A few interesting posts from some of my readers; I really need to update my blogroll, but while I'm getting around to it, please have a look at:
John Graham's Golf Blog; never afraid to be gently controversial, he's a thinker who likes to back up his theories with science and statistics, something too few in golf are keen to do. He's a feel based coach, but he's fascinated by the science behind the feel leading him to be a very knowledgeable and expert coach. Have a look at his posts on AimPoint Golf (and also the D-plane if you're technically minded) He's been instrumental in my blogging, as he really picked up on my first few tentative tweets that I'd posted and encouraged me to continue. Indeed, he's frequently exhorting me to "keep up the good work". I never thought I could have a mentor that I'd never met and that lived in the States, but that's exactly what's happened. Have a look at a recent post from the AMF conference, and another on how he feels golf professionals can benefit from Social Media (first in a series).
He clearly has an eye for talent too (& no, I don't mean me) as his blog also hosts the inspirational and thought provoking writing of Andy Morrison, a former golfer who's career was cut short by injury, he's found a way to share his passion and expertise. Another man I've come to see as a mentor, he offers online coaching at an unbelievably low price. This is about to go up next week, so if you like what you read here, here and here* (and I think you might), get in touch with him now (info@progolfmindcoach.co.uk).
Michael Landgrebe of Confident Golf has also been very helpful. He doesn't seem to have content up at present, but I will keep you posted.
Don't forget 3 good shots for a daily email reminder of your best shots, and now a daily round up of golfing info.
Last, but by no means least, have a wee look at the blog of the Professional Sport Psychology Symposium, particularly this one on golf and how to practice for it.
*in case you're wondering, The Golf Geek has been certified Smiling Assassin Free.
Also, I make absolutely nothing from my reccomendations. The people mentioned above have been very encouraging and helpful but have NOT offered any financial support. This geek's goodwill can't be bought (not that anyone's tried ;-) so you can be confident that these reccomendations are genuine.
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Thursday 30 September 2010
Tuesday 28 September 2010
Passing time before you die?
Working, as I do, with older people, it's impossible to escape the truth: life has a beginning, a middle...and an end. Although we spend much of our time in denial, the reality is that our time on this planet is finite, and we can only be certain of this one chance.
Given this, it's odd that as a race we have perfected so many ways to pass time before the inevitable. You could even, if in a slightly darker mood put it even more strongly: we actively waste our limited time on activities that appear to serve no higher purpose. Both the Xbox and Playstation can be cited as cardinal examples of this type of activity.
So is golf merely a way of using up large amounts of our precious time?
Are we just developing skills that are largely useless off the course? That have as little purpose as knowing what button combination releases your character's signature move in any of the myriad of martial arts games available for the afore-mentioned consoles? Is there no difference in us firing up Tiger Woods 10 on the Wii and swinging in our living rooms?
I think not. There are clear fitness benefits and likely positive effects on both physical and mental health from walking round the course, but even putting these aside I feel golf can serve a higher purpose. I feel that the key to how worthwhile an activity can be deemed lies not in how well you develop your skills in that activity, but in what transferable skills you develop. What can you learn that will help you not only in what you're doing, but in the rest of your life. After all, isn't that why meditation is referred to as spiritual "practice"? My understanding (admittedly after only one meditation session) is that it's described as such because you are practicing mindfullness and awareness to help you deal with the trials, tribulations and stresses of everyday life.
This for me is where golf scores highly. There is only you, a club, a ball, the course and through that the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. No opponent is blocking your drives, no goalkeeper guarding the hole. Really, it's just us. And in how we deal with that, we can learn many things about ourselves. How we react to pressure, what we do when we get a bad bounce, how we deal with performing better or worse than we hoped or expected. Through this self discovery, we get the opportunity to either change how we react, or to minimise the effect of the reactions we can't change. And that sounds very much like through golf we can allow for ongoing self-discovery and personal growth. What purpose could be higher than that?
Another thing that comes from working with older people is the realisation that the stereotype of developing wisdom with age, the only really positive stereotype of ageing, is sadly just as misguided as all of the negative ones. However, if we embrace life-long learning and are lucky enough to live a long life with faculties largely intact, we will be truly wise. Mr Penick's books, including his "Little Red Book", are excellent examples of this. I think it's wonderful that golf can be part of the path to lifelong learning and thus wisdom. Care to take a few steps with me along this path?
