Unlike my other articles which tend to be more spontaneous, this one has been evolving for some time, flitting around my thoughts for longer than any article I’ve ever written. And when  I asked myself why that was, it became apparent it was due to the content being sure to divide opinion…..hence my initial hesitancy.

However, if I’m thinking it, maybe it’s meant to be out there so here goes.. I’m braced and ready to be judged.

Things have come to a head watching the USPGA although this has zero to do with the players performance….it’s more to do with the comments, both from critics and cheerleaders alike.

Quick back story to bring you all up to speed.

Even though I’m referring to the USPGA event on right now, this following scenario can apply to any week of the playing year.

THURSDAY- Tiger Woods starts like a train and the armchair ‘experts’ believe they’ve spotted something; Is it his posture, is it a different swing move, is it his mental outlook, is it because he was seen ‘having a chat’ with Mr Foley? A few hours later and those theories seem less relevant as Tiger retreats back into the pack.

FRIDAY- Enter the equation other players, clearly having a better week and again, out come a different band of ‘experts’. Tiger needs to look at his swing, Tiger needs to do this, or that, Tiger’s finished, the endless commentary goes on.

 No doubt those conversations will run long into the weekend.

And here’s where my article picks up the story.

Swing coaches, mental coaches, regular club players, can all find themselves looking for external evidence to back up their own theories on how the game should be played. The persuasion experts will tell you it’s our need for social proof, validating our own model of the world and reassuring us we’re on the right track with our own beliefs.

But get this- It’s my belief that swing techniques, mental approaches , equipment changes, putting aids etc have less to do with ‘real data’ and more to do with a ‘placebo effect’.

Does improvement come as a result of a new swing move, a new way of thinking, a new putter, a new driver, a new putting map…….or as a result that we believe it works?

And if we believe it works chances are we’ll look for external evidence to back it up.

So, if we’ve bought a new driver and an elite player has one and plays well…..it validates our choice. Likewise, if we’ve got students using our ‘preferred swing move’ and they go out and play well, it has to be true ….doesn’t it?

Of course, swing gurus amongst you will provide data, the science bits and pieces to back up your case. But guess what, I don’t care because all that data doesn’t fit my model. You can provide all the evidence and it can make perfect sense….just not to me! There was a time when I did that too. If my players did well, it was down to my mental techniques…surely. I certainly made sure they were reminded of that.Or was it simply because I was unsure of how effective I was and was clutching at the need for validation to make myself feel better?

The USPGA running this weekend is fascinating for me, not for the on course theatre, but the way people align themselves to a certain belief ‘bandwagon’. If a player who appears to approach the game which is close to our own preferences shows up, we’re quick to shout it from the rooftops when things go well….and then strangely quiet when they turn in a mediocre performance.

I use to track scoreboards following ‘my players’, hoping and praying they would go well to reinforce my own sense of worth as a mental coach, so I totally understand where you’re coming from in self promoting your own beliefs. However, that only plays out as relevant and balanced if you acknowledge their poor weeks too. Rose coloured spectacles have never really sat well on me anyway!

My approach now is so different. I do my work, feel I’m bloody good at it and attend to what I can control…..MY PERFORMANCE. The rest is down to the player going out and making the effort and their performance is now their game. If my players go out and play well, of course I’m  pleased…..FOR THEM. I don’t need them to validate my beliefs, my judgment, my ability, my choices!

So all you in reader land…are you too looking for external evidence to back up your own beliefs?

Is it really relevant to base your own beliefs on what a player does on the other side of the world, someone you don’t even know ( other than the distorted version portrayed by the media) and who’s values and learning processes you’ll never get access too?

This article is really about developing YOUR BELIEFS, being true to yourself and having the courage and sense of ownership to approach the game with your set of values intact.

OR

Jump on the next bandwagon, become a conformist and adopt a set of behaviours which have zero to do with your sense of self; just because Player A  or Coach B say it’s the way forward. Because here’s the thing, by conforming to someone else’s beliefs…..maybe you lose something as a result.

Just because a swing guru, mental coach or elite player tells you it’s the way to go, doesn’t mean it works for you…..because they aren’t you are they?

Great coaches are those who can adopt the flexibility to coach you within your model, don’t impose the need for you to conform and rarely have allegiance to one set way of thinking.

