I would like to think we are happy golfers. Well most of the time. I feel that if you are happy when playing golf, you tend to hit better shots, score lower, hit it longer and have more fun. So, how do we play happy golf?
There are a few things we can do. First, set reasonable and obtainable goals. We tend to expect too much of ourselves and in turn fail to meet our expectations and goals. So we fail before we even tee off. If I told you were going to fail before you tee it up, would you play? Probably not. I am not much of a statistics guy, but they serve a purpose. I want all of you to go to pgatour.com. Go to stats. Look at percentages of players, where they rank and what the tour averages are. I know you will be surprised. Once you do this. You will have a better and more realistic idea of what the best in the world can do, so now you can set reasonable and obtainable goals for yourself to reach. It might be making three putts, only one three putt. Hit 8 fairways. Have a par save. Hit 3 solid shots. Whatever they might be, we can then start to have more fun and exceed our goals. If you’re not sure how to set these goals, we can do it together.
“True Happiness is giving without sacrifice and suffering.” I used to have a temper and be very intense on the course. A fellow competitor told me one time, that I was a very good player and I was the only one preventing me from getting better. He said, “I wasn’t good enough to be that mad and intense”. I didn’t like hearing that, but he was right. I then started to take better care of myself and now I have much more fun and I am a happy golfer. Good and bad, goals reached or not, I am happy to play, practice, coach, teach, share, love and be receptive. Now, that being said, I encourage you to release anger and frustration for a brief, or short moment after you maybe hit a bad shot or miss a short putt. It is unhealthy to keep that bottled up. Let it go for a few seconds and then be done with it. Use it to drive you and push you to reach your goals.
I would love to discuss this in more detail when you have time, so please feel free to contact me at anytime and we will. Thank you and keep swinging