The purpose of this article (and others I will suggest later) is to help golfers understand why they aren’t enjoying the game as much as they used to, and how they can start to rediscover their love for the game.
In my years of helping golfers and players and coaches in other sports, one simple truth has come to be proved correct time after time:
When a human being is struggling, it is usually because they have a belief that isn’t true.
There are hundreds of confusing concepts and beliefs that many golfers adopt in the hope they will help them play their best golf more often. Unfortunately, these theories are common currency in the world of golf instruction. Golfers take them on board without questioning them. I will reveal some of the more unhelpful ones later.
The fewer of these beliefs you have about the game of golf, the easier and more enjoyable you will find it. Hopefully, after exploring a bit further you will have fewer of them and you will feel more comfortable in challenging the ones that remain.
My books, The Three Principles of Outstanding Golf and Take Relief question these myths and misunderstandings in more depth.
Are You ‘Working’ At Your Game?
If you are keen to enjoy your golf again, you are probably already doing many of the things you should be doing in order to get better.
Having some golf lessons. Working on your swing at the driving range. Practising your short game and putting. Thinking about decision making and course management and other aspects of your mental game, such as pre-shot routines or concentration.
This begs the question:
If you’re doing all the things that the experts say you should be doing, why is it so hard to get back to enjoying the game as you did when you fell in love with it?
Why is the average golf handicap still around 18. . .
Despite all the time, effort and money golfers spend on trying to improve?
Maybe we’re missing something?
By taking the time to read this article you have taken the first steps to finding out what that something is.
The Power of Simplicity
I know that some people will be surprised by the simplicity of what I’m suggesting. After all, if it were that easy, wouldn’t you have figured it out on your own by now?
I guess you can look at it in one of two ways.
You could be discouraged, even somewhat annoyed when you find out that much of what you have been told, or read about learning the game turns out not to be true.
This is quite common, because unfortunately many of the ideas and theories offered by golf psychologists and performance coaches are pointing in completely the wrong direction.
You might question the veracity of what I’m saying, or go off looking for research, or for more evidence before you accept or reject it.
Please pause for a moment before you do so. Other articles and essays that I will point you to will explain why learning to evaluate and then trust your own experiences, is often more helpful in the long run than depending on the experiences of other people.
What most golfers are looking for is hiding in plain sight!
Who Are You Going to Trust?
Most golfers innocently rely on the advice of others, rather than trusting their own instincts and intuition. For example, you believe the messages constantly put forward by the golf instruction industry that the only way to enjoy the game is to improve and get better than you are now.
This is despite the evidence of your own experience that you are a better golfer than you were when you started playing, yet you enjoyed it more then than you do now.
This overriding of your inner wisdom leads to frustration and a lack of enjoyment, the feeling that ‘it shouldn’t be this difficult’. Especially when you aren’t playing the golf you know you are capable of.
All of the things you are doing to improve might well be the right things to do. But there is a reason why they might not be working as well as you had hoped.
There will be beliefs that are getting in the way of you playing with freedom and realising your potential.
I hope these articles will help you start to explore those beliefs, and in doing so, see beyond and allow them to fall away. When you are ready, a conversation or discussion can accelerate and enhance the process.
Remember, every belief which you question, explore and discard is getting you back closer to enjoying the game again, and closer to you realising your true potential as a golfer.
If you have any questions or comments about what you have read here, please click the link below to book a discovery call where we can discuss your golf and help you get back on the path.
If you are ready to explore another belief, please follow one of the links below to go straight to the next article.
Summary:
When a human being is struggling, it is usually because they have a belief that isn’t true.
The first belief you can let go of is this: what you are looking for will be found in more knowledge and more information.
In fact, the opposite is true. Enjoyment will return when you start stripping away all superfluous concepts, theories and beliefs until only what is essential remains.
If you would like a guide to help you on this journey, I’d be only too happy to assist.
What would you like to learn about next?