One of the things we love about our ancient game is that you are in charge. You are the one who swings, putts, commits to a decision, feels trust, chooses your reactions, and on and on it goes. It’s your game, your mind, your body, your emotions, your clubs, your ball and your motions. Your performance will vary from day to day, which means acquiring the skills to be your own best coach will benefit you every day you step on the golf course.
With that in mind, it’s important to make sure you set up your golf experience so you have ownership of your game. Ask yourself: What are five of my most important beliefs about golf? What areas of the game do you feel you have ownership of, and you know how to coach yourself in those areas? Is there any part of the game that you would like more ownership of?
Some players prefer to have others “fix” them, which we liken to letting go of ownership (“My coach has not figured our why I hook it,” etc.). That approach will only work short term and is not the best way forward if you want to access all of your possibilities.
What coaches or support people do you have access to who can help you to become better equipped to be your own best coach?
Some coaches and teachers create an environment of dependency and players feel that their game, stokes and swings are decided upon and owned by someone else. We want players to create a greater sense of self awareness, self-referencing and self-regulating skills. How do you get good at this? You need to practice these things. What you practice, you get good at. Here’s how to do it.
1. Self awareness
Practice feeling the difference between a 50 percent tempo swing and a 100 percent tempo swing. Feel the difference between a soft and a tight grip pressure.
2. Self-referencing
Think of two things that make you unique as a golfer. Take action on those two things every time you practice or play.
3. Self-regulating
If you don’t feel you can trust a particular shot on a given day, don’t hit it! If you start feeling tension in your shoulders during the round, take some deep breaths and do some extra stretching.
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To add more pop to your swing, get a driver fitting from the experts at our sister company, True Spec Golf.
