Here’s a universal trait that all the game’s greatest players have in common.
If you go through history and look at any star name, Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Same Snead, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, they all had, or have this skill in bucket loads.
Am I talking about razor sharp short games?
No.
Demon putting?
No
Insane distance off the tee?
No
Laser accurate iron shots?
No
Rock solid mental game?
Umm kind of.
I’m referring to the ability to play bad golf well.
By that I mean, to get the best out of themselves and record a somewhat sensible round when they were not in possession of their best stuff on any given day.
Fact is with this game; you will spend more time playing average to below average golf, than you will playing really well.
Yes, you will hit the purple patch, where everything you touch turns to gold, the names above have all had their streaks where they appeared to be immortal, but most of the time, your just average.
Your so, so, nothing great, nothing too bad. Just average.
When anyone is good, they’re good, we can all score well when we’re playing well. It’s a true art to get the ball round in a decent number when you’re not playing that well.
To keep the big number off the card, to avoid the car crash hole.
Maybe you just don’t feel 100% up for it, you feel a bit sluggish, maybe you’re carrying a few aches and pains, maybe the swing feels a bit rusty, maybe the club just feels peculiar in your hands today.
I’m sure you can relate to the above, one way or another, you’re just not firing on all cylinders.
And that’s why learning the skill of scoring well when you don’t have your best stuff is such a necessity in my opinion, because most of the time when you tee it up, your best stuff is nowhere to be seen.
So how do you learn how to get the best out of yourself when playing poorly or below average, how can you still score well?
First of all it starts with being 100% honest with yourself, you have to know what you are capable of out on the golf course most of the time, then stick to that.
There is of course a lot more to it than that, but the above, in my humble but accurate opinion is the very foundation of learning this skill, the very starting point.
Anyways, that’s just my £0.02 worth.
Until next time, keep it on the short grass.
Bob James PGA