After talking to any professional golf teacher, I understand that I receive a great deal of conventional wisdom on how to fix my golf game. Lets call it the 80% solution. As a beginner, this path to a better game is needed and it helps grow our understanding of the game at an exponential pace. I recommend seeking out your local professional for lessons as early in your journey as possible. Knowing this, I often wonder when it is time to put aside the conventional wisdom and walk the of the path of unconventional. I have played golf for 50 years and I am thinking it might be time to take a different path and here is why.

I have several reasons for changing my approach to golf. A couple are physical and one is mental. Because of these reasons, walking a different path just might be the solution to improving my game and if nothing else having more fun on the links.

As I think about my golf game, I am reminded of this:

The physical reasons my game needs to change is simple. I am not as flexible as I was 30 years ago. I can fix this and do work on it, but let us be honest, flexibility is a challenge for most aging players. This does not mean I have lost a great deal of distance and accuracy due to my declining physical prowess, yet it is enough to consider making changes.

The second physical reason for a possible change is endurance. I am still fairly fit, but I know I do not have the same endurance as past years. This is something I do work at almost every day. Swinging a club 80 times and walking 6 km can be challenging so some days. Therefore, changing how I approach my game will lesson the affects of 4 hours on the golf course.

Lastly, the mental challenge of playing golf in the back nine of our career. I find it a challenge to stay focused for 4 hours some days. It is not that I cannot accomplish this requirement to play steady golf, but I start to let life’s events creep into my mind. Additionally, if I am playing my normal game, I get a bit nonchalant about my game and my focus tends to wander. I have found that by playing hickory sticks I have a renewed sense of fun while playing. I am not always sure why I lose focus, but I do more now than ever. This is definitely something I need to work on.

My golf game, as I am sure yours is the same, is always changing. My score is up or down depending on the day, by my walk down the back nine of my career is forcing me to evaluate different paths. Do not get me wrong, I am still very keen to play golf and love the sport, however the conventional wisdom of how to play is changing and I need to change with it. Only time will tell where my game will end up, but for now I have to go with the changes in my game.

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