Very solid addition to the site! Definitely great life and golf adviceā¦ Iām pretty good at ignoring my emotions in daily life, but struggle with it on the golf courseā¦ going to work on it!
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Missed that. Great job Kent.
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This was REALLY GOOD info!!
@jon - thx for including other contributors that have provided some interesting perspectives 
Iām really interested in the āmental gameā - eg. learning what it is, and how to apply it to my own game out on the course. Itās good to know that - I guess just alike to your technical skills - you donāt have to be āperfectā (whatever that isā¦!) at it to have a good round of golf.
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Ha, love it!!
What a good ā¦ and useful ā¦ analogy!
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No - IMHO many of them are actually doing a disservice to the majority of us average recreational golfers by constantly over-emphasizing DISTANCE DISTANCE DISTANCE BLAST YOUR DRIVER 300 GO FOR DISTANCE ā¦ and rarely, if ever, even mentioning any of the true game improvement concepts that are being presented and discussed in these forums - eg. the iron play article - so thanks again, Jon, for pulling this together and for doing what you do
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To be fair, if you hit it 300+ yards, youāll have a shorter iron in your hand!
I do think recreational golfers should work to maximize their distance, but obviously other parts are important too!
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So very true -you nailed it.
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Yeah - to punch out of the trees.
Thatās one problem Iāve observed often ā¦ guys who can smash the ball, sure, but it invariably ends up in troubleā¦
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I think most recreational golfers should work to improve their full swing. Better swings will mean more accuracy, more consistency, AND more distance. And as you say, more distance off the tee means shorter irons to the green, but better swing mechanics will also mean that more of those short irons will be from the fairway.
Iād take issue with āinvariablyā. I know a bunch of guys who can really move it, and most of them are straighter than I am too. I do know a few wild ones, but most guys with good mechanics are both long and straight.
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100% agreeā¦ the only people I know who are both long and wild are athletic and donāt play much golfā¦
Long and wild is a miserable way to play lots of golfā¦ and I speak from experience. You quickly learn to rein it in, either by slowing down or improving accuracy (and usually a combination of the two).
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Yes!
(I was trying to say something like that, thx.)
Iāll change that to āoftenā.
Yes.
Iāll guess that you guys play on better courses with better golfers than I do. My observations from where I play is that āoftenā the longest hitters get into trouble off the teeā¦
Honestly, I mostly ply with older guys at a clubā¦ they both play a lot of golf and donāt have high swing speeds.
I have played with two former professional athletes (a pitcher and a running back) who swing pretty hardā¦ but they are former professional athletes. Honestly, the football player needs to improve his turn and could generate a ton more swing speed.
Iāve said this before, but my dad is 6ā10ā and once held the world record for the worlds fastest serveā¦ Iāve been out driving him since age 15 because while heās more athletic, he never built a proper swing.
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Sweet spot, hitting the ball with leverage > speed
Worlds fastest serve though!! Pretty cool
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Yeah, itās one of those fun things I get to tell peopleā¦ He played tennis at Tulane, which had clay courtsā¦ Apparently his record at home was abysmal and he was undefeated on the roadā¦ Serve and volley just doesnāt work as well on clay! (nor does being 6ā10")
In a similar vein, my sister is 6ā and played college squash after quitting the tennis teamā¦ Apparently womenās squash is much more of a finesse game and she was like a bull in a china shop just hitting the ball as hard as she couldā¦ Theyād put her against the best players on the other teams because some of them couldnāt adjust to her play style, so theyād have a shot of their worst player getting a win, and allowing all the other players to have easier opponentsā¦ Good times!
My family is just good at hitting things hard, I guess!
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Anywayā¦ That was definitely a really interesting article; and fun to learn about Player vs Performer types.
(ā¦now the big question is: which one am I 
)
@jon - I hope you can get Kent to contribute more articles like this!
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glad you enjoyed it! Kent is working on several articles as we speak 
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Sounds good ā¦ looking forward to them! Thx
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Agreed.
Nervous
Tired
Hungry
Excited
Bored
They all affect or patterns in relatively predictable ways. When I get nervous, my likelihood of hitting it left increases.
Itās not necessarily about getting rid of those human emotions, but understanding those patterns and implementing something to neutralize it before anything harmful comes from it. I wrote an article on this here - https://www.adamyounggolf.com/vital-skill-to-play-your-best-golf/
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^That^ is a gold nugget / pearl of wisdom ā¦ THX!!!
Really great - and helpful - article 
(ā¦have saved it and will be re-reading it over timeā¦)
Thanks @Adamyounggolf!!
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What is your shot shape? My shot shape is almost always right to left. But when I get nervous, I hold on and hit a block of even a weak push fade.
When Iām nervous, and I realize it, I can talk myself into making a good swing. The trick for me is realizing it, which I need to get better at.
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