Given this, it's odd that as a race we have perfected so many ways to pass time before the inevitable. You could even, if in a slightly darker mood put it even more strongly: we actively waste our limited time on activities that appear to serve no higher purpose. Both the Xbox and Playstation can be cited as cardinal examples of this type of activity.
So is golf merely a way of using up large amounts of our precious time?
Are we just developing skills that are largely useless off the course? That have as little purpose as knowing what button combination releases your character's signature move in any of the myriad of martial arts games available for the afore-mentioned consoles? Is there no difference in us firing up Tiger Woods 10 on the Wii and swinging in our living rooms?
I think not. There are clear fitness benefits and likely positive effects on both physical and mental health from walking round the course, but even putting these aside I feel golf can serve a higher purpose. I feel that the key to how worthwhile an activity can be deemed lies not in how well you develop your skills in that activity, but in what transferable skills you develop. What can you learn that will help you not only in what you're doing, but in the rest of your life. After all, isn't that why meditation is referred to as spiritual "practice"? My understanding (admittedly after only one meditation session) is that it's described as such because you are practicing mindfullness and awareness to help you deal with the trials, tribulations and stresses of everyday life.
This for me is where golf scores highly. There is only you, a club, a ball, the course and through that the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. No opponent is blocking your drives, no goalkeeper guarding the hole. Really, it's just us. And in how we deal with that, we can learn many things about ourselves. How we react to pressure, what we do when we get a bad bounce, how we deal with performing better or worse than we hoped or expected. Through this self discovery, we get the opportunity to either change how we react, or to minimise the effect of the reactions we can't change. And that sounds very much like through golf we can allow for ongoing self-discovery and personal growth. What purpose could be higher than that?
Another thing that comes from working with older people is the realisation that the stereotype of developing wisdom with age, the only really positive stereotype of ageing, is sadly just as misguided as all of the negative ones. However, if we embrace life-long learning and are lucky enough to live a long life with faculties largely intact, we will be truly wise. Mr Penick's books, including his "Little Red Book", are excellent examples of this. I think it's wonderful that golf can be part of the path to lifelong learning and thus wisdom. Care to take a few steps with me along this path?
Sunday 19 September 2010
A time to take stock...
As we near the end of the season, it's a time for many to take stock and consider their achievements over the summer. Those of us who endeavour to set clear goals have it easier here- if you know exactly what you wished to achieve, it's naturally far easier to see if you've done this, and what areas need more focus, than if you haven't clearly defined what you want.
As you know, most of my goals have been met; the main omission from this (breaking 90) is about outcomes rather than process, and as such would not now feature on my list of goals. It's also clearly "in the post" and thinking about breaking 90 is more likely to militate against it's occurrence, rather than facilitating a score in the 80's.
I would urge anyone in a similarly reflective mood to turn it toward their golf game. Take a full and frank inventory of your entire game, including but not limited to current abilities, your scores, and how you golf your ball. Be honest and kind, without being self deluding (the classic is for us weekend golfers to claim "my short game is excellent" when it's really not- perhaps because we remember only the last short game shot on any given hole, rather than all of them, 0r because we remember our 1 success not where we had difficulties). Accuracy is essential, so it may even be worth keeping stats for a few rounds to get any idea of any trends.
Once we've taken this inventory we can then ask ourselves the $64000 question:
"Given the state of my game as it currently is, and the time I have available to play and rehearse playing, what intervention(s) will have the biggest effect on how I play the game?"
or "If I were a pro, what else might I be trying to do to give myself an edge over the rest of the field?"
If we've done out inventory properly, the chances are that the answer we get will not involve a major overhaul of the manner in which we swing a club. For most of us, the answers will lie elsewhere. This became clear to me when I started playing competitive golf this year. Playing with 10-13 handicaps, I realised there was little to pick between their & my best swings. In some cases my best swings were substantially better than one or two 12 handicappers. What they did do was have fewer swings they were unhappy with, rarely followed a bad shot with a dumb one and had a short game way in excess of mine. Most of my practice time has thus been centred on scoring with attendant benefits to my game and scores.
