Playing at golf instead of working at golf

The Mental Side of Things
#16

A TL;DR reply…
I understand your position, I reached the “rather play than practice” point over a decade ago. It was brought on by tendinitis in my wrists; if I’m going to go through discomfort, let it be through play, not practice. This Summer was the most I’ve practiced in several years; I believe it was a total of four 35-ball baskets.

I’ve golfed for 48 years, so I know what needs work and what doesn’t. For example, I may want to work on 50 yard wedges. If I accomplish what I want to in 20 balls, I’m out.

To veer off and be a bit contrarian here, there are several training approaches that I honestly have no time for. The first is launch monitoring. I have no need for speed, angles, etc. The golf ball gives me plenty of feedback. The other non-starter are ‘opposite’ drills. If I’m trending with heel strikes, I don’t want to waste time getting the hit off toe feel. I want the sonabitch to come off sweet spot. I’ll work on that. Finally, strokes gained is pretty much useless to me. Stokes gained against whom? PGA? Scratch? Both are irrelevant.

I know my game and it is what it is at age 70. My friends and I play several times a week from forward tees, no less. We know each other’s games and we know our own games. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to spend 4 hours per day several times per week with my friends, septuagenarians all. Two years ago, my Index was 8.5. Now it’s up to 10.5. Obladi, oblida, life goes on, brah…

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#17

Had a nice sunny day here in PA, so I got out for nine holes with my wife. I just intended this to be a practice round, not even keeping score, the only thing I was going to think about was keeping a nice smooth tempo, no technical thoughts. And I told myself beforehand, no judgment or getting down on myself, and no complaining about the pace of play, which I knew was going to be slow. Well, I went out and shot my best 9 ever, a 31 (par 34). Again, I didn’t even plan on keeping score, but it was kind of hard not to mentally know how you’re doing when you’re parring every hole. So I think I am definitely on to something here. And when I think back to earlier in the year when I shot my lowest 18-hole score ever, I was doing the same thing then, just focusing on a smooth tempo and not any body position stuff.

I am pretty encouraged heading into the off-season now. Got my exercise plan from TPI and got a copy of @Adamyounggolf The Practice Manual this week.

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#18

I feel the same way about my game - it’s like “whack-a-mole”; fix one problem and another pops up. I have changed my approach the last couple of years. I only do big fixes in the winter (off season) with my coach on the simulator. During the playing season, I will work on grooving those fixes in, or correcting really major mistakes, but I don’t try to “improve” my basic swing. And when I am on the course, no more than one swing thought on my practice swing, then no swing thoughts on my real swing. I get better results and have more fun.

Good luck finding a happy medium!

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#19

Me too. I’m nowhere near done with it yet, and it is a bit duplicative of his blog content. The great thing I’m finding in it though, is that it’s more a book about how we learn and how we perform what we’ve learned, than it is a book about golf. The insight on emotionally-significant events accelerating unconscious learning—often for the worst—was really eye opening.

There’s a bit about simply aiming away, if the rest of the ball flight is good, rather than initially trying to fix the swing path, that made me almost smack myself on the forehead. It’s reading like a book with much broader applications than merely improving my golf game.

Recommended.

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#20

Strokes gained is useful to objectively track your own progress. You will be very negative against tour players (and maybe scratch) but you can see how you compare to past you which, if you consistently track, is very powerful information.

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#21

Also apps can let you move the strokes gained benchmark to different levels of golfer. For example I always keep mine at a 9 handicap because becoming a single digit handicap is my goal, so it lets me measure my game against an average 9. (This is with the Arccos app)

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#22

As I always say, my biggest swing issue is between my ears.

I played yesterday purposely without any swing thoughts. Boy howdy did I hit some stinkers… So the only thing I thought about ( instead of nothing), after the worst drive of my life, was finishing my swing. Things improved greatly after that, until I got my cart stuck in the mud. :roll_eyes:

It was a lot more relaxing after I stopped counting strokes or keeping score.

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#23

Had a lesson several years ago, which was relatively early on in my golfing, and I well remember something the pro told me then…

“We practice golf swing on the range … while we play the game of golf on the course.”

Now, yes, I want to improve my technical ball striking skills and want to hit the ball “better” each time I go out, BUT … on the course I try to make my primary objective = hitting the ball towards my target…

…ie. I try to pick a conservative target within my current capabilities, factor in wind and other conditions, and then hit the ball.

The game is ultimately all about “how many” and really nothing about “how” …

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#24

That is exactly how I approach it. I may tweak, practice, grind, whatever during the week however when Tee Time comes it is just golf and enjoy the day.

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#25

There’s a good buddy of mine, who I had a chance to get out on the course with recently, who kinda epitomizes the over-thinking/over-working approach…

…most noticeably when he steps in for his shot: he’s one of those that stands there - rock still over the ball - running through whatever checklist is in his head…

He also insists on…
… keeping his score (I use a ShotScope) while getting mad at himself after each hole for a high score;
… keeping his phone on (he’s a chiropractor and says he doesn’t want to miss client calls);
… using a GPS app on his phone which has problems syncing to his Apple watch so he’s constantly fiddling with both gadgets (I’m gonna lend him an extra gps watch for the round);
etc.

You get the picture - a lot of stuff other then just playing golf… (…and afterwards he tells me how nicely he was hitting at the range just the day before).

