I’ve noticed two types of Golfers on the golf course – Winners and Whiners. Now there’s not much difference between the words if you look fast – the only difference is the ‘h’ in Whiner and an extra ‘n’ in Winner. What does the ‘h’ stand for?
It could stand for humility. Meaning, in order to play to your potential, you need to take the good with the bad. If you’re too worried what others might be thinking about you after a bad shot, or two or three – you might fall into the trap that many Whiners do. The Golfer often defends themselves by Whining about their golf game – “I usually hit my irons so much better than this. I’m not playing very well today. I usually play better than this.”
Everybody is going to have a round where they don’t hit their irons well. Or a round that they hit their Drived bad. Or putt bad. This is just part of the game of golf. Though more importantly – other Golfers don’t care if you’re hitting your Irons bad – they’re more concerned with their game and probably don’t want to hear your negative talk about your golf game.
A Whiner tells everybody about their problems on the golf course. And what often happens is that their problems get worse and worse as the round goes on. Almost as if they’re trying to convince themselves of the problem or prove it to the other Golfers they’re playing with.
A Winner just makes their PLAN and plays.
Perhaps the ‘h’ stands for humble. Because as soon as you think you got it and don’t make as thorough a PLAN as you need to make – boom: Triple Bogey, Double Bogey, Double Bogey. Seven over par in three holes.
You must never let your guard down to think – “oh, I just have an easy wedge to the green.” Because more times than not, you don’t make your best golf swing and the ball ends up in a tough spot around the green. Which often leads to the Triple Bogey that could’ve – no should’ve – been a Par or Birdie.
Often times we get on a good streak on the golf course where we start playing our best golf. The game seems easy. You start to hit your stride and play like you feel you should all the time. Birdie, Par, Par, Par – “I love this game!”
“Ok, I have 110 yards to the green. I can make Birdie here. The flags on the left side, there’s plenty of room on the right side of the green to get on safely and two putt for another par. No, I know I can get the ball closer to the hole to make Birdie.”
“Crap! I pulled it! In the left bunker.” Then after taking 2 shots to get out. The second of which rolled over the green. 1 shot to get on the green (that you hit slightly behind the ball) and 2 putts – your decision to go away from the PLAN that was working has cost you big time. What could’ve (or should’ve) had a 5 hole stretch of Birdie, Par, Par, Par, Par – which turned into Birdie, Par, Par, Par, Triple Bogey.
“Triple Bogey from 110 yards away. I can’t believe it. I stink!” Which may lead you into the aforementioned humility category above or the other ‘h’ below.
A Whiner forgets how hard they had to work for the easy Pars and Birdies. A Whiner abandons what has been working for them because they become greedy. As they say on Wall Street – ‘Pigs get slaughtered!’
The Winner just makes their PLAN and plays.
The ‘h’ could also represent hot – as in hothead. Have you ever gotten upset over one or two bad shots only to allow those one or two shots to get you in such a mental funk that you lose conscious thought over the next 3 holes because you’re so pissed at yourself?
I have witnessed this over and over on the golf course. Yes, everybody gets upset with themselves on the golf course. There’s nothing wrong with that. The so called Mental Guru’s that say that you shouldn’t get upset are pretty much idiots that are selling you on nonsense and are not living in reality.
It’s natural to get upset after a bad shot.
Though, the ‘hothead’ can’t let it go. After missing a putt on the 2nd hole, they carry over the frustration to the 3rd tee. Which contributes to a bad tee shot. Then the bad tee shot added to the missed putt is directly involved with the next bad swing – which contributes to another bad swing after that and the one after that and the one…
And for the next 6 holes, the ‘hothead’ collects Double and Triple Bogeys like my junk mail folder collects worthless emails.
A Whiner is always thinking about their last bad shot. Sometimes it seems that the hothead thrives on getting mad at themselves. Almost as if they’re out on the golf course more for the thrill of getting upset over their game – than for the actual enjoyment that golf can bring.
The Winner just makes a PLAN and plays.
How does one Golfer go from scoring in the 100’s to scoring in the 80’s within a year – while another Golfer stays stuck in the 100’s after 3 years? It could be the ‘h’.
Would you classify the Golfer that improved from well above Bogey Golf to well better than Bogey Golf as a Winner or a Whiner? It could be the ‘h’.
The good news is that the Whiner can turn into a Winner in a short period of time. It’s not easy – you really have to watch yourself because the old habits of the Whiner come back pretty fast if they’re not watched. All you have to do is take the 3 ‘h’s’ above out of your game and add the ‘n’.
What’s the ‘n’ stand for? ‘Nothing’. You really don’t have to do anything else besides getting rid of the ‘h’ to go from a Whiner to a Winner.
How about you? Are you a Winner or a Whiner?
The Monkey spends more time on the golf course whining about their golf game then they do making a PLAN for their golf game
The Player always seems to be winning in their effort to improve because they focus their energy towards making a PLAN
Go ahead, Be a Player!
Regards,
Marc Solomon – Your Instructor For Life