I’ve come full circle because when I started out, I had one narrow way of coaching and if players didn’t get it I was stumped. It was all I had. So, I got real and went away and developed massive flexibility, my players don’t need to conform because I coach THEIR MODEL. No placebo needed!

So, why do I feel a placebo is probably at play in mainstream coaching?

Example-If you change putters, the putting tends to improve almost instantly and we bask in the glory of having made a good choice. But is it the putter creating the improvement? Or is it, as I believe…..becomes our awareness has changed? Are we now noticing how it feels, how it looks, how the ball rolls….whereas before we were just noticing the limitation of the old putter?

Why is that? Tied in with my above thoughts, maybe it’s because with the old putter we’re looking externally for evidence to back up our thoughts. If you’re in the market for a new putter, that evidence is continuing to putt poorly with the old, a convincer you need to change. You get the new putter, the awareness shifts. Now you’re more aware of internal feedback and the putting improves! Is that the putter you’ve spent £100 on, or better awareness?

You take a regular lesson with your local swing coach following a poor spell of play. During the lesson you hit it much better and go away pleased. Two days later you’re back on the phone with the same problem and are frustrated that the initial improvement hasn’t lasted. Why?

Again, is it down to what the swing coach has offered, or is down to your shift in awareness during the lesson? Social proof will tell us that he’s a ‘swing expert’ so he must be right…..surely!! But are you merely conforming to their teaching method and it doesn’t fit yours?

And mental coaches don’t get off the hook either! I’ve had players who I’ve worked with and when they are with me, they play brilliantly. Then they report back a few weeks later and their performance has dipped again. The reason?

When they are with me they are tuned into their internal processes, their values are aligned and improvement comes instantly. In essence, they are trusting themselves to deliver. When they are away from me they fall back into ‘conformist’ mode, reacting to outside evidence and looking externally for reassurance. They are seeking a placebo to reassure them.

Mainstream coaching for me is massively flawed in the sense it attempts to fit players into certain boxes, gets them to swing a certain way and think in a certain pattern. That for me is missing the point. People are unique and therefore the coach has to move to a position whereby they are unique in his/her coaching approach. I never coach the same way twice….I used to!

If you’re a coach reading this, how flexible is your approach? Do you have total trust in your own ability that no matter who shows up for a lesson, you can deliver bespoke value? Of course, like me, it requires you to be brutally honest with yourself. I wasn’t good enough….simple as that.

If you’re a player, is the relationship with your coach exactly as you want it. Are you compromising your values/beliefs and conforming to an approach simply because the ‘expert’ says so? Are you shifting from one product to another and enjoying short term progress before falling back? Are you believing the placebo at play?

Despite the fact I feel mainstream coaching is massively flawed, it would be unfair not to mention coaches who excel and fly in the face of the conformist mentality. It takes an element of faith to swim upstream and the coaches I surround myself with are examples of the changing face of golf coaches. Check out my twitter page and the coaches/players I value can be found. My list is not random, they all bring value to my skill set and I learn something new every day as a result.

So I guess my message is clear. If you want to coach/play to your full potential, surround yourself with people who share your vision, accept you as you and don’t feel the need to harvest their ego on the back of your success.

I have a great group of players to work with, trusted people who surround me but above all, I trust myself. Resist the urge to conform and stay true to your sense of you because when you dance to your own tune…..the music sounds so much better.

Be yourself and let others do the same. Embrace difference, there’s room for everyone.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Andy Morrison

info@progolfmindcoach.co.uk

I often pick up ideas for my articles in a completely random way. I’d like to have you believe that they are all meticulously planned out, timed to hit this site at the optimum time and designed to follow a pattern, thus giving you the reader a routine to follow. Truth is, as I sit and write this, I have no real idea how it will turn out……which is just as I like it.

I can imagine the covert pressure I’d invite if I set a strict deadline, a rigid set of dates which I had to follow and how I’d feel if it had to be a set number of words or written in a set time. Kind of think it wouldn’t be a lot of fun either.

So my idea for this article was, as usual, totally unforeseen.

Yesterday I met up with a potential client at the horse races. The meeting went really well and as is usual, I looked at his total behaviour in a bid to uncover what makes him ‘tick’. We talked about his golf game as the afternoon unfolded and sure enough, the patterns emerged because as a coach, the clues are always there if you know where to look and listen. His strategy for playing golf showed itself in the same way as he picked horses (told you it was random)

He was a slave to the numbers game!

