I recently observed a situation you mightl be surprised to hear. In fact, many of you may not believe this story at all.
On the golf course the other day, I was watching a mid 90’s to mid 100’s Golfer play a few holes. On the 1st hole (a Par 4), this Golfer was on the green in 3 shots and then 3 putted for a 6. On the 2nd hole (a Par 4), was on in 2 shots and 3 putted for a 5. On the 3rd hole (a Par 3), was on in 1 shot and 3 putted for a 4.
So after 3 holes, this Golfer looked at no one in particular and said – “I’m playing so bad. I can’t believe how bad I’m hitting the golf ball today!” To which someone in the group looked at this Golfer and said – “You’ve hit 2 out of the first 3 Greens in Regulation. Why do you feel that you’re hitting the golf ball so bad?”
“Because I’m 4 over par after 3 holes and I’m not hitting the ball well!” Which had everybody in shock since nobody else had hit 2 Greens in Regulation and if this Golfer didn’t 3 putt 3 holes in a row, this Golfer would be only 1 over par.
Now stay with me for two more holes –
On the 4th hole (a par 4), was on in 2 shots and two putted for 4 and then on the 5th (a par 4 and one of the toughest holes on the golf course), was on in 2 shots and 2 putted for a 4.
After that par on the 5th – someone said to this Golfer: “Hey, you’re hitting the ball great. You’ve hit the last 4 Greens in Regulation including this past hole, where you made par on the hardest hole on the golf course. If your putting was a little better on the first 3 holes, your score would reflect how well you’re hitting the golf ball!”
The Golfer responded by saying – “I hit the ball like this often. I’ll play 4 or 5 good holes and then all of a sudden I just lose it. I start to hit bad shots for no reason!”
And then, just like this Golfer was trying to prove a point – this Golfer hit a Drive on the 6th hole with one of the biggest, ugliest slices I’ve ever seen. Then the Golfer looked at the other Golfers as if to say – “Just like I told you!”
The Golfer ended up making a 9 on the Par 5 number 6 hole.
Believe it or not!
As unbelievable as it may seem, this really did happen. I witnessed it with my own eyes!
Why is it that many Golfers are reluctant to give themselves credit when they’re playing well? I’ve seen this happen a countless number of times. It’s like some Golfers don’t want to see themselves get better. It’s like some Golfers are happy and content in a weird kind of way to not allow themselves to get to the next level. Maybe you’ve experienced this situation yourself?
Many Golfers unfortunately believe that “Better is not good enough!” Their expectations are so out of whack based on the scores they see the Professionals on television scoring week after week. And because these Golfers feel that they’re still scoring in the 100’s or 90’s or 80’s and not in the 70’s or 60’ s– you feel as if you’re not a very good Golfer, even though you might’ve improved dramatically over the previous 12 months. Base your improvement on where you were 12 months ago – don’t judge your game based on where Tiger or Annika are today!
Here’s another Believe it or Not!
A Golfer that used to score well above 100, just wrote to say that they’re recent scores have been 94, 101, 100 and 92. But, followed up these scores by saying – “so obviously the news is not very good.”
This goes back to the point of – “Better is not good enough!” This Golfer’s expectations are not realistic if improving their worst score by 20 strokes and their best score by 16 strokes in less than a year is not good enough. Based on the 4 scores above having an average of 96 versus having approximately an average score of 112 a year ago – for some reason, these scores aren’t good enough for this Golfer.
Yet, this isn’t an isolated case!
We see and hear of this often.
And I believe this is an important topic for you to pay attention to, since if your expectations aren’t set correctly – you won’t allow your swing to improve. If you don’t believe that improving 20 strokes isn’t good enough and that you’re not making improvements fast enough – then you’re likely to start searching for answers to “fix” your golf swing. And in the world of Golf Made Simple, that’s called “Fiddling!”
The more you “Fiddle” – the more you struggle! It’s the same with the Golfer I wrote about, about 900 words ago. This 95 to 105 Golfer hit 4 out of the first 5 Greens in Regulation and wasn’t happy about it. And then sabotaged his own game to prove to the others in the group that he wasn’t playing well enough! It was as if this Golfer needed to prove, not just to the other Golfers, but to himself that his swing wasn’t good enough.
My belief is that until these two Golfers (and the 1,000’s of other frustrated Golfers out there) can find someone to help them understand what their expectations should be for the next year and then the year after that and so on – that we’ll unfortunately see Golfers that have the talent to play better Golf – continue to struggle with their games.
Realistically Managing your Expectations can help you to see improvement in your golf swing and have more enjoyment on the golf course – Believe it or Not!
The Monkey never allows themselves to play better because of Unrealistic Expectations.
The Player, though never satisfied and always wanting to improve, acknowledges their achievements.
Go ahead be a Player!
Regards,
Marc Solomon – Your Instructor For Life www.default