3-Things Players have that you might not have.
What are they? What is it that separates the best Players from the average golfer? And I'm not going to get into the time factor - how much more time Players have to practice, or how many more years Players been playing, or even that they're better athletes.
So what are 3-Things Players do that you could probably also try to do to get better? Isn't this an important question?
Let me give you an example of what I mean. And as you read this example, see if you know anyone that has a similar approach to the game.
I know this golfer who's been playing golf for 15-years and for 13 of those years he has been a 21 handicap - his best score ever is a 91, his average score is a 96 and when he has a bad day he's struggling to keep it below 104.
I also know another golfer that has been playing golf for 3 1/2 years and this past October he got down to an 11 handicap - his best score is an 80, his average score being 86 and when he's having a bad day he's limiting himself to a 91.
So how can this be that the first golfer is playing for 11 1/2 years longer and he's not scoring as well or enjoying the game as much as the newer golfer? And to answer this question - you can't use 3 of the excuses of the Monkey that I listed above - because they both spend about 2-hours a week practicing (if they're lucky), they're both in good shape and as far as playing longer - the guy playing longer isn't playing as well as the new golfer.
Any answers to why or how this could be?
I'll give you another piece of the puzzle - the guy struggling and playing longer wants to play better just as much as the guy playing good! So it's not a question of desire.
The 21 handicap has taken lessons. The 11 handicap has done the same. So they both have taken Golf Instruction.
So any answers to why or how this could be?
They both have very good clubs that they have bought in the last couple of years.
So how can this be? It can be because there are 3-Simple Things that they do different - but these Simple Things all add up into being determining factors to why there is such a dramatic and I can't overemphasize the word dramatic difference between how one golfer has improved with the velocity of a rocket and can't wait to get to the golf course and the other has been like a bear in hibernation for 13 years and hates it!
The first difference between the 2-Golfers is that the 21 handicap is a "Fiddler". He loves to try new things in his golf swing - which could be a good thing, but if over done, it could be a bad thing. The 11 handicap also likes to try new things with his golf game, but not with his swing - he's pretty settled on his swing.
Do you know anyone that "Fiddles" with their swing? They're always trying the newest tip that they saw in Golf Digest or on the Golf Channel. It's like an obsession that one of these tips is going to be the secret to hitting the ball great for the rest of their lives. It's like the guy that quits his job and decides he's just going to sit at home each week and play the lottery. He says - "One day I'll hit those numbers and life will be easy." And people laugh at that idea that someone would spend his life waiting to win the impossible, but there are millions of Golfers that are trying this method for their golf game. How do I know this? Well I think Golf Digest has over 1-million subscribers. And there biggest selling issue's usually have the words "The Secret to Stopping Your Slice" written on the cover. And the golfer says - "Well I don't read Golf Digest for the tips, I look at the travel, equipment and general commentary." And I suppose you subscribe to Playboy for the thought provoking articles.
Golf Digest sells magazines, Golf Made Simple sells Golf Improvement
The Fiddler is and will always be inconsistent because they're never practicing a consistent swing. "Jack of all swings, Master of none!" If you want to improve like you know you can, become a Master of 1-swing! See, if you stick with one swing, then you can practice that swing and constantly be making it better and better and the movement you make more and more efficient and that will allow you to hit the ball farther and farther. The Golfer that is always changing everything is always starting all over again at the bottom. So what causes this person to always "Fiddle"? Much of it is based on the same principles of why plastic surgery is so popular these days. "Huh? Marc, what the heck are you talking about?"
Just as we see all the beautiful people on television and the movies and we envy how good they look and we say that we want to look as good as them - we decide to also get some plastic surgery done to look more beautiful. And now-a-days, it's so easy to get these procedures done and the results are so instant. The same thing sort of thing happens when Golfers watch Tiger and Annika and Vijay on the television where every shot looks perfect and we say - "I want to hit the ball like that and I need to see instant success and I'll try anything until I see instant success."
