Most of us have heard this saying before and it really is prevalent in my golf game. For years I focused on making significant changes in my game and strove to shoot low golf scores. It is a journey I continue to embrace, however I have learned that being too focused on one aspect of my swing may not be the best for my overall game.

I have many examples where my focus was too narrow and as a result my golf scores worsened. It is definitely frustrating, but and important lesson for anyone trying to improve their game. The most dramatic affect a change on my golf game occurred when I tried to increase distance a few years back. I take full responsibility for the results, but now wish I took a step back a looked at the whole picture.

I went to a golf show and had several professionals comment on my golf swing. Specifically (wrote about this) I was instructed that my stance was too narrow. To increase my distance, I should widen my feet to allow my hips to “get through” better and generate more power. Kyle, the teaching pro, gave some some great advice, unfortunately, I only focused on the widening my stance part. I did not see the forest for the trees!

I had early success, but nothing long lasting. To see the difference you can see my differing videos at my previous article titled: How Wide is Your Golf Stance?

Because I focused only on widening my stance, I ignored the other changes he recommended that went along with a stance change. Well, let me tell you, I struggled with a wide stance for two years. I finally narrowed my stance some and accepted the shorter distance off the tee. Unfortunately, this is not the result I was looking for and plan to address that this year.

I talked about taking three lessons this spring and I definitely plan to do so. I will ask my instructor to help address my distance issue and making all the proper changes instead of focusing on just one aspect of the change. So, my advice to you when making changes, take a step back, look at the whole picture and rarely make any change in isolation. It will save you many hours of frustration.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!