Mastery Golf

Hi Guys,

Not sure where I had this from but it has some great thoughts to take you to the next level.

The goal: Play with a mastery approach
Mastery golfers enjoy everything the game throws at them. The greater the challenge, the more fun they have. For them, the golf swing becomes an automatic process. Because they focus on improvement relative to their current capabilities, their standards and goals are self-set rather than set by others. Mastery golfers don't care who their competitors are, because they don't view golf as a competition between players. Rather, they see golf as the process of playing a golf course as well as they can with the skills that they possess.

Mastery golfers are not influenced by how often others tell them they are good or bad because, quite frankly, they don't play for others. They play to achieve goals they have set for themselves, and they use only those self-set standards to measure their improvement.

It is easy to understand how to apply the ideal mastery orientation to tournament golf. But what about those of us who will never play tournaments? I believe mastery golf makes fundamental improvement possible regardless of the skill level. A mastery approach does not necessarily require a focus on shooting a particular score; instead it requires an exacting focus on hitting a particular shot with a particular routine at a particular target.
I try to teach golfers what the game is not:
You are not playing against a score.
You are not playing against a tournament.
You are not playing against other players.

Mastery golfers understand that great golf is the summation of individual shots, and that every shot is a chance to get closer and closer to perfection. Because they view golf this way, they find it easy to immerse themselves in the process of playing golf, and they often concentrate to the point of ignoring everything around them. Golfers in a mastery mode know first and foremost the competition is only this:

You are playing a golf course, one shot at a time, the best way you know how.

The mastery golfer gets consumed with the task of executing shots, not with the prospect of breaking 90 or shooting a 65. The score is merely an aftereffect of the attention paid to the details of playing the golf course. Playing your greatest golf begins by making precise swings at specific targets, regardless of the circumstances. And that's what playing without fear is all about.

Hope you enjoyed it.

Ian.

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Once you learn the swing, your next step is mastering golf psychology................

Nice article..

i have a few buddies i play with who seem to be everything this is telling you not to be. its crazy to me some people are constantly thinking about a score. for example, some people will play 3 or 4 holes and evaluate what they are still able to score for the 9, and constantly think about it and change the number every hole it seems. sometimes they make comments like, 'i just lost 2 shots to you on that hole'. ive never understood, especially when there is nothing to win, how you lost strokes to another player.

Hi Hank,

Seems like your buddy has a classic case of self conciousness, he is clearly judging himself against who ever he plays with, as you say a pointless exercise, so is counting your score after a few holes.

When I play I always play against my own h/capp against the course, at one time I used to carry a card pre-written out with my h/capp score on for club comps I would score both cards, it works really well because you may bogie 3 out of the first 5 holes yet against your h/capp you may only be 1 over or level for your h/capp.

I too have never understood guys complaining that they bogied a hole and it was stroke index 3, so unless they are a 2 h/capper then they are suppose to bogie it


all good fun

Ian.

__________________
Once you learn the swing, your next step is mastering golf psychology................

Great article. Thanks for sharing it with us. Has made me think about the way I approach my game.

I think it's a great article.

I will say though, that I am one of those who shoots for a score - doing this has dropped my handicap from 14 to an 11 this early season. I think by having a number in mind per hole is a good way to think of a goal and it makes that much more better to me when I achieve that number or below it. I think having the combination of this mindset and the mindset to look forward to every single shot is a powerful way to play the game.

I really did enjoy the part about how the swing itself is automatic, and that is where I need the most work on.

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Nice thoughts Ian. Even if you don't play better mastery Golf should let you enjoy it more.

Just to add a little more perspective, the opposite of a mastery orientation to learning is called a 'performance orientation'. People with a performance orientation are more concerned with looking good rather than becoming good. They worry more about how they are being judged by others rather than acquiring knowledge and developing skills. They tend to seek out flattering praise rather than accurate feedback and view teachers as critics rather than as valuable resources.

People with a performance orientation tend to believe that performance depends more on natural ability and luck than hard work. Consequently, they are more likely to give up if they don't achieve quick success ("I'm just not cut out for this.") and are easily tempted to look for shortcuts and cheat to achieve their goals.

Studies have shown that the best predictor of learning orientation is tolerance for frustration. People who get frustrated easily and more severely are prone to develop a performance orientation and have difficulty with a mastery approach.

Maybe some people need to chill and have a couple of brews before they play or practice rather than after!

Keep it in the fairway,
Bill