Success Breeds Success is a common theme in all areas of life. The main tenet suggests that positive results are built by a set by step process of small successful actions. Golf is no different. Talk to any professional and they could outline how, from a very early age, an orchestrated plan of baby steps resulted in long-term success. With encouragement and training they were able to live the dream of playing golf for a living!

Talk to an amateur and the story is completely different. Although their desire to play well is as strong as a professional’s, yet the process to success is more challenging. It becomes more difficult because the process of small successful actions is not easy to envision or achieve. Why is it so difficult? How do amateurs determine what is important and what is white noise?

This is the time when most articles would point out that at the core level, practicing your short game, grooving a swing at the range, and focused putting are extremely important to lowering your golf score. Many would espouse which skill would be the most important or a diatribe on fundamentals; yet really not touch on how success breeds success.

So how does success breed success in golf. Finding out what works and does not work when swinging a club is definitely a great place to start… and that takes time.  Practicing different strokes at the practice green and the driving range would be the next step. Lastly, focusing on course management would help develop great habits. I could go on, but really all I have to say now is – make the madness stop…please make it stop!!!!

Success breeds success is simpler than that; for amateur golfers it breaks down to one important area: support. Amateurs can find support from a friend, support from their local professional, and support from your golfing buddies. These are all great places to start the baby step process to achieving lower scores in golf. Support is very important.

Lastly, there is one other area amateurs seek for support: golfing websites. Before I started The Grateful Golfer, I searched many golf blogs and websites to see what they had to offer. Some of the sites immediately peaked my interest and others turned me off forever. What surprised me the most is the mountain of support, advice, tips and great golfing stories. I believe that my interaction with many of the authors has drastically improved my game and help weed out the white noise.  If you are curious, here are just some of my favorites:

• All About Golf;
• White Dragon Golf;
• mindbodygolf;
• The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer;
• Hitting it Solid;
• One Bearded Golfer;
• Lets Talk Golf; and
• The Crunchy Golfer.

This is not a complete list, but I believe you will get the point once you take a look. To me, one of the most interesting aspects of these sites is that they are around the world.  Each author offers something unique about golf, but the one thing they all have in common is support for fellow golfers!

Success breeds success! The first step towards developing your plan to become a better golfer is to find the support you need to succeed!

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links….real soon!