According to Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott (golf coaches and bestselling authors of several books including Every Shot Must Have a Purpose and Be a Player), there are four pillars that support a golfer’s game: 1) fitness level, 2) technical skills, 3) equipment, and 4) “human skills.” When you step onto the golf course, the only pillar you can adjust is your human skills. You can’t change your fitness level, technical skills or equipment during a round of golf. Remember the old saying, “Dance with the guy/gal you brought to the dance?” The same holds true for golf…we need to learn how to optimize play with the body, swing, and clubs that we bring to the golf course on any given day. Developing our human skills (e.g., self-management) will help us achieve this goal.
One critical “human skill” that is often neglected is awareness. Unfortunately, many golfers play without awareness, repeating the same behaviors on the golf course round after round and wondering why they don’t get different results. Awareness creates clarity. From clarity your will discover greater consistency.
There are 3 areas of awareness that are critical to performing well on the golf course: physical, mental, and emotional. Heightening your awareness in each of these areas requires regular practice. One way to do this is to reflect on your best and worst rounds of golf. Take two pieces of paper and write “Best Rounds” on one and “Worst Rounds” on the other. Brainstorm what characterized each type of round. For example, how did you prepare for play mentally and physically? What time of day did you play? What type of playing partners were in your group? What was the weather (hot, cold, windy, rainy, sunny)? What was your emotional state before, during, and after the round? Did you feel excited, anxious, happy, tired? Were you adequately hydrated and fueled before and during your round?
Take time over the course of a week to complete this activity. Once completed, make note of those variables you can control (e.g., how you warm-up prior to play, how you react to a poor shot) and those you cannot control (e.g., weather, pin placement). Rather than leave peak performance to chance, intentionally incorporate the variables you can control that support your best performance on the golf course. Variables you can’t control, such as the weather, develop a coping strategy ahead of time to minimize their negative effects. For example, early in my collegiate golf career, I didn’t like playing in the cold or rain. I would let the weather defeat me before I stepped onto the first tee. My coach taught me that bad weather was my friend. If I prepared myself with the appropriate equipment (rain gear, extra towel, umbrella) and maintained a positive attitude, I would outplay a player who was technically stronger, but mentally weaker. I learned my reaction to a challenging condition was more important than the challenge itself.
What variables support or hinder your performance on the golf course may be different from your friends. The key is to discover your individual recipe for success. Intentionally incorporating factors that support your success and developing coping strategies for factors that challenge you will increase the likelihood of playing in the zone with greater consistency.
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