Over the past three weeks my golf game has improved to a point where I feel I am hitting my mid season stride. I have about 20 rounds under my belt and many of those loops were wrought with inconsistent hitting. Yesterday, I played an early morning round (0700 hrs) that resulted accentuate my positive play as of late. I shot a 2 birdies, four bogeys and 12 pars. Of the four bogeys, I made three poor shots that resulted in two penalty strokes. So, I am happy with my play as of late and feel that shooting under par is not out the realm of possibilities during my 2022 season.

Essentially, I have closed my door to routinely poor play (my perspective) and opened a new golf door to better play. There was no secret formula to my success; I just kept knocking off the rust one round after another. So, what is different – that is a great question I ask myself and I think I have come up with the answer.

I could talk about a great many aspects of my game, but the real answer is that I stopped fighting my natural swing. I stopped swinging hard at the ball and let the club do all the work. I have said this specific sentence to myself every season for the past….well, many many years. By embracing my natural swing I am able to effortlessly drop my club into the proper slot for solid contact. I have talked about this before, but sometimes it is a challenge execute early in my season after 6 months of a long winters nap.

One of the greatest benefits of getting my golf swing back is maximizing the quality of my Mizuno irons. I realize this sounds funny, but hitting the ball squarely provides a ball flight that allows for a better angle of attack. It is very counterintuitive to think that swinging easier results in a better ball flight, but it absolutely does in my case. I am finally hitting my irons with intent that is resulting in a better golf game.

The next door I opened was mental. I finally think that I am able to play the way I expect. I am mentally stronger now than earlier and as a result, I can see my shots clearer with an understanding of the influencers on each shot. It is refreshing to mentally be free to focus on my shot instead of worrying about if my swing will be there or not. The freedom being able to mentally focus on the important aspects of every golf shot opens many other doors for the rest of the season. For now, I am going to build on my current success and see where my season ends.

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