How to simplify your golf game

There’s a minefield of information available to us, Google, Youtube, TV, Books and DVDs. And if you feel the need you can spend hours, weeks, months and years trying to get through it all. But does more information help? I think not and if you’re to play your best golf you need to minimise what you’re taking in – getting just enough to point you in the right direction without destroying your instinctive flair. It can be a hard line to find and for the most part, coaches/teachers/students/golfers go the wrong way, and overdo it.

My mission has always been to simplify the golf learning process and one of the greatest skills a coach can possess is the ability to keep quiet. To say less, not more, is something rare in today’s world. To watch a student “get it” without a lot of input is truly amazing and something that motivates me to keep going.

A huge moment for me was learning about the 80/20 rule. Also known as the Pareto Principle, it states that 20% of effects give you 80% of causes. For a long time this rule was used in commerce and finance, used to explain the distribution of wealth – with 80% of the wealth was generated by 20% of the people.

The 80/20 Rule has found itself being used extensively in business, most notably, helping business owners discover their best customers who generate 80% of their income.

This principle has helped me explain Automatic Golf’s effectiveness. Instead of having to remember 137 rules about playing golf, you can focus on the few key points, and then get on with things. You’ll be rewarded with a better game and it will become so much easier. The bottom line? Automatic Golf makes golf improvement easier because you are working on the smallest amount of things that gives you the best results.

The 80/20 Rule shed light on why some golfers are able to walk from the course with more energy and why, when the game is truly played at the subconscious level it appears easy. Here’s a snippet from my most recent book that explains things further

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Cameron: Automatic Golf allows you to apply the 80/20 rule to your game in a positive way.

Evan: What’s the 80/20 rule?

Cameron: It was a principle discovered by a guy name Pareto – and basically it says for many events 80% of causes are created by 20% of the effects. Here’s just some of the things that have 80-20 rule applied;

– 20% of the richest people account for 80% of the wealth
– 80% of profits come from 20% of your customers
– You spend 80% of your time in 20% of your house

Evan: How does this apply to golf?

Cameron: Instead of trying to do a 100 things each time you play, you focus on a some key areas and forget the rest.

Evan: So focus on 20% of the tasks that give you 80% of the result.

Cameron: Something like that. I don’t think the actual numbers are that important, and they’re only a guide anyway. But what is important to grasp, and really understand, is that you can do a few things really well and get a greater than anticipated return.

I personally feel with my game that I’m sitting around 5 – 95. I no longer worry about all the things that golfers worry about. For the most part all I need to do is,

– choose a club
– pick a target
– walk in and hit the ball

This is the 5%. I’m not stressing about my handicap, I’m not worried about my swing, I’m not thinking about what this shot will do to my score. I leave all this stuff behind and just hit the ball.

In return, my system gives me close to my full potential. At it’s my potential. I’m not saying I can beat Tiger or Phil or anything like that. I get close to my potential based on my age, skill and application.

There’s always room for improvement, but you’re playing automatically, improvements are small and happen without too much conscious input.

So your swing will get marginally better, but you won’t notice. There’ll be a slight tweak to your chipping action but you won’t know or your concentration will improve but you won’t even know.

When you apply AG properly, you get massive results based on the amount of work you do. It makes golf easier and far more rewarding. You’re doing the bare minimum but getting the biggest return. Most of all the hard stuff (like working out how hard to hit the ball or even, how to hit the ball) is done at the automatic level.

Compare this to the old-fashioned way we play. You hit off the 1st tee and there could be a million bits of information going through you. Your brain is spinning while you’re trying to hit that ball. Here’s just a few things that will go through an untrained golfer’s mind;

– swing slowly
– how do I hit the ball further?
– keep head down
– what did I do last week?
– I hope I don’t embarrass myself
– why is that guy looking at me?
– swing smoothly
– what was that tip I read in Golf Digest?

So you’re bombarding your system. You’re doing everything you think possible but not getting anywhere. It’s tiring and incredibly frustrating because you feel you’re working hard and should be getting results.

Evan: It’s the opposite to Automatic Golf. This is more like 95-5. You are trying 95% of what’s possible but only getting 5% of your potential.

Cameron: Exactly. And how crazy is this? It’s just completely