The other thing that came out of my holistic inventory was the realisation that years of rugby in the tight 5 followed by a decidedly couch potato lifestyle for some years had left me very inflexible. I went to see a physio with extensive golf experience and I've not regretted that for a second. Put simply, the £30 I spent there led to what was by far and away the single biggest development of this season. And in a season where I discovered both Roseanna Leaton (look for Golfer Within mental skills toolkit) and Instinctive Golf, learned how to practice smart in a deep & deliberate fashion and also learned how to shape the ball, this is no mean claim. But, honestly, I could easily have spent £300 on traditional golf lessons without coming anywhere near seeing the same benefit in my game.
There may be things that you can improve with minimal effort that improve your game out of all proportion to the effort you've had to put in. An example of this is my change in breakfast habits if I'm playing a round; I fore go my sugary breakfast cereal for a big bowl of porridge and I've certainly noticed a difference in my energy level on the course. From observing my playing partners, on course nutrition is an area where many golfers could make improvements with little effort paying disproportionately large dividends. It's an area I plan to post a bit on, as there are many well-intentioned "nutritionists" involved in golf, who although meaning well often confuse the situation with information which has at best dubious scientific basis, despite starting with a seemingly logical premise. On course strategy and course management are other areas ripe for harvesting.
So have don't just give your game a cursory glance before setting the same goals down as last year ("fix my slice" "break 90" "don't embarrass myself in the club championship" etc- these are not the best type of goal anyway). Give your game a thorough and testing examination, peer into and clear out every metaphorical nook and cranny. Squeeze every last bit of performance out of your potential. Be the player that seems to win despite seeming less talented on paper than your opponents and fellow-competitors. Time is a commodity; if we manage it properly we can get more from our golf game and indeed our life. Average golf handicaps have not improved over the years despite all of the technological advances we've had in club and particularly ball technology. If we want to buck that trend, we need to start doing things differently. Take a long hard look at yourself and your game, and you might just find a way to feel, play and score better.
As you know, most of my goals have been met; the main omission from this (breaking 90) is about outcomes rather than process, and as such would not now feature on my list of goals. It's also clearly "in the post" and thinking about breaking 90 is more likely to militate against it's occurrence, rather than facilitating a score in the 80's.
I would urge anyone in a similarly reflective mood to turn it toward their golf game. Take a full and frank inventory of your entire game, including but not limited to current abilities, your scores, and how you golf your ball. Be honest and kind, without being self deluding (the classic is for us weekend golfers to claim "my short game is excellent" when it's really not- perhaps because we remember only the last short game shot on any given hole, rather than all of them, 0r because we remember our 1 success not where we had difficulties). Accuracy is essential, so it may even be worth keeping stats for a few rounds to get any idea of any trends.
Once we've taken this inventory we can then ask ourselves the $64000 question:
"Given the state of my game as it currently is, and the time I have available to play and rehearse playing, what intervention(s) will have the biggest effect on how I play the game?"
or "If I were a pro, what else might I be trying to do to give myself an edge over the rest of the field?"
If we've done out inventory properly, the chances are that the answer we get will not involve a major overhaul of the manner in which we swing a club. For most of us, the answers will lie elsewhere. This became clear to me when I started playing competitive golf this year. Playing with 10-13 handicaps, I realised there was little to pick between their & my best swings. In some cases my best swings were substantially better than one or two 12 handicappers. What they did do was have fewer swings they were unhappy with, rarely followed a bad shot with a dumb one and had a short game way in excess of mine. Most of my practice time has thus been centred on scoring with attendant benefits to my game and scores.
The other thing that came out of my holistic inventory was the realisation that years of rugby in the tight 5 followed by a decidedly couch potato lifestyle for some years had left me very inflexible. I went to see a physio with extensive golf experience and I've not regretted that for a second. Put simply, the £30 I spent there led to what was by far and away the single biggest development of this season. And in a season where I discovered both Roseanna Leaton (look for Golfer Within mental skills toolkit) and Instinctive Golf, learned how to practice smart in a deep & deliberate fashion and also learned how to shape the ball, this is no mean claim. But, honestly, I could easily have spent £300 on traditional golf lessons without coming anywhere near seeing the same benefit in my game.
