What does it mean to ‘Stay the Course’? According to the Merriam Webster’s dictionary the definition of this phrase is ‘To continue with an effort, process, etc. even though it is difficult.’ Nowhere is this more relevant than in the journey to reach goals in the game of golf. The game is hard and there are many skills to develop to play at higher and higher levels of mastery. Let’s look at a couple of the common obstacles on the journey and solutions to those obstacles.
One very common obstacle that people will run into is a swing tendency that will not change or at least not with good results. Although frustration can be used as fuel it can also cause someone to lose patience and not trust the process. This means that someone will not stay the course during the difficult
phases of the swing change and instead revert back to old tendencies or try something altogether new. A great solution is to revisit your why and long term goals that drive you to persist even through the difficult phase of changing your golf swing. If you are focused on where you could be a year, two years, or even five years from now with your golf game you are more likely to stay the course and make progress.
Another common obstacle that people face in golf development is an inability to increase clubhead speed. Although there are countless examples of golf athletes of all ages increasing clubhead speed some people have a hard time getting a few more miles per hour. This can also lead to frustration and a
tendency to stop working on the right exercises that will help to increase clubhead speed. These gains do not come overnight and really only show up after long periods of consistent work on physical development.
Take the time to review how consistent you have been with what you have worked on over the last few
months, even years and see if there is a tendency to be inconsistent or chase quick fixes. If that’s the
case it’s time to create a plan to improve and follow it. Stay the course!
