I wonder if it at all possible to change our golf game? As athletes, I believe we are wired in a particular manner to compete to best of our abilities. Sometimes we cannot see past our preconceived ideas in order to improve. We believe that we have chosen the proper path to success and it takes the earth to move for us to change our mind. I know this is a probability, but because I was that type of athlete from multiple sports.

Some of you might think that I am grasping at straws here, but if you take the time to think about it, I might be setting the stage where many golfers can leap the hurdle that is preventing them from building a great golf game. Have you ever played a round with a player who refuses to use a specific club or two because they just cannot hit it well enough to take it out of the bag. Or they refuse to hit their fairway woods because their five iron goes farther. Or they are convinced that hitting a wedge from 50 yards is a complete waste of a shot.

Each of these scenarios are real and offer a bit of insight into my diatribe today. As a golfer, we cannot change our game if we cannot see past a potential result. If you think of the great shot makers like Seve Ballesteros, he never was limited by an inability to see a shot of some sort. He never let any preconceived ideas prevent him to at least attempting a golf shot. His greatest asset as a golfer is he never let fear of failure define the parameters of his game.

As a golfer, I know that my thoughts about what I could and could not do shaped how my game evolved. For many years, my thoughts and doubts how golf should be played limited my success. For many years I thought I was on the proper path to a better golf game, but I could not get over the hump of breaking 80. I came close many times, but was never able to break my current lack of stellar play.

Then one day, I decided to change the way I played. I decided to use all my clubs regardless of the results. Low and behold, I shot a 79 and at the same time destroyed the barriers that was holding me back. I was able to open my mind to many other possibilities about my game and I quickly gained new experiences, knowledge and understanding of a new direction I needed to really change the course of my golf game.

Fast forward to the 2021 golf season. I think that I destroyed many paradigms about my game, but still seemed to cling to some thoughts that I could not shake. The primary was how to hit my driver farther without losing any consistency or accuracy. For years I hit my driver the exact same way. It was successful, but I did not gain my maximum success. I had to dramatically change my set up to be able to hit up on the ball instead of through it on contact. So, I committed to a change and as a result, I am hitting my driver longer and just as accurate as before. I was letting my preconceived idea of how to hit my driver limit my success.

As you can see, even players who play a great deal and have loads of experience can still be caught in the trap of holding on to ideas that limit our game. That is the great thing about golf, there is always something to work on if we are willing and the potential for great play is always on the horizon.

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