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What can golfers learn from the best players in the world?

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Christmas time is when many of my students reflect upon the last year and start setting new goals for 2016. Common goals are “winning the club championship” or “finally breaking 80,” and they can be described as outcomes. What I often fail to see from golfers who are setting such goals, however, is a plan of exactly how those outcomes are going to be achieved.

It’s this type of planning in which the best golfers in the world are particularly skilled, and what I call “the art of goal setting” is one of the major things golfers can learn from top professional players.

Rory-in-Water-2

To help you set better golf goals, let’s start by understanding what the three basic types of goals are:

  1. Outcome goals refer to the desired end result and can help motivate athletes (winning a competition, being selected for a team, etc.). Individuals are often not in control of outcome goals, however, as they cannot control what other players in the field will shoot.
  1. Performance goals specify a particular standard that wants to be achieved (score, amount of fairways hit, etc.) Individuals have very a high level of control of over these goals and hitting performance goals can result in high amounts of satisfaction even when individuals don’t win.
  1. Process goals, which the individual again has full control over, deal with the technique or strategy required to perform well (maintaining control over the club face, using a consistent pre-shot routine, etc).

I like to use the equation below to illustrate this fact: for golfers to achieve an outcome, they must have a process and a performance.

Blank-Canvas

Getting into the zone

How many of you have come to the final holes of a good round and started thinking about beating your friends, winning the event or how much the score will improve your handicap? With this in mind, golfers often finish poorly, win no trophies and keep the same handicap. This is unfortunately a common theme among club golfers, and herein lies the problem.

At that point of approaching the final holes, the focus changed to an outcome thought. Naturally, the thought of winning will increase anxiety — often to beyond optimal levels (it’s good to be a little bit nervous). Furthermore, these outcome thoughts often divert individuals away from their ever-important process and performance goals.

You may have heard of the phrase “being in the zone,” and it simply means that a golfer was so deeply engaged in his or her own process (this may involve pre-shot routines and focusing on one shot at a time) that he or she was completely distracted from the outcome of the shot at hand — until the last putt was holed and the emotion finally came out.

Remember Jason Day’s performance at the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, where he won his first major championship over Jordan Spieth?

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The emotion flowed out of Jason Day on the 18th green after he won the 2015 PGA Championship.

The important thing to learn about the zone is that Jason Day and others who have been in his position did not focus on the things they could not control — the outcome. Instead, they were focused on only the things they could control — the process. This engagement in a deep process is a great way to distract players from the outcome thoughts that can promote excessive nerves and poor execution.

Of course, even the best golfers aren’t perfect. They do sometimes fall into the trap of thinking about outcomes on Tour, but the successful ones are skilled at returning to their process and performance goals so they can play their best.

Is it really that easy?

So, with your process and performance goals set in place, you are sure to reach your (outcome) goals next season? Absolutely not, and unfortunately no matter how pretty your plan is, there is nothing like some good old fashioned hard work and determination. In fact, without it, you might as well call your goals wishes. One the flip side, correctly setting your goals will at least allow you to monitor progress and make more effective decisions about your game.

Summary of Key Points

I hope this article has given you good insight into the art of goal setting, while also providing some examples of strategies that the best players in the world are using.

A review of the important key points:

  • Outcome goals are great for helping create long-term motivation, however, outcomes cannot always be controlled by the individual.
  • Focus more on what you can control (process and performance goals) for the best results.
  • Do not get blinded by only the outcome. Remember process + performance = outcome.
  • Setting and reaching performance goals is a great way to enhance satisfaction when winning is not achieved.
  • Engaging in a deep process is a great way to control levels of anxiety.
  • Above all, hard work and determination rule.
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Thomas is an Advanced UKPGA Professional and Director of the Future Elite (FUEL) Junior Golf Programme. Thomas is a big believer in evidence based coaching and has enjoyed numerous worldwide coaching experiences. His main aim to introduce and help more golfers enjoy the game, by creating unique environments that best facilitate improvement.

7 Comments

7 Comments

  1. Michael

    Jan 25, 2018 at 1:49 pm

    Love it

  2. golfraven

    Dec 14, 2015 at 9:48 am

    Golf can be easy if you started playing as a kid and put 10k hours and more in your early years. Once you pass 30 its too late to be consistent (sub par) scratch player unless you have enough $, a personal swing coach and Tracman. So in essence the average Joe will suck at golf!!!

    • Phil

      Dec 16, 2015 at 2:25 am

      Golfraven that is such a defeatist attitude and inaccurate. Yes it helps if you learnt as a kid because you tend to have a more free and natural swing rather than try and develop one later in life. The fact is you don’t need $$$ and you don’t need trackman and while a coach helps they can only teach you the tolls but you have to use them. I started when I was 14 hitting balls in a field with clubs that were too big. I didn’t have $$ or technology or a coach and did pretty well eventually shooting consistiently around 2-7 over par. It was all about wanting to achieve someting, being competitive, determined and putting in the work. Over the last 15-20 years I have had at least 2 periods where I didn’t play for 3 years and beyond that averaged 1 game every 2 months thereafter. This year I joined a club again, practised more (even putting at home and chipping in the garden made a huge difference) and played more. I got better but not at the level I was. I had my first pro lessons (4 of them) which helped me regain better form and adjust my swing and now i play and practise more I am getting to a similar level as when I was younger. I reckon I can be better than that but don’t use trackman, or spend tons of $$$ and my coach is there when I want him not every week.

      Of course you need some ability too and that coupled with practise is what improves the player

  3. Dosh

    Dec 14, 2015 at 3:39 am

    that you need lots of money and free time to pay for golf and practice to get any good

  4. Mbwa Kali Sana

    Dec 12, 2015 at 3:11 pm

    You play YOUR best when you pay nô attention to the score .Play shot by shot .Stay In the moment .Don’t add up YOUR scores until the game is over ,Don’t follow your score compared to par.
    Above all ,have fun when you play ,laugh when You miss a shot ,And pat yourself in the back when you have pulled a good shot ,Remember golf is a game And That you are not struggling for YOUR Life!

  5. alexdub

    Dec 10, 2015 at 1:14 pm

    This is a good way to approach improvement. I sometimes fall into the trap when playing a round where I say, I need to shoot 74. If I shoot 74, I’ll be happy. After a double, the motivation leaves, and I’ll end up shooting 88.For me, I think this is where I focus too much on the outcome.

    Conversely, when find the sweet spot and I’m only thinking about the process of each shot, I’ll manage to hit my score target without realizing it. Has anyone else had the experience of playing in-the-moment and counting up your score at the end of the round and thinking, “Hmm, I didn’t think I went that low.”?

    • mhendon

      Dec 10, 2015 at 8:07 pm

      Oh yeah I’ve done that many times. There have been several times in the past when my buddy and I decided to play a second 18. Frequently I would go into the second round not taking it to seriously and then go back through the round in my head at the end and realize I had shot just 1 or 2 over. One of my most painful stories of how the moment can get to you is a round from several years ago. I was going into the 18th a par five at my home course 3 under thinking I had a good chance to shoot my lowest score ever. I ended of quadruple bogeying it. The frustrating part is I went into that some hole the week before and the week after and eagled it both times!

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Instruction

Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!

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Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?

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How a towel can fix your golf swing

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This is a classic drill that has been used for decades. However, the world of marketed training aids has grown so much during that time that this simple practice has been virtually forgotten. Because why teach people how to play golf using everyday items when you can create and sell a product that reinforces the same thing? Nevertheless, I am here to give you helpful advice without running to the nearest Edwin Watts or adding something to your Amazon cart.

For the “scoring clubs,” having a solid connection between the arms and body during the swing, especially through impact, is paramount to creating long-lasting consistency. And keeping that connection throughout the swing helps rotate the shoulders more to generate more power to help you hit it farther. So, how does this drill work, and what will your game benefit from it? Well, let’s get into it.

Setup

You can use this for basic chip shots up to complete swings. I use this with every club in my bag, up to a 9 or 8-iron. It’s natural to create incrementally more separation between the arms and body as you progress up the set. So doing this with a high iron or a wood is not recommended.

While you set up to hit a ball, simply tuck the towel underneath both armpits. The length of the towel will determine how tight it will be across your chest but don’t make it so loose that it gets in the way of your vision. After both sides are tucked, make some focused swings, keeping both arms firmly connected to the body during the backswing and follow through. (Note: It’s normal to lose connection on your lead arm during your finishing pose.) When you’re ready, put a ball in the way of those swings and get to work.

Get a Better Shoulder Turn

Many of us struggle to have proper shoulder rotation in our golf swing, especially during long layoffs. Making a swing that is all arms and no shoulders is a surefire way to have less control with wedges and less distance with full swings. Notice how I can get in a similar-looking position in both 60° wedge photos. However, one is weak and uncontrollable, while the other is strong and connected. One allows me to use my larger muscles to create my swing, and one doesn’t. The follow-through is another critical point where having a good connection, as well as solid shoulder rotation, is a must. This drill is great for those who tend to have a “chicken wing” form in their lead arm, which happens when it becomes separated from the body through impact.

In full swings, getting your shoulders to rotate in your golf swing is a great way to reinforce proper weight distribution. If your swing is all arms, it’s much harder to get your weight to naturally shift to the inside part of your trail foot in the backswing. Sure, you could make the mistake of “sliding” to get weight on your back foot, but that doesn’t fix the issue. You must turn into your trial leg to generate power. Additionally, look at the difference in separation between my hands and my head in the 8-iron examples. The green picture has more separation and has my hands lower. This will help me lessen my angle of attack and make it easier to hit the inside part of the golf ball, rather than the over-the-top move that the other picture produces.

Stay Better Connected in the Backswing

When you don’t keep everything in your upper body working as one, getting to a good spot at the top of your swing is very hard to do. It would take impeccable timing along with great hand-eye coordination to hit quality shots with any sort of regularity if the arms are working separately from the body.

Notice in the red pictures of both my 60-degree wedge and 8-iron how high my hands are and the fact you can clearly see my shoulder through the gap in my arms. That has happened because the right arm, just above my elbow, has become totally disconnected from my body. That separation causes me to lift my hands as well as lose some of the extension in my left arm. This has been corrected in the green pictures by using this drill to reinforce that connection. It will also make you focus on keeping the lead arm close to your body as well. Because the moment either one loses that relationship, the towel falls.

Conclusion

I have been diligent this year in finding a few drills that target some of the issues that plague my golf game; either by simply forgetting fundamental things or by coming to terms with the faults that have bitten me my whole career. I have found that having a few drills to fall back on to reinforce certain feelings helps me find my game a little easier, and the “towel drill” is most definitely one of them.

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Clement: Why your practice swing never sucks

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You hear that one all the time; I wish I could put my practice swing on the ball! We explain the huge importance of what to focus on to allow the ball to be perfectly in the way of your practice swing. Enjoy!

 

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