Being "good" at Golf

  


Granite Links, Quincy, MA  August, 2016

      I was working with a very new golfer recently, and she made a comment that I "must be good."  The comment stuck with me and over the next several days, I found myself thinking about what she meant. 

 

     So, what makes someone a good golfer?   If I'm playing with beginners, I probably look pretty good; if I was with a golf pro, maybe not so much.  Or, I might be playing well today and not so well tomorrow.  It could change from hole to hole - I could start out playing well and fall apart or need some time to warm up and take 8 holes before I pull my game together.

 

     I found myself wondering if this particular client would ever be a "good" golfer and came to the conclusion that in working with her, good golf isn't really my goal.  It's so subjective and changes constantly.  What I would like to do is to build her confidence on the course.  Isn't that what leads to good golf ?  You know the difference.  A confident golfer steps up to the ball, proceeds with their routine and takes the shot.  Whether the results are good or bad, they appear to have some skill.  This really only comes with experience on the golf course - opportunities to learn the customs and etiquette involved in playing golf - and that's hard to learn from your traditional golf pro.  It's not possible to build confidence on the golf course by taking lessons on the driving range. 

     So what makes someone a "bad golfer" ?  Or let's ask, who is it difficult for me to play with ?  Watching someone struggle on the golf course is not fun.  I didn't get to play a lot of golf this summer but one of the times I went out with my husband, the guy we were paired up with had a run of bad holes.  Trying too hard doesn't pay off in golf, and all he needed to do was slow down his swing.  He finally figured it out and had a good finish, but it was interesting to observe the spiral of his game collapsing as his confidence abandoned him.   

 

     But...you don't actually have to be a good golfer to look like you are one.  There's a woman I used to play with in a league.  She was probably in her 60s when we played together and is one of the most self-confident women I've ever known.  She was a terrible golfer, but she played with confidence.  She could only hit the ball about 50 yards at best, and it was torture for me to be paired up with her because of her slow play.  But I always admired the way she carried herself - and I still do...