So You Think You Can Improve?
In my opinion there are three types of golfers with regard to improvement. First there are the golfers who don’t do anything to improve, “The Pacifist.” They put their golf clubs in the car and leave them there until the next time they play. When you ask if they read the latest article in Golf Digest, or saw the tip from The Golf Channel, they look at you and say what? These are the golfers you are just happy to golf. When they get a few minutes of time to enjoy the sport, they would rather be on the course than on the range. If they have a good round…great. If they have a bad round…there will be others days to try.
Secondly you have “The Tinkerer.” This is the individual that is trying anything and everything to get better. They try one tip on this swing, and a different bit of advice on the next. They are in pursuit of that one tip or swing thought that will make them a scratch golfer over night. For an instructor these types of students are great to have because they are always eager to try something new. They want to get better. The problem is that they don’t give any new techniques or changes enough time to sink in and work. If the change doesn’t work on the next round of golf, they are off wanting to change again.
Finally there are the one that I call the “The Improver.” This is the golfers who truly wants to get better. They know that to change your golf swing takes time. Lets face it, you’ve probably made thousands of golf swings, and to change that muscle memory can take a significant amount of time. This is also the player that will stay focused on the task at hand. When they are working on one change, they will not get lost in the all of the advice that might be given to them.
Every person that plays golf will fall into one of these three categories. There is nothing wrong with the category that you currently fall in to. But if you truly want to get better at the game of golf, shoot lower scores, you need to be able to fit the description of “The Improver.” This is where you will notice the most dramatic improvement in your golf game. If you fall into one of the other two categories, you might see some change in your golf, but it will likely be only a small change, and short lived.
So, which one are you?