The Will to Prepare

Legendary basketball coach, Bobby Knight, is quoted as saying, “The key is not the will to win…..everyone has that.  It is the will to prepare to win that is important.”  I thought of this quote as Brooks Koepka answered Scott Van Pelt’s question as to how he has been able to perform so well in major championships.  Brooks responded by saying that it was all in his preparation. 

Many players look at performance in a very narrow sighted way, not fully appreciating everything that goes into performing at peak levels.  The best athletes in the world set their sights on a few key events and look to peak for those weeks.  In golf, this can mean adjusting workouts, sleep cycles, nutritional intake, forms and times of practice, playing habits, equipment, and of course mindfulness work to reach optimum focus levels for those all important events. 

So how would someone go about creating a plan to peak weeks or months ahead of an event?   First, a true assessment of where the game is currently is essential.  From this, a plan to improve in the key areas from a fundamental perspective as well as an execution or result perspective can be put into motion.  Working towards sound fundamentals that may take a little time to show up in the early weeks then gradually transitioning to more result based practice to see how the improved motion holds up is a key step.  Putting it to the test in practice with clear intentions and full engagement to learn from mistakes is also important. 

Take the time to think about which events you want to peak for, and then get started on your plan to get there.