There may be things that you can improve with minimal effort that improve your game out of all proportion to the effort you've had to put in. An example of this is my change in breakfast habits if I'm playing a round; I fore go my sugary breakfast cereal for a big bowl of porridge and I've certainly noticed a difference in my energy level on the course. From observing my playing partners, on course nutrition is an area where many golfers could make improvements with little effort paying disproportionately large dividends. It's an area I plan to post a bit on, as there are many well-intentioned "nutritionists" involved in golf, who although meaning well often confuse the situation with information which has at best dubious scientific basis, despite starting with a seemingly logical premise. On course strategy and course management are other areas ripe for harvesting.
So have don't just give your game a cursory glance before setting the same goals down as last year ("fix my slice" "break 90" "don't embarrass myself in the club championship" etc- these are not the best type of goal anyway). Give your game a thorough and testing examination, peer into and clear out every metaphorical nook and cranny. Squeeze every last bit of performance out of your potential. Be the player that seems to win despite seeming less talented on paper than your opponents and fellow-competitors. Time is a commodity; if we manage it properly we can get more from our golf game and indeed our life. Average golf handicaps have not improved over the years despite all of the technological advances we've had in club and particularly ball technology. If we want to buck that trend, we need to start doing things differently. Take a long hard look at yourself and your game, and you might just find a way to feel, play and score better.
Balance
I found myself taking a bit of a break this week for a number of reasons. We had friends staying over on Friday night, and I wasn't able to get a tee time after 12. I could have headed down to the first tee after they left, trying to squeeze in with a group from one of the 2 other clubs that play the course as anyone can sign a card, but I found myself ambivalent to this at best. I could have tried Keith, but the burning desire that's usually pushing me to play if at all possible just wasn't there. It's particularly unusual as not only was I working last weekend, I'm also working next weekend.
Perhaps, though, it's not that surprising. I've been thoroughly obsessed with golf for some time now, and I've achieved almost all of my season's goals. Given that, it's probably a natural time for a wee break. It'll let my desire build up again, give me some time at the range as I strive to squeeze in my golf "fix" & there's always the 6-hole course the odd night after work. I'm going to finish my current golf book, then perhaps read a couple of novels just for fun.
It won't be a complete break, as golf is too firmly embedded in my life for that to happen. I'll keep working on my putting & my chipping in the downstairs hall (the latter with Almost Golf balls, natch), keep doing my stretches and will continue to use my "Golfer Within" mental skills toolkit hypnosis/NLP before bed. What there will be is more balance. And that can't be a bad thing.
Perhaps, though, it's not that surprising. I've been thoroughly obsessed with golf for some time now, and I've achieved almost all of my season's goals. Given that, it's probably a natural time for a wee break. It'll let my desire build up again, give me some time at the range as I strive to squeeze in my golf "fix" & there's always the 6-hole course the odd night after work. I'm going to finish my current golf book, then perhaps read a couple of novels just for fun.
It won't be a complete break, as golf is too firmly embedded in my life for that to happen. I'll keep working on my putting & my chipping in the downstairs hall (the latter with Almost Golf balls, natch), keep doing my stretches and will continue to use my "Golfer Within" mental skills toolkit hypnosis/NLP before bed. What there will be is more balance. And that can't be a bad thing.
Thursday 16 September 2010
My motto is...
"Make my score the P-score/ I don't wants my card funked up
Make my score the P-score/ I don't wants my card funked up
When I golf, I want a P-score/ I don't wants my card funked up
Make my score the the P-score/ till that ball goes in the cup"
With Thanks to Parliament, George Clinton & all on the Mothership connection for that one. No doubt I'll be wandering around the course with that on my internal jukebox for the entire round but at least it should help keep me "on message", right?
Make my score the P-score/ I don't wants my card funked up
When I golf, I want a P-score/ I don't wants my card funked up
Make my score the the P-score/ till that ball goes in the cup"
With Thanks to Parliament, George Clinton & all on the Mothership connection for that one. No doubt I'll be wandering around the course with that on my internal jukebox for the entire round but at least it should help keep me "on message", right?
