The Diary of a Golfer

No doubt there are high hopes heading out to that first tee. You feel strong; you can see that ball exploding off the club. That feeling of raw power as the ball soars through the air; that swing so smooth and powerful; your head definitely in the game.

And then for some reason after taking a smooth practice swing and still feeling on top of the world, you address the ball, a little doubt creeps in. You start that back swing with a little sway in the body and before you know it you have over-swung just a bit. Then as you start your downswing your hips shift slightly causing your hands to get too far ahead of the club so that at impact you are coming from outside in cutting at the ball causing a severe slice to the right and the round begins.

From the heavy rough you try to make the miraculous shot only to find yourself advancing about 100 yards with a 4 metal and no better of a lie. By the time you reach the green you have visited the sand and are now putting from 25 feet for bogey with a slight breeze in the brilliant sun but you might as well be playing in the rain - you see nothing but two putts.

You reach the second tee, you are now the last one to tee off and the smoke is billowing. Smack! This time the ball takes an abrupt turn to the left, heading toward the trees, ricocheting off the tall branches and settling softly behind a beautiful Douglas Fir with no way to advance the ball. From here you play straight across the fairway, left-handed by the way, and are then hitting number 3 to this 375 yard par 4.

Finally you lift one up into the air heading directly toward the green and it looks like a beauty and the rest of your foursome yells "great shot", "at a way partner" but suddenly it comes up short, lands in a soft spot where moisture has collected from last night's 5-minute shower storm and the ball is plugged.

All of you look for a good 5 minutes but there is no ball to be found. Soon, reluctantly, you pull out another Titleist take your lost-ball stroke, then shank it onto the green leaving yourself another long putt but now for double-bogey - oh-oh, another two to get down. Two holes completed and you are now 5 over par.

Smoke is now coming out of your ass.

"Where's the golf strategy, sweetheart?" Any hopes you had of "this being the day" have just vanished in the first 13 meetings of your clubface and that little white ball.

Of course we all know that this has nothing to do with you. There is obviously something wrong with the golf clubs or the ball is out of balance or they did something to the golf course. This just can't be. You felt too good. You had this all planned out in your mind and you were told by that latest article that all you had to do was visualize the shot and that is exactly what you did.

Where is the justice??? Somebody call the sheriff and get his fat buns out here.

Golf is always full of surprises. And to many of us that is probably what makes it such a great game. But just once, wouldn't it be nice to be hitting on all cylinders and having that ball land in just the right spot on every hole? And then have every putt break just as you had planned and end up perfectly in the middle of the hole? probably not going to happen.

The above scenario is not so far fetched as most all golfers know. In fact, you play this game enough and you will have many of these sorts of stories of your own. Most of us have one or two every round.

But this is the very reason why golfers need to think more about "Golf Strategy". It is too easy out there over a period of 4 to 4 - hours for things to get out of control. And if you don't have something written down to help you get back on track you can turn one mistake into many very quickly and that is what can drive up the score.

The written strategy does not have to be complicated at all. It is just a reminder of what you intend to do on each hole. Where do you want the ball to land? What club selection makes sense off the tee? What do you need to consider giving you the best chance at par? What do you definitely want to avoid? And what are the distances from certain landmarks so you know what to do if things don't go quite as planned?

Most golfers try to do all of this in their heads. But when things go a stray, plans start to get abandoned. And that is not good. It is better to only have one bad hole as opposed to many if you can prevent it. And the quicker you can get your mind off of the bad shot or the missed putt the better off you will be.

The concept behind a written plan in golf is no different than a written plan in business or your personal life. It helps to solidify the plan or strategy in your mind and then keeps you on target - you have something to refer to when distractions get in your way. It is also a great tool for evaluation. You are not just remembering what you did that was good or bad but you have your plan to see how you are doing against your strategy for each hole.

In time this will pay dividends with more consistent play.

Think about it: Get that "Strategy" out of your head and onto some paper for better results.

Article by Jeff Gustafson - the creator of the Pocket Pro Personal Game-Plan and Strategy System www.the-sixth-man.com

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