With arguably the greatest week of the year in golf behind us we can all think back to witnessing Rory win his second consecutive green jacket this year at the Masters. As Bobby Jones set out to create Augusta National many years ago he sought to create a layout that would challenge the skills of players through both subtle and severe contouring of the fairways and greens. Without question Augusta National is a true test of Mastery.
“Mastery is not a function of genius or talent. It is a function of time and intense focus applied to a particular field of knowledge.” – Robert Greene. So as you think back to watching Rory this year what comes to mind? Did he display a high level of Mastery? We know he ranked almost last in fairways hit but was still able to get the job done. This is because he has applied perhaps the essence of mastery and that is to have a continuous growth mindset to develop and improve as a player. Rory has steadily improved his putting and ranked in the top 10 last year on tour. He has started to hit more flighted iron shots, a shot he has struggled to control in the past, and he hit one of the great shots on the 12th hole at Augusta on Sunday in the history of the Masters. He has also improved his mental game and demonstrated the ability to right the ship when it counted most and play the best golf of anyone on the leaderboard on the back nine on Sunday.
So what does this mean for you? Well, it means you can develop mastery as well with the right process. Start by adopting a growth mindset and finding out your key areas for improvement. Getting an assessment is a great place to start. Then it’s time to put the work in!