Wednesday 15 September 2010
An encouraging response
Apologies for not "blogging out" my reaction to my collapse over my final two holes from my previous round. As you know, it was my intention to do so but a couple of things prevented me. Firstly, as is so often the case, life just got in the way. I had a friend staying with us while he did an off-shore course, and I used the opportunity to talk about golf with a real live person late into the night, rather than telling all on here. Work also played a part as I had to work nights for a period. But most importantly, I realised what had gone wrong and it's something I've mentioned on here a number of times. In the heat of the moment I lost it, and paid the price on my scorecard. With time and a bit of distance I realised that what had happened was no more or less than a timely reminder to stay on the path.
So what was wrong? Simple really, and you may well have already anticipated what I'm going to say. As the scores kept going onto the card I became aware that there was a potentially low score looming, and I just lost my process focus becoming instead infatuated with results. In short, I abandoned the mental focus that got me into to that position. As a few disappointing shots got strung together, so I got more and more concerned that the result would be other than I wished. That viewpoint led to me playing "catch-up", which is always a dangerous game. You know what I mean. It was precisely that "catch-up" mindset that led me wandering into the sticky rough to the right of the 17th fairway where I had near-shanked my drive with a 4 hybrid rather than the eminently more sensible 9 iron, and then taking 3 shots to get out of that rough. It's almost always a bad sign when you go to hit a shot with the same club you tried to hit on the previous shot without it even having been near your bag.
I then tried to hit a fade with my driver off the 18th tee (although I know the theory of shot shaping, and can hit a draw almost to demand, lack of range time means I'm not yet fully confident playing fades. I mean, what was I thinking? Oh, that's right, I wasn't) which led to a slice that fell out of the ugly tree and hit nearly every branch on the way down. Not only was it out of bounds, but it bounced into the club carpark. Still, can't have been having that bad a day as I managed to avoid my (and indeed anyone else's) car window.
I'm a wee bit embarrassed by the post I made just after that round as it's usually my nature to deal publicly with the little bumps along life's road with a rueful smile and some humour rather than being quite so honest about how I'm feeling, but that post is an accurate representation of how I felt at the time. I got an awful lot of positive feedback from my excitement and joy when the feeling of process focus finally clicked, so I wanted to be honest and share how I was a wee bit bruised by the collapse.
Time and a bit of distance led me to reaffirm what I already knew at the time of the last post. Bruised or not, the positives from that round far outweighed the moments of madness over the last couple of holes. I'd started well, played my shots, coped with a wee wobble before the turn, played well after the turn and although things hadn't gone as I'd liked at the end, that was due to a problem I'd already worked out how to solve rearing it's head again because my head got turned by the possibility of my record low score- not a bad problem to have, after all. If I'm going to learn to score, this is a vital part of the process. And as I've said, it's a loss of focus, not a new problem.
I got the start of the week off before my nights, and that was great as it afforded me the opportunity to get back out on the course and put my reasoning to the test. Although my club has a tee-time sheet for the Saturday medal, Wednesdays are more ad-hoc. I met up with a couple of guys I didn't know at the club and we headed out. The resultant round was far from perfect - I had a 3 putt from 4 feet on the 16th- but had some incredible high points, including the best putt I've ever hit on the 3 rd, a 30-foot plus putt which scrambled an unlikely par after I'd had to play my second shot from the rough on the far side of the 4th tee.
Most important though was my attitude, which improved significantly. The 3-putt from 4 feet on the 16th was part of a "wobbly" period - my drives which are normally a strength were very shaky, and I was unconfident over the ball. In the context of what had happened on my previous round, I knew how I reacted to this was vitally important. I'd resolved before the round that my goal was to hang onto my process focus. The only way I'd see myself as having failed in any way was if I failed to maintain that focus. I'm pleased to report that after having a 50% process focus on my shots at the 13th, I managed to be process focused for 21 of the 26 remaining strokes. I played the last 2 holes in 8 strokes fewer than I had not 4 days before. My overall process score was 83, giving me a P-focus score of 87%, by far and away my best yet.
