Perception is KEY!

The thoughts that the teacher, golf or otherwise, holds true affect the student directly. We’ve heard stories about schoolteachers who thought students’ IQs were very high, but those numbers were actually the numbers on their lockers. The students excelled and then the teacher found out that the students were really the not-so-bright ones.

How I perceive my students is important to the students. If I see you as a golfer, that’s exactly what you are to me and to you. With this insight, you don’t have a distance to go to shoot, you simply need to realize the truth about yourself. Even if you have never golfed, never broken 100, or never made a par, to me, you are NOW a par golfer. When it’s as clear to you as it is to me, you’ll dash past.

If I see you as a bad golfer trying to improve, it is almost impossible for me to help you because I have locked you as a bad golfer in my thinking and therefore in your thinking. With that as the basis of our thinking, there is a huge and deep chasm that must be crossed to achieve par golfer status and it will require a great deal of effort and time on the part of both of us.

This truth was not always visible to me, but it is now. I know how important it is.

Already you arrived?

ALL my students are golfers… in my eyes. If I didn’t see you that way, how could I help you achieve your goal of being an even golfer? If I saw you as a double bogey golfer, could I really help you hit pars? I have to see you not just as having the potential to be a par golfer, but a par golfer right now. You may be shooting in the low 100s, but the way I see it, you’re a par golfer. The reality is that your way of thinking has not yet reached me (or the truth).

You don’t consider yourself a par golfer because you’re currently hitting double bogeys. “How can I think of myself as a golfer if I haven’t broken 90?” you can pronounce yourself right now. What comes first, the pairs or thinking you can make pairs? If you let your current scoring ability control your view of yourself as a golfer, you can never improve. You will stay at the level you have set for yourself. Your scoring ability is an expression of your perception of yourself as a golfer. Only occasionally will you score lower or higher than your preconceived scoring parameters.

If this sounds like a bit of a stretch, think about some of the things you’ve accomplished in your life. You can have your own business. If so, didn’t you have a clear vision in your mind even before starting the business? You may have adapted along the way, but in your mind you were at the finish line before you started. What about smaller things like building a table, painting a picture, or writing an article? Were not all these projects successfully achieved in your mind before starting the project? It is the same to quit smoking, diet or get rich. If you’re not there in your mind before you start, you’ll never get there.

Golf is no different. In order to get where you want to go, you have to be there in your mind before you start. If you’re not already there in your own mind, there’s a chasm between you and your goal, a chasm you won’t be able to cross. It is unattainable for you. It’s kind of a “nice to have” thing, but it’s not a realistic goal.

For many years I saw myself as a PGA Tour player. I wasn’t playing on the Tour and I wasn’t good enough to play on the Tour, but in my mind I was on the Tour. In fact, while I was an assistant pro at the Philadelphia Country Club preparing to qualify for the Tour, I golfed alone in the wee hours of the night. I didn’t just play golf, I had a contest. I was playing against Nicklaus, Palmer and Player. I had to beat his best ball. Sure, I was hitting all the shots, but they had three shots against my one shot. I had to be very good to tie them up. In my opinion, I was racing with them on the Tour. I was a Tour player.

It is interesting how these preconceived goals work. My first PGA Tour event was the Kemper Open in Charlotte, NC. I walked into the locker room on Tuesday and there was Arnold Palmer. I was competing with Arnold, this time in real life! In fact, while I was playing on the Tour, I played with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

I’m not talking about viewing yourself as a par player. What I am saying is that you must accept the truth that you are a par golfer NOW, even if the evidence does not seem to support your position.

The other side of the coin is wanting to be a par golfer. That’s a lukewarm desire at best. Many golfers fit into this category. They buy the newest clubs, the longest balls, the latest book, and listen to every swing tip anyone has to offer. I have even heard some willing to sell their souls to the devil for paris. It seems that when we want something in this way, we are almost stating that it is not really possible to achieve that goal. It pushes the goal towards the limits of possibility, almost making it disappear from us. It does not evade us, but it does make “getting” very laborious.

Most golfers assume that if they hit a lot of practice balls, take a few lessons, and play a lot of golf (the “do”), they will deserve a good swing and a good game (the “have”) and become good golfers. (being”). Actually, life works differently than that. First must come “being”, then “doing”, and then as a result will come “having”. The model is “being-doing- It’s not the “do-have-be” model we’ve been led to believe. You act (do) how you see yourself now. Now that you see yourself as a par golfer, you’ll act and do what a golfer does. par golfer.You will experience what you have always had in your own mind.

I ask Concept Golf School students to start a simple drill when they return to their home course. The goal of this drill is to score a par or better on each of the eighteen holes. To that end, students are asked to record their pairs each time they play on a separate score card. When they have completed the drill and recorded a par or better on each hole, they start with a new scorecard. This helps them realize that they really are golfers. You can start this exercise today!

Begin the process of becoming a par golfer by being a par golfer now and letting the changes happen. The conditions will be adjusted to your perspective. I see you as a golfer. Join me!