I’m on a mission…and I’d like you to join me. In fact, I might go as far to say I NEED your help. What is it that I need? I need golfers to stop doing my job and to start doing theirs. If you’ve taken lessons from me over the past 18 months since my arrival here and especially in the last 6 months, you’ve probably heard this theme of “My job vs Your job.” If you haven’t, let me explain it to you.
There are several phrases that show me golfers’ (and people generally) poor understanding about what’s required to make consistent progress and improvements. These phrases include but are not limited to:
“I just don’t know what happened out there!”
“One day I have it, the next day I don’t.”
“I swing great when there’s no ball there.”
“I can’t seem to take my driving range game to the course.”
There’s also one common physical cue: “Not sticking the finish on a bad shot, poor contact, etc.”
What these things (and things like them) reveal is a lack of focus on the right things. When golfers come to me, they want to play better which requires them to hit better shots. The problem is THAT’S. MY. JOB. When you come to see me I AM IN CHARGE OF THE BALL. That’s really my only job. Yes, I direct you what to fix, show you the video, put you in the space you need to be, communicate principles where needed, but YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF CHANGING YOU. So when you say phrases or do things like that listed above you are trying to control the ball…but that’s what MY JOB IS and these things show a lack of FOCUS on the movement of your body which is WHAT YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF! So when you don’t hold your finish, or lose control of the swing when the ball is there, or have it one day and not the next then YOU ARE NOT DOING YOUR JOB. You are not paying attention to what you are supposed to be paying attention to.
This is a hard lesson to learn but it’s an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY for short AND long term sustained improvement. So I want to CHALLENGE you all this week to pay attention to what you’re paying attention to or what you are being distracted by. Is it the ball? The ball flight? Your nerves? Your fears? The people you’re playing with? That bad shot you hit the last time you played this hole? That swing thought your friend gave you (or you gave yourself)? Or are you paying attention to the right things: That feel from the last lesson? That setup routine? The 4 questions process from my book on shot selection? What your body feels like that’s different from the good and bad one? Etc.
Join me on my mission to help golfers to start paying attention to what they are supposed to be paying attention to. It’s time you stop getting distracted by things that aren’t your job. It starts with you! Give me control of the ball, and take control of your body. And remember:
“All your bad shots belong to me…but your bad swings belong to you.”
