purchasing an expensive item, like a laser range finder, golfing outfit or a new driver, will make you justify it by playing more.

MAKE COMMITMENTS

At the beginning of the season, schedule rounds with all the people you meant to play golf with last year but never got around to. When an event is on a calendar, it’s more likely to happen.

WATCH LESS TV

Did you spend the week staring at the screen of your television, computer or phone? When the weekend comes, you can stare at another one watching the game, or you can get outside and tee it up.

PLAY TWO BALLS

Only time for nine? Playing two balls is equivalent to a full round, taking slightly more than half the time. Totally cool, provided you’re not holding up the group behind.

IT DOESN’T NEED TO BE NINE

If I spend some time on the chipping green I might take the opportunity of playing 3 or 4 holes if the course allows.  Most courses have a loop of six, five or even four holes that return to the clubhouse.  An easier experience if you’re fortunate enough to be a member of a private club, but sacrificing some economic utility from your green fee is still better than nothing.

GET SOFT

Foam practice balls curve like real balls and open up new areas to play (back yards, parks, athletic grounds, etc.) without fear of a lawsuit.  Throw some in the Xmas bag!

TAKE PLAYING LESSONS

I’ve had a few on course playing lessons and they are a fantastic way to take a lesson.  A teaching pro is able to get a real insight into your game when you’re standing up on the tee, feeling pressure of hitting the fairway is a completely different scenario from the freedom of the range.  You can also discuss course management & club choice which is an important part of the round.

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We all know the importance of communication in building healthy relationships with our friends and family, but what about in building a healthy relationship with ourselves? It’s ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL to building a healthy relationship with ourselves.

Working with golfers and elite athletes over the past 15yrs, I closely monitor their language patterns and the way they communicate to themselves, it’s very easy to see that a high percentage of these golfers/athletes are building unproductive relationships with themselves, which can cause a lack of belief and trust on Game Day.

For example, if you came home and said the following to your partner or family members “Honey, I Love You BUT………..” As soon as you say the BUT, they completely forget about the love. They not only forget about the “I Love You” part, they also lose the feeling of LOVE they might have felt when you said “I Love You”!

When I work with athletes, I hear these types of language patterns after a high percentage of performances. Lets look at an elite golfer for example, they execute a really solid shot and begin to go through the following language patterns “Pretty nice shot, BUT its a little left!” or “Pretty nice shot, BUT its a bit short”! The impact this has on our mind and the memory our mind stores of this performance is that we hit it a little left or we hit it a bit short. As I am sure you are aware, this is not a productive memory for our mind to store and this is after good quality shots or performances!

Elite golfers and athletes are extremely hard on themselves, so its rare they are completely happy with a performance and there is no BUT attached to their performances. Many athletes having perfectionist personality traits that only amplify this pattern, which can trigger a large amount of unproductive memories to be stored in their sub-conscious minds.

What about the language patterns we go through for our poor shots? This type of communication can store highly negative memories in our sub-conscious mind that can trigger self sabotage in competitive situations, as these types of language patterns in grain a lack of trust and belief in ourselves to perform to the level we know you can!

It is commonly understood that as humans, we attach to the negative a lot more than the positives so a great way to manage this inherent weakness is to say the negative before the positive, or a process I call “FLIP IT”! Flipping where we place the negative and positive in relation to the word BUT has enormous impact on what our minds hold onto. For example, “That shot was a little left, BUT I struck it well” or “That shot was a little left, BUT my commitment to the shot was fantastic”!

The reason flipping the positive and negative’s around to have the positive come after the BUT, is the mind has a tendency to forget what was put before the BUT, and holds onto the information after the BUT. The other productive element of this process is that in time, you will skip the information before the BUT and just go straight to the information after the BUT. Having the positive after the BUT puts you in a position to store better quality memories of your performances in your sub-conscious mind and in turn, help you to stay in a better state of mind through out your performances!