My final score? 91, which I might have let annoy me as I could easily have scored 2 or more strokes lower (I had 36 putts, 4 above my usual), but fortunately my pre-round resolve to only make success predicated on maintaining process focus means that I don't fall into that trap. I had the lowest net score in division 2, scored my lowest competitive score and I'm frankly jiggered if I'm going to allow myself to see that as anything other than a success. I managed to get my handicap index cut by 0.8, meaning that my new handicap is 24.1 - 24 was my goal at the start of the season.
I've now attained most of my SMART goals (specific (or stretching), measurable, achievable & time-limited) for this year. I'm going to enjoy the remainder of the season with one or two new short-term goals, and look forward to making new ones around the turn of the year. I'm certain that these goals have helped give me focus and purpose, and I look forward to stretching myself even more next year. I urge you to set yourself goals, with a broad spectrum (not just narrowing down on score or competitive goals) and see what you can attain. In keeping with my on course attitude, I'm keeping my goals largely process focused, which is why breaking 90 isn't featured on my list of goals.
I'd love to hear your goals, and what you've found whilst striving toward them. Please leave comments below, or look me up @The_Golf_Geek on that Twitter thingy.
So what was wrong? Simple really, and you may well have already anticipated what I'm going to say. As the scores kept going onto the card I became aware that there was a potentially low score looming, and I just lost my process focus becoming instead infatuated with results. In short, I abandoned the mental focus that got me into to that position. As a few disappointing shots got strung together, so I got more and more concerned that the result would be other than I wished. That viewpoint led to me playing "catch-up", which is always a dangerous game. You know what I mean. It was precisely that "catch-up" mindset that led me wandering into the sticky rough to the right of the 17th fairway where I had near-shanked my drive with a 4 hybrid rather than the eminently more sensible 9 iron, and then taking 3 shots to get out of that rough. It's almost always a bad sign when you go to hit a shot with the same club you tried to hit on the previous shot without it even having been near your bag.
I then tried to hit a fade with my driver off the 18th tee (although I know the theory of shot shaping, and can hit a draw almost to demand, lack of range time means I'm not yet fully confident playing fades. I mean, what was I thinking? Oh, that's right, I wasn't) which led to a slice that fell out of the ugly tree and hit nearly every branch on the way down. Not only was it out of bounds, but it bounced into the club carpark. Still, can't have been having that bad a day as I managed to avoid my (and indeed anyone else's) car window.
I'm a wee bit embarrassed by the post I made just after that round as it's usually my nature to deal publicly with the little bumps along life's road with a rueful smile and some humour rather than being quite so honest about how I'm feeling, but that post is an accurate representation of how I felt at the time. I got an awful lot of positive feedback from my excitement and joy when the feeling of process focus finally clicked, so I wanted to be honest and share how I was a wee bit bruised by the collapse.
Time and a bit of distance led me to reaffirm what I already knew at the time of the last post. Bruised or not, the positives from that round far outweighed the moments of madness over the last couple of holes. I'd started well, played my shots, coped with a wee wobble before the turn, played well after the turn and although things hadn't gone as I'd liked at the end, that was due to a problem I'd already worked out how to solve rearing it's head again because my head got turned by the possibility of my record low score- not a bad problem to have, after all. If I'm going to learn to score, this is a vital part of the process. And as I've said, it's a loss of focus, not a new problem.
I got the start of the week off before my nights, and that was great as it afforded me the opportunity to get back out on the course and put my reasoning to the test. Although my club has a tee-time sheet for the Saturday medal, Wednesdays are more ad-hoc. I met up with a couple of guys I didn't know at the club and we headed out. The resultant round was far from perfect - I had a 3 putt from 4 feet on the 16th- but had some incredible high points, including the best putt I've ever hit on the 3 rd, a 30-foot plus putt which scrambled an unlikely par after I'd had to play my second shot from the rough on the far side of the 4th tee.
Most important though was my attitude, which improved significantly. The 3-putt from 4 feet on the 16th was part of a "wobbly" period - my drives which are normally a strength were very shaky, and I was unconfident over the ball. In the context of what had happened on my previous round, I knew how I reacted to this was vitally important. I'd resolved before the round that my goal was to hang onto my process focus. The only way I'd see myself as having failed in any way was if I failed to maintain that focus. I'm pleased to report that after having a 50% process focus on my shots at the 13th, I managed to be process focused for 21 of the 26 remaining strokes. I played the last 2 holes in 8 strokes fewer than I had not 4 days before. My overall process score was 83, giving me a P-focus score of 87%, by far and away my best yet.
