The funny thing about the Golf Magazines that you read is that they give you all these tips – and because you trust all these great Instructors that have been built up by the golf media to be Guru’s – you try all their swing tips.

Because if that tip worked for Ernie Els – “it’s got to work for me. Right?”

Maybe…

So the swing guru is yet again going to tell you how to hit it “Longer and Straighter”. And considering that you’ve been reading that Golf Magazine for 5 or 6 years – you must’ve read at this point around 57 articles about hitting it “Longer and Straighter”. Which means considering that you’ve gotten “Longer and Straighter” every time you’ve read one of these articles, you’re now probably hitting the golf ball 340 yards and haven’t missed a fairway for two years.

Think about it – if all it took was to read an article a month – then go practice that tip for a month until the next “Longer and Straighter” tip came out – and then read that article about getting “Longer and Straighter” and practiced that until you received the next cover featuring a Guru posing with a “I’m a genius” smile on their face. You’d either be on a Professional Golf Tour, US Amateur Champion, or just bored with the game because it was too easy for you at this point.

You’ve spent so many hours reading these “Longer and Straighter” articles that you probably have enough knowledge to become a Golf Professional yourself. And you’ve hit so many golf balls using all this advice that you’re probably a single digit handicap by now.

No? Why not?

You would think that if you wanted to learn to play an instrument like a piano – you could go get a few lessons from a Piano Instructor – and you’d steadily improve. And if you then subscribed to Piano Digest and received a new magazine every month that proclaims “Hit Your Keys With The Precision Of Billy Joel” – that you should be able to at least be able to have people recognize the opening of “The Piano Man”.

So why is it not that way with golf? And don’t give me – “Well Marc, golf is completely different. It’s so much harder than anything else. You can’t compare the two.”

Well, why not? They’re both motor skills that require patience and practice. Both are done for enjoyment. And both you can never master. So why do people learning piano improve faster and acknowledge their improvement more often than Golfers do?

The truth is that the majority of Golf Instruction Tips you’re reading are based on selling magazines. Can you believe that? Yes, it’s not about putting out stuff that’s based on Results – it’s based on coming up with a gimmick that will get you excited each month by giving you some sexy tip that you’re going to eat up.

And there’s nothing sexier to a Golfer than “Longer and Straighter”.

Seriously – how many strokes have you improved since you started reading any of those Golf Magazines? And if you’re like 20% of the Golfers I’ve met, the answer is minimal. But if you’re like 79% of the Golfers I’ve met, the answer is that they actually started hitting the golf ball worse after trying a Golf Tip.

And it’s funny because this same Golfer that starts to hit the golf ball worse after trying a tip from a Golf Magazine will anxiously await the next month’s issue so that they can try the next tip. Why? Because – “I know I’m just one tip away from putting my swing together.”

How many times have you said that?

Yet, there are many Golfers that will say – “yeah, but you’ve got to get worse before you get better!” And that might be one of the stupidest comments ever made by a Golfer. For example – would you ever send your 16 year-old son or daughter to Driving School (to learn to drive a car) that advertised that “they’ll probably get worse at Driving before they get better”?

We’ll have to talk more about that stupid phrase and how it’s probably hurting your progress in one of the next few Golf Improvement Weekly’s. But, until then – start thinking about how much progress you’ve seen in the last year and if there’s been any Golf Tips that you’ve read that has helped you improve more than a few strokes.

The Monkey continues to struggle and get frustrated going from “Longer and Straighter” Tip to “Longer and Straighter” Tip

The Player just continues to “Tick Tock”

Go Ahead, Be A Player!

Regards, Marc Solomon -Your Instructor For Life