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One Under Par
Volume 6, number 1

A Newsletter fromKeyGolf.....February, 2005

Of Potholes and Pocket Guides

Golf Digest recently inserted a little “Pocket Guide” into one of their issues. It's a cute little thing you can carry in your pocket or your golf bag and it contains “18 Mistakes Amateurs Make That Pros Almost Never Do.”

That gem of a title came out just as I had resolved to refrain from making “critical” comments about some of the mundane half-truths and myths produced by the “big names” in golf journalism. (It seems that name recognition has become the prerequisite for authority. First, find a way to get your name in lights. Then begin to say things that are catchy, without regard to the credibility of what is said. Say them often and loudly. That way, you become an “authority.”)

So, my resolution will need to wait at least one more day while I unravel yet another subtle deterrent to good golf judgment - or 18 of them as the case may be.

In case you didn't see the booklet, the first thing inside says: “The average golfer doesn't just miss shots in a typical round, he throws them away.”

“In fact, says famed sports psychologist, Dr. Bob Rotella, middle handicappers throw so many shots away, they could be single-digit players if they'd just get rid of these 18 amateur mistakes.”

Here are the mistakes:

1. Trying to play with mechanical swing thoughts.
2. Trying to play the shot you want, instead of the one you have.
3. Turning minor setbacks into major catastrophes.
4. Not visualizing your shot.
5. Misplaced priorities.
6. Playing less club and more swing.
7. Not having a safety shot.
8. Turning easy shots into hard shots.
9. Expecting more from your game than Ben Hogan hoped for from his.
10. Faulty alignment.
11. Not practicing the short game.
12. Lazy posture.
13. Not practicing with purpose.
14. Losing focus.
15. Being afraid to lay up on long par 3s.
16. Not reading the green before you get there.
17. Ignoring the 3 laws of Putting.
18. Not trusting your swing and playing with confidence.

Not a word is mentioned concerning how one should go about avoiding these “mistakes.” Nothing is offered for the building of reasonable defenses against them (if, indeed, they really are mistakes that are “made.”) Instead, the reader is firmly banished and left to one more uninformed headline assumption - to parody a popular bumper sticker - “Just DON'T do it.”

It appears to us that these 18 items are no more or less than symptoms of missing essential elements in our games. They are "absences," not present errors. We don't own what they refererence - they are outcomes that are bound to show as symptoms where there is no adequately acquired knowledge base applying to the origin of such ”mistakes,” and no basis for comprehension, evaluation, planning, or action in behalf of appropriate goals and objectives.

Further, there is no indication that the person who made up that list, (which cleverly picks on the number “18”), has any comprehension of what triggers those “mistakes,” or how they fit together, are different from each other, or are part of a domino effect that signals one or more issues of unfinished business in learning. That brings to mind the four areas of human experience that need enlightenment: how we do our thinking, what is involved in our feelings, the timing and sequence of acting, and the parameters of our striving.

So a seemingly mundane little critter like this booklet really represents one more crack in a pavement on which millions of golfers regularly try to take a continuing journey without having a wreck - especially a fatal one - while being unaware that the "route number" is misplaced.

The problem, as we see it, lies not so much in the words, since, as result oriented statements go, they don't leave an appearance of being false. However, if we start at the wrong place, have no grasp of what we want to do and how to do it, then, to be sure, these 18 and maybe more, can ruin our day.

Notice that each of these “mistakes” is nothing in the world but a negative statement. They all scream “Don't!!” We suppose that no one told the writer that the human system doesn't comprehend “Don't.” The system (not your conscious mind, but the 97% non conscious part) thinks that is what you want to do. Now enter the screen on your own mental “computer” and you will have a solid indication of what a “virus” can do - in this case, change the entire meaning of the list.

Let's try “not thinking mechanical thoughts.” That, of course, will lead to thinking mechanical thoughts. You had to hit the "enter" key in order to apply the “don't do that” command.

Try it! See if you can stop your mechanical thoughts without having any. Of course, that's only the conscious stuff. What will we do with the 97% non conscious stuff?

We could apply the same principle to each of the 18 mistakes, but we will refrain. Our point is simple. The little booklet gives “advice” but no means to make that advice actionable. What it likely will do well is leave many golfers feeling frustrated (or guilty) when the “mistakes” remain, even after reading one more inspirational book or article, listening to tapes, engaging in “confident” self-talk, being hypnotized, putting reminders all over the fridge and the bathroom mirror, and generally remonstrating onself.

So, here stands the source of our (KeyGolf's) broken self-promise. It is egregious to us that there is such a simple and easy to understand means of putting all 18 of those “mistakes” to rest while the golf world keeps on spouting the “fault.” In fact, many a small fortune has come from the omission of any real solutions to the “problems” in our games, as we keep searching for and buying “new hope.” And you will find plenty of promising offers.

In the first place, the title is a dead giveaway. The only Pro who doesn't make one or more of those “mistakes” is the one who wins this week's tournament - and if you look closely enough, even the “winner” may have “got away” with one or more.

So what? The subtitle of the little booklet carries some truth - “without changing your swing,” it says. Any of us may need a few changes, but the unspoken point of that appears to be that you can probably get somewhat better by planning and thinking better. (Our words, not in the booklet). It does seem to us that would be a good thing.

Spring is rearing its pretty head. So here is our game plan. Decide early what you want to do with your game this year. Makes no difference if you want it to be social, work-related, tournament hardened, or you're turning pro.

Then, at first opportunity, go to the course and play a full round with nothing but your clear key (if you have one). Do that without anything more than a warm-up that contains no attention to the ”mechanics” of your swing. That will allow you to evaluate how much of your goal orientation is already in place and what habits you have already built. (You may need to take into consideration a small amount of winter "rust," from non-use, of course). Then you can prioritize what is left to do. Find out where you are before you try to go “forward.”

Find a “helper.” That would be someone who can mirror what you are trying to learn and do so you can see it clearly. Then get yourself into a balanced position with regard to your mental and mechanical game that leads you directly to a clear manual pre-shot and a clear automatic execution for your shot-making.

If you take those small steps, you will find the the list of “mistakes” will not only grow smaller, but it likely will disappear altogether. The Pros need that lesson, too, at least most of them do.

So our booklet is entitled “Things for Pros and Ams to do with their games that will cancel any potential potholes in their paths.” You will not need a "list."

One postscript: Goals are not something we write down on a piece of paper. They are the things we think about and strive toward most of the time.

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