Learn To Lean In & Love Change.

The unknown can be and is often a fear for many. The unknown brings anxiety, tension, and a sense that you have lost control.

Welcome to the world of golf...the land of unknowns. The course you play changes, your swing changes, your lie changes, your distance changes, the weather changes, how you feel changes, the list goes on and on. To begin to improve your game, you must first learn to endure change while falling in love with the process that is change. In this blog I'm going to lay out some simple yet crucial keys for you to speed up the progress train.

Key #1:

Measure your progress over time.

We've all had a personal best round and have thought, "I've really got this figured out!" The following day you feel like you've never held a club and you can't get the ball off the ground... THIS IS NORMAL.

Growth is not a linear process.

Growth comes with failure, which means on your journey to improvement, you will experience ups and downs. This graph is all up... this is not golf! You'll shoot a good score, and then a not ideal score. You'll have a good ballstriking day, followed by a not good ballstriking day. To measure your progress you must measure over a period of time and see whether your average is moving the direction you want. If you measure your progress off of one hole, one stretch of holes, or one round, your data will be skewed. My challenge to you is to work at your goal for one month. Work on improving one aspect of your game and measure it over the course of those 30 days. Create a plan, stick to it, know that the ups and downs are coming, but your plan holds true for that time period.

Key #2:

Patience Is Everything

Take a look at this graph... Which golfer would you rather be? Red? Blue?

Most would say Red as its the highest right now... however, look how fast the blue golfer progressed at the beginning! The red golfer went downhill from the start... Would you have enough patience to experience the ups and downs early of the red golfer? Be patient! Your next round could be the start of your progress skyrocketing! But you have to put in the work, and you have to believe you are capable of improving. We as players are all too often working on the right things... we just jump off the train too early! Stay patient. Work with a coach, they can help you make sure you are in fact working on the correct things. Building something great takes time, golf is a great game, but it takes time to develop.

Key #3:

Your Mind Controls Your Progress

Your beliefs can be the limiting ceiling on your progress or they can be the rock that shatters that ceiling. Belief in yourself is the spark that allows you to play limitless and free. We call this confidence as golfers. Everything you do should be designed to help you build your belief and reduce self doubt. This includes the way you speak to yourself, the way you practice, and the way you play.

Think about the opening play of a football game... we often see more handoffs than we do trick plays...Why? The trick play can ignite a spark unlike any other! If that same complex play goes wrong, it can also send your team into dismay and you feel defeated right from the start.

Should you rip driver on hole 1, a tight but drivable Par 4? That choice is yours, but whatever choice you make, be confident in it! You're the play caller. Whenever you choose to hit a shot, you must be willing to live with the best outcome, while also living with the worst. Read the room, and understand where you are mentally. Is this a safe shot or a hero shot? Is this the spark I need to ignite my round, or will hitting this shot send me into a downward spiral? Weigh your outcomes, play the percentages, and win the battle in your mind!

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Have a great week, and as always... #TrustTheProcess