Next time we’re out together I’m gonna … at tactfully as I can … get him to turn off the phone, put away the apple watch and … try to get him to (1) visualize/plan his shot before stepping in and (2) also before stepping in do one then two rehearsal swings of what will be his swing for his shot and then step in and let it go.

:crossed_fingers:

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#26

Worse ways to spend a day, eh?

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#27

A little more from my chair, I like playing the game (not as MUCH as I used to), especially when the weather is nice and I can enjoy walking either 27 or 36 without a soaking wet shirt. (So I usually bring an extra towel and a shirt change). When I was working early last year on swing mechanics, and hitting alot of balls, once everything was able to feel grooved and I could implement on the course, I was scoring in the 70’s. When I stopped, and was arriving at the course with minimal warm-up, my scores shot up by 5-7, which to me shows me that proper warm-up and working at golf like I would normally do makes a huge difference in scoring. AND when I score well and I hit my shots like I envision, I am much less apt to slam a club and utter a curse word…lots more FUN to play. In my youth, when I was playing every day, my scoring was very low consistently and other than choosing a club, I did very little thinking, just executing. The hardest thing to accept as a person in their 60’s, (Langer is a beast) is I don’t hit it as far, I dont putt or chip as well and, no matter what you do, the youth game is a different game than where I’m at. So, all there is left is to try and enjoy, understand, in general, I’m still a pretty good player in my age group and if I want to improve, put in a little work so I can repeat more consistently what I’d like to execute! So yea KENK way worse ways to spend a day…like weeding the gardens UGH!

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#28

I don’t practice. At least not the way most do. Before most rounds (once a week in winter) I do 20 mins chipping/pitching because I really enjoy that. Never use the putting green or driving nets. Started this approach after lockdown and have become far more consistent a player because I am not messing with stuff. I average mid 80’s, don’t have and worries playing with anyone else as my game is solid enough to not be embarrassed.

Now, I do want to improve, so I set myself little goals each round (last one was around swing speed for irons, I’d gotten lazy) but more than improving I want to have fun. To be perfectly honest if my HCI remains 20 then so be it. If it drops to 16 awesome. But most importantly I am spending time in lovely places with great people.

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#29

The most important thing, really.

Your comment on not embarrassing yourself really rings with me. I’ve been struggling with constantly topping the ball and this game just isn’t any fun if you can’t get the ball in the air. Divot Board work, and trying to make my practice more like actually playing, has helped a lot. But it has been bad in the past, like—walk off the course RFN, bad. People offering cringing, well-meaning help, bad. At least I’m unconsciously consistent…

Anyway, I think it’s gotten better, but I won’t lie and say it isn’t in the back of my head when making a tee time. Only way to beat it is to get back at it though.

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#30

Shotscope show this by Handicap groups so I can see where I am weak compared to the next step up. Don’t do much about it mind you but its nice to know

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#31

Recently had a round where, due to wet weather, was almost entirely on temporary greens (which aren’t greens at all, just a hole in a bit of fairway). So scoring became irrelevant. My playing partner beat his previous best by 10 strokes. Some of it may be that the holes were 20-30 yards shorter but a lot was down to just being relaxed and under no pressure. (I also shot my joint best score of the year). If only we could have the same attitude when it does count!

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#32

Crazy, how much pressure we place upon ourselves, for what I’m sure is a leisure activity for nearly everyone here. I believe it though.

I am trying to follow the ethos of the OP, by playful experimentation and seeing what happens. Move the ball back, what did that do? I liked that feeling! What caused it? Was it this? That? That. O.K… and so on.

Got my brightly colored headband on—my GF/soon-to-be fiancee loves my hair longer, and I hate it in my eyes. I don’t want the easy excuse for making a bad shot. So, headbands. “Sweaty Betty”'s are great, with room in the back to pull longer hair through. Absorbent, too. Which is a concern here.

Point is, I’m trying to positively cultivate a bit of the indifference to others’ view of my performance, a la Jayne and his hat from Firefly. If I know already I’m not going to impress anyone, I can stop being concerned about the reaction of other people to my learning process. (I’m not deliberately trying to bother people at all.)

Helps when I start digging little straight hemispherical ditches, directly towards the target. I guess I took that Adam Young ‘hammer a nail into the golf ball’ image too literally, and decided hammering down and forward was the way to go. LOL.

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#34

Here is what I learned and go by with this game.

Changing any of the fundamentals, grip , posture, ball position, swing path… is, for the practice tee. Driving range is where one tune-up these changes.

On the golf course, you should have only one goal, which is to get the golf ball in the bottom of the cup in as few strokes as possible. Scoring should be your only concern.
When your mind is set on scoring, you would automatically make the correct club selection for the shot and manage the golf course in a way to get the lowest score for
“you”. Because who will know your game better than you ?

Focus on scoring alone on the golf course will bring the joy ( or the frustration) back into your game. Never try to fix a swing issue on the golf course. Use what you have that day, that moment and finish with the best possible score.

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#35

^Yes!

Was able to get a lesson a few seasons ago with a HoF instructor - one of the first things he said to me, and which (I hope!) I’ll always remember, is …

“We practice our golf swing;
… we play the game of golf.”

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#36

Riffing off of that quote, I’ve found that a really fun way to have play in your practice was to practice at a place with TopTracer. Tried it for the first time yesterday, and other than hitting it over the back net with both a 5 and a 6 iron (and getting chastised by the machine for doing so), I had a blast. Recommended.

Just pick a facility with adequate room, I guess. 150 yards and 80-90(?) foot nets ain’t enough.

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