He couldn’t pick a horse until ALL the horses had been seen, he counted then NUMEROUS times to ensure they were all in the parade ring and then had to check ALL the bookmakers prices to ensure he had the very best deal. This he repeated for EVERY race.

I asked him if he’d ever chosen a horse in a different way and he replied…..’Oh no, I have to stick to my system’. ‘And does your system work?’ I asked. ‘No, but at least I know what I’m doing’ came the response.

Interesting?  Especially when it became apparent he played golf in a similar way.

Which is where this article kicks in; Do golfers follow a strategy which is effective….or merely familiar?

Well, I sense that players are slave to the numbers game, to such an extent it’s actually getting in the way of progressing their game.

Do you define your ability by what’s on the scorecard? If you shoot 75 does it automatically mean you’ve played better than shooting 80? Do you have to play to a particular number because you’re a ’10 handicap’ or because it’s a standard expected of a professional player?

I’ve lost count of the number of comments whereby a player will refer to how they’ve played simply be stating a number. Or gauge if the day was a success, merely in terms of money won or handicap movement.

And why stop there! Let’s throw in how many fairways I hit, how many greens, how many ‘up and downs’, how many putts, how far each club goes in relation to other players. I mean, you must be a better player if you played a par 3 with a six iron and your opponent hit a five iron…..What were they thinking…..it’s a six iron all day long right!!

So, consider this. Do you hit a particular club BECAUSE it’s a certain distance to the target? Do you select the same clubs on a particular hole BECAUSE it’s what you always do? Do you add up your score over and over again during the course of a round BECAUSE it helps you learn to count? Do you expect to shoot a particular range of scores BECAUSE it’s in line with your perceived ability?

Often we get into habits and follow patterns with no real idea as to why we do it. Being able to separate effectiveness from habit and view your game far more rationally is a good tool to have. Taking 3 wood instead of driver off the 1^st may be a better strategy for you; maybe you only hit driver because it’s what everyone else does, even though you invariably hit it poor and put yourself on the back foot. Is that effective FOR YOU?

If you hit six iron on a particular par three, have you ever considered hitting a ¾ five or punched four? And if not…..why not?

I’ve recently returned to the game after a lengthy absence due to injury and I was amazed at how quickly I got drawn back into the numbers game. I took a couple of borrowed clubs up to the driving range and despite not having hit a ball for the best part of 3 years, instantly expected X distance from my 7 iron. Was that really my only gauge to let me know how well I’d hit the ball? If I hit if further than expected, would that mean I’d played better; if it flew shorter, would that mean I’d under- performed? And how many ‘straight’ shots would I need to hit to be happy?

Why is it that a number defines my ability?

I guess it’s because we all thrive for a sense of what’s familiar, what’s comfortable, what fits into our sense of expectation, our internal yardstick….and that does make sense.

But on the golf course, that strategy unravels and gets in the way of becoming ‘better’ when it becomes too rigid. As with any skill set, the way we develop is to try on different ideas/behaviours for size and see how they fit. At first they may seem a little uncomfortable or ‘different’ but rather than view that as a negative, explore the idea that by trying something different, it opens the door to potential improvement.

So I’d invite you to revisit your game and assess whether you do in fact, play the numbers game. Is your game defined by a series of numbers, stats, percentages, distances? Maybe it’s time to experience the game as a series of individual shots, each one brand new and each one an opportunity to develop another skill.

Of course, if you’re thrilled with the way you play, don’t change a thing! For everyone else, develop the idea that your ability on the golf course is far, far more than can ever be contained in a scorecard. The score is a ‘representation’ or your ability……but not a definition.

Maybe in time when someone asks you how you played, you won’t answer ‘Terrible, I was 5 over my handicap’ or ‘Poor, I missed 8 greens’ but state the positives and purpose behind why you really play. ‘My score wasn’t what I hoped for but I hit enough quality shots that let me know I’m learning more and more about my game’

Enjoy your golf game and connect with each shot, a series of experiences which add up to a golfing PROCESS. And as we’re all told by the people in the know…..Great golf is more PROCESS and less OUTCOME.

Thanks for your attention….have a great week

Andy Morrison

info@progolfmindcoach.co.uk