Hello Golf Friends:
As I discussed in part one, the only way to reach our ultimate potential is to be in the proper mindset. Identifying and developing process’, practices, and routines that allow us the best opportunities for success can be an entire project in itself. However, it is crucial to improvement in golf.
Part Two: Achievement
Many of us set goals without the correct process to get there. Many of us will hit ball after ball on the range, practicing and ingraining the wrong habits. Many of you are successful in other areas of life because you have developed the right process for success or to become more successful in your work and business. So why don’t we develop the right process for success in golf? Why do we continue to practice incorrectly, but expect improvement?
Success in golf; reaching our potential in golf is like anything else. It takes proper practice, patience, persistence, and perseverance. It takes us to realize our weaknesses, accept them, and work to improve them. It takes strength of Character and a willingness to accept our failures and use them as lessons to learning and improvement. While there is no perfection in golf, there are definite strategies and methods to increase our chances at achieving our potential.
In “What Drives Winning” (book/TED talk) and “Building Your Inner Coach” Brett Ledbetter describes the importance of CHARACTER and PROCESS in achieving desired results (not goals). He has spent many hours studying how coaches and successful programs work towards reaching their potential and even surpassing the potential that others thought they were capable of. It’s the combination of the seed, dirt, and water all coming together to produce the beautiful flower. As I write this, it is the 36th Anniversary of “Miracle on Ice”. Talk about seeds, dirt, and water! Right up there with that Olympic victory is Francis Ouimet winning the 1913 U.S. Open against Harry Vardon and Ted Ray! Those are two great examples of achieving your ultimate potential. There’s a much used saying in sports and life: “If YOU believe it, YOU can achieve it. It’s all about the right planting environment and growing conditions.
Ledbetter describes Performance skills and Moral skills that lead players of any sport to experience success. The word skill is preferred over trait because skills can be taught. The skills form the basis of athletic character. Some of the Performance skills are: hardworking, competitive, focused, motivated, positive, disciplined, resilient. Some of the Moral skills are: unselfish, honest, appreciative, respectful, humble, encouraging. Combined together, these form athletic character.
So, now that we know there is a combination of moral and performance skills that produce athletic character, we need to find out about process. The process is simply the effort put forth that drives the result. The result is the end game or your goal you want to achieve. Without the right athletic character and the process or effort to keep you moving forward, you won’t achieve the result. We all have desired results we want to achieve, but do we have the correct process and effort to get there???????? You need the seed, dirt, and water combined with the right planting environment and growing conditions to get the beautiful flower (result).
Our ultimate focus should be on the correct process and effort. Again, process and effort drive the result or end game. In history, wars were fought in a series of tactical decisions, troop movements and battles to determine the victor. The side with the best tactics, decisions, and plan won. While golf is not a war (may sometimes feel like you’ve been to war!) it has the same recipe to success.
Process is a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end. Focus is directed effort and action during the process. Focus on the Process! What steps do you need to take to improve and reach your ultimate potential in golf. Your focus should be on process and progression in order to achieve the desired result.
In my book, The Complete Golfer: Reaching Your Ultimate Golf Potential, I outline a process to reaching your potential. MANY books do this and I have a list of some great ones in the appendix of my book.
The process of golf achievement occurs through improvement in the following areas:
Mental and Emotional aspects of golf: Preparing your mind for better golf
Physical golf: Preparing your body for better golf
Mechanics and Instruction: Building a consistent and repeatable swing
Successful and Meaningful Practice: Creating the process and effort to attain the result
Taking it to the Course: END GAME after having completed the process of“Complete Golf” we can now achieve our desired result
In all of this remember these things:
A growth mind set allows us the greatest potential success
Strong athletic character begins the process to potential success
Focusing on the process and effort of improvement takes us toward the end result
It takes a seed, some dirt, water, the right planting environment and growing conditions for a beautiful flower to grow!
Until Next Month,
Paul Meyer Heritage Isles Golf & Country Club Tampa FL