Have You Ever Lost It On The Golf Course?
The answer is Optimism. The question – What does every round of golf start with? How many holes on the golf course does your optimism last? Can you make it past the 15th hole without losing some optimism? Ok, ok – can you make it past the 7th hole without losing some optimism about your game? How about the 3rd hole?
It’s infrequent when a Golfer can go more than 7 holes on a golf course without losing some optimism. Though, there’s no shame losing your optimism. Believe it or not – Golf can be frustrating!
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I see a lot of Golfers that start out fast on the golf course making a few pars and bogeys (maybe even a birdie) over the first few holes – then all of sudden this lose it. What happened? Where did your swing go? When is it going to come back?
Here’s an analogy –
Some of the most influential, successful people I’ve met through Golf Made Simple have been from the financial field – and me not being shy about asking for a stock tip, I ask for some advice every-once-in-a-while (hey, I’m allowed to ask – how many times a day do you think people ask me for Golf Tips?). And every successful financial person has said virtually the same statement – “Marc, investing is not a 100 yard dash. Investing is a marathon. The successful investor paces themselves. Over this marathon you’re going to have years where you lose money and years where you’re going to make money. Yet, the key is what you have when the money is counted in the long run. The 100 yard dash investor is the one that suffers the most losses.”
And that same analogy could be used for Golf. 18 holes is a marathon. You’re going to go through every emotion available to you over those 18 holes. Yet, for some Golfers, when they lose that initial dose of optimism somewhere around hole #5 – it stays lost!
The successful Player knows that it’s to be expected to lose some of their optimism – though they also know that it can be found again. They know they’re going to hit 2 or 3 bad Drives into the trees during their 18 holes. And they know that they’re going to doubt their swing on their next tee shot. And they know they’re going to fret about their ability to make a 7 foot putt for par after they 3 putted their last 2 holes. And they know that 18 holes of Golf is a marathon. You’re out there for 4 to 5 hours – if your optimism fades after 1 hour – don’t convince yourself that it’s not going to come back over the next 3 hours.
90% of Golfers can make 3 double bogies in a row along with a quadruple bogey somewhere along the way and still shoot their best score ever for 18 holes of golf. Though, so many Golfers believe that after their second double bogey that “that’s it, my score is ruined – there’s no reason to play anymore!”
And backing up what the successful financial professionals said about investing is a marathon – if you took all your money out of your investments in the Dow Industrials back in mid September 2001 because you lost optimism – what were you thinking? The Dow Industrial average is at its highest point ever.
18 holes on the golf course is not a sprint. It’s a marathon. And during this marathon you’re going to stumble every-once-in-a-while; you might even trip and fall on your face a couple of times. Though if you understand that even the best Players in the world do the same stumbling every round they play (except if they’re shooting 59), then you will allow yourself to make significant strides in your game.
The Monkey believes that once they lose it – it’s lost
The Player knows the Monkey thinks that way and uses it to their advantage to win more money on the golf course!
Go ahead, Be a Player!
Regards,
Marc Solomon – Your Instructor For Life