I read the other day that the founders of Google were so convinced of their product and the fact that people would use it, that they were happy for people to take their time in visiting the Big G.
Why?
Because they knew the longer people waited, the better their search engine would be. This is not the usual type of thinking and maybe one reason why Google has become so huge.
When I became fed up with my terrible putting game and couldn’t stand the thought of yipping any longer I drew a line in the sand. I knew that there was no miracle cure and that “yipping” was always going to be a problem. But I did think I could improve…
I did something smart and I wish more people would do it. I stopped being in a hurry. I changed putters and committed to putting with a better attitude and more freedom. Most importantly I didn’t put a timeframe on any correction. I accepted the odd yip and kept trucking through some difficult times.
If I yipped, I put it down to the process and moved on. The putting yips became less of an issue because I stopped focusing so much on them. I stopped driving to the course worried about my putting game. There was less fear each time I walked onto the green. And there was certainly less angst each time I missed a putt.
It took some time, but bit by bit my putting game improved. The honest truth is this took the best part of two years – this is going from a horrible yipper to expert putter. But it was worth every second of it. By leaving thoughts of instant cure behind and having no time limit on my improvement, real success turned up in a very manageable amount of time.
When I look back, I fumbled my way around the golf course for years. There was at least 7 years of putting misery that I can recall. So patience, taking your time and doing things the long way round can often be the best and quickest. Patience and not being in a rush all the time is seriously important.
Here’s a short audio on the same subject:
Insidious golf learning monster.
Resources: Check out my complete putting learning system and get the full story on the putting yips.
4 Comments
Cam280
July 5, 2013I disagree, Kids are in a rush! except there rush is in the process as much as the result. They usually don’t encounter fear until an Adult instills this in them and they soon realise that the result is all that matters. They soon forget the process (journey) and are result driven which becomes there curse striving for that elusive “well done, you da man” I think thats the only reason why people get coaching is because they want someone to stroke there ego for them.
Adam
July 5, 2013Reminds me of the kids in my golf class who were better putters than my instructor. Purely automatic. They just walk up and hit the dang thing. Unlike some of us adults who think about is my wrist cocked at the top of my swing or are my hips moving out of the way down. I walk up and hit the ball like children.
Adam
July 5, 2013I disagree with camerons ideas of a routine. I believe that any type of routine will make everything boring. Try new things like taking a wedge from the tee. Moe norman many times took wedge from the tee and driver into the green just to give him what he said was “more variety”. Moe norman had a routine though so maybe its not exactly a bad thing to have one i just dont have one myself.
Cameron
July 5, 2013Adam: you need some sort of routine in my opinion. But the mental part is most important. The physical side allows for experimentation and I think I’m incredibly flexible with my approach.
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