So one difference is that the 11 handicap has stayed with his swing and has just been working on making it better and better - when the 21 handicap is trying out all this new stuff every week looking for that 1-tip that's going to be the secret to his success. "But, Marc you did say that the 11 handicap does Fiddle with his game." Yes he does. He tries out new ways of practicing when he has time to practice. He uses the PLAN we helped him develop and then he comes up with variations of the practice games we went over. This way he's always challenging himself to get better and keeping his practice sessions fresh. The difference between Fiddling with your Practice Plan and Fiddling with your Swing is huge.
The 21 handicap, no matter what, is always doing the same practice - A couple of 9-irons, a couple of 5-irons - then hitting his Driver for an hour trying many different swings until he finds one that works for a few swings. And then as suddenly as that swing that he found after trying 10-different swings works - without missing a beat, it will then go bad again, Then he's on to trying something else that will eventually work for 5-swings, until it goes bad and stays bad as you start to try even more new things and then become so frustrated that you just start whacking ball after ball in misery until out of nowhere you hit a good shot. And you say - That's all I need to do. I just need to swing with no thoughts and you do and you hit the ball good for about 5-shots until you hit one that is just OK. At which time you start to think - OK let me try to get my left hand a little more into this one and then the whole process of Fiddling slowly revs back up again. While the 11 handicap is taking his time, knowing that he's on the right track and seeing results.
So the question we always get is - "If I'm not hitting the ball well during practice, what should I do? Continue to keep doing the same thing wrong and hit bad shots? Or should I Fiddle with my swing until I find something that works?"
That's a great question. What should you do if you can't Fiddle. Let's ask the 11 handicap what he does. 11 Handicap, what do you do if you're practicing and all of sudden you start to hit bad shots? "I walk away. I walk away and get myself a drink of water or go to the putting green. In my short time of playing golf, I've figured out that golf is a game of streaks. The better the Player, the longer the good streak is and the shorter the bad streak is. The Struggling Golfer is the exact opposite - they have short good streaks and longer bad streaks. And because for only a short period of time the Golfer is hitting the ball well, they have a tendency to start forcing their swings too much when the bad streak comes around, they get so desperate to get back the taste of the good streak - they start to Fiddle."
"So when I hit 1 or 2 bad shots I accept it as the end of the good streak and walk away from hitting balls for 15-minutes. This way I come back to the balls with a clear mind and it seems as if the good streak comes back sooner. And if it doesn't, I go back to the putting green. And you know, I can get a lot more done on the putting green that will improve my scores than Fiddling on the driving range and messing myself up! I've seen that happen to a lot of people that I see practicing. They get all frustrated and it gets worse and worse."
I think that's some pretty good advice from the 11 handicap. And to think of golf as a game of streaks is a fantastic way of controlling your own golf game. Good shots usually do come in bunches and we all know that bad shots come in bunches - you know what I mean? So the 11 handicap has a PLAN for himself to play the streaks. He understands that he's going to hit bad shots and because of 3 or 4 bad shots, he's not trying all this new stuff in his swing. Instead he walks away and clears his mind so that he can come back and continues to work on what was working. If it doesn't come back, he goes to the putting green - and there can be worse places to be than the putting green.
How many of you have ever been to the driving range and hit a bad streak and decided you're going work through it by pounding ball after ball and then left an hour later with 12 different swings you had worked on and trying to decide which one you're going to play with tomorrow? That's not the situation you want to put yourself into. It seems that the 11 handicap has figured out that he has his swing and it won't always be in top form. That he'll have bad days and in case he does have bad days on the golf course, he'll be prepared with a solid putting game to make up for the few extra bad shots he might hit because his swing isn't as sound as it usually is. So instead of Fiddling with it until he has nothing but more doubts about his swing, he lives with it and makes up for it in other parts of his game.
Do you do that?
I think that's enough for you to think about this week, so we'll save the 2 other differences for next week's Golf Improvement Weekly.