My final score? 91, which I might have let annoy me as I could easily have scored 2 or more strokes lower (I had 36 putts, 4 above my usual), but fortunately my pre-round resolve to only make success predicated on maintaining process focus means that I don't fall into that trap. I had the lowest net score in division 2, scored my lowest competitive score and I'm frankly jiggered if I'm going to allow myself to see that as anything other than a success. I managed to get my handicap index cut by 0.8, meaning that my new handicap is 24.1 - 24 was my goal at the start of the season.
I've now attained most of my SMART goals (specific (or stretching), measurable, achievable & time-limited) for this year. I'm going to enjoy the remainder of the season with one or two new short-term goals, and look forward to making new ones around the turn of the year. I'm certain that these goals have helped give me focus and purpose, and I look forward to stretching myself even more next year. I urge you to set yourself goals, with a broad spectrum (not just narrowing down on score or competitive goals) and see what you can attain. In keeping with my on course attitude, I'm keeping my goals largely process focused, which is why breaking 90 isn't featured on my list of goals.
I'd love to hear your goals, and what you've found whilst striving toward them. Please leave comments below, or look me up @The_Golf_Geek on that Twitter thingy.
Saturday 4 September 2010
A rite of passage...
...I'm slightly bruised after an on-course experience today that was as painful as it was inevitable, and was perhaps even more necessary. I'm in excellent company as it's happened to most golfers, to almost all of the great & good of professional golf, and although the scores and prizes are different, the experience is the same. I am of course referring to the on-course meltdown, and to my final two holes today in particular.
There were and are many positives from today's round, and I'll talk more about it later in the week. Tonight though I'm just a wee bit sore after playing the first 16 holes in 80, then playing the last 2 in 15, a massive 8 over par (I'd only had 2 doubles to this point). I can't even blame being too wrapped up in score- I hadn't added up my scores until after the 18th, although there was a building excitement as I knew I was playing and scoring well.
Ultimately, this is a very positive experience as I had to play very well (better than I've done) to get to that position.Now mentally I need to work on how to counter the mounting excitement that comes with scoring well. The other realisation is that it's not the initial poor shots that cost me so dearly on those fateful two holes, more the poor decisions that followed as I spiralled into a bit of a panic. Now I've been there it'll be easier to catch myself before that spiral.
I know all of this, and I'll spend some time blogging it out later in the week. But tonight? Tonight it still hurts a wee bit*
*I do only mean a wee bit; it's come nowhere near upsetting my weekend, a long weekend off after a crazy busy period at work. I had a lovely dinner out with my family and parents immediately after, as well as a very welcome chilled evening in with Mrs Geek after they'd left & the kids were down. Golf is a game, no more and no less, and thankfully I've managed to keep sight of that even in the grip of obsession.
There were and are many positives from today's round, and I'll talk more about it later in the week. Tonight though I'm just a wee bit sore after playing the first 16 holes in 80, then playing the last 2 in 15, a massive 8 over par (I'd only had 2 doubles to this point). I can't even blame being too wrapped up in score- I hadn't added up my scores until after the 18th, although there was a building excitement as I knew I was playing and scoring well.
Ultimately, this is a very positive experience as I had to play very well (better than I've done) to get to that position.Now mentally I need to work on how to counter the mounting excitement that comes with scoring well. The other realisation is that it's not the initial poor shots that cost me so dearly on those fateful two holes, more the poor decisions that followed as I spiralled into a bit of a panic. Now I've been there it'll be easier to catch myself before that spiral.
I know all of this, and I'll spend some time blogging it out later in the week. But tonight? Tonight it still hurts a wee bit*
*I do only mean a wee bit; it's come nowhere near upsetting my weekend, a long weekend off after a crazy busy period at work. I had a lovely dinner out with my family and parents immediately after, as well as a very welcome chilled evening in with Mrs Geek after they'd left & the kids were down. Golf is a game, no more and no less, and thankfully I've managed to keep sight of that even in the grip of obsession.
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