When playing golf, you are thrown into a situation where you have to make a decision. There are so many options to choose from every time you play a shot. The question is are you making the right choices?
There are times where you make the right decision and you play a poor shot. That is fine, but at least you made the right decision. Many times the right decision could be as simple as chipping out of the trees, rather than going for that impossible shot.
When you are playing each shot, it is important to ask yourself, “What options are available?”, “Which ones am I capable of playing well?” and “Which one do I need to play, rather than want to play?”
People may say golfers, who think like this, are slow players. They can be, but not when they get to their ball early, giving themselves time to think and go through their routine.
Many golfers on the course are time poor. I do not mean they are slow, I mean they do not get to their ball fast enough to give themselves every opportunity to think about their shot. It seems some golfers like to walk down the fairway with their friends, watch their friends shot and then walk to their ball. When a golfer does this, they are not giving themselves much time to prepare for their shot.
It is great to play golf with your friends and have a conversation, but there is a time and a place for this. When you are playing completion play, you are expected to maintain a required speed of play. If you do not achieve this, you are seen as a slow golfer. You can have the best of both worlds, if you get to your ball quickly.
When playing a shot, you should play to your strengths. One of the fundamental points that club golfers get wrong is the distances they hit each club. Each club should have about a 10m difference from the next. Find the time to test your distances. If you are not sure how to do this, I am more than happy to help you with this.
Golf is a game of confidence, trust and skill. In my belief, even if you don’t have the skill, you can still play good golf if you have the confidence and trust in your game and yourself. Do not blame the conditions of the course, the wind, the heat or the cold. They are all parts of the game. It is the decisions you make that create the outcome.
Golf is a great game! If the conditions were always the same, the game would become boring. The charm of golf is that every day is different and each shot is different. It is your decision making that makes an impact. People do not normally miss a one foot putt for any reason other than a negative thought and carelessness. Nothing is a “gimmie”, you should always think about each shot. Be positive, not negative!
Are you using the right club, rather than the club you want? Are you choosing the right line because of what happened last time, rather than on its individual merit? These are important questions you should ask yourself before each shot.
A great way to score better is to strategize your way around the course! It’s all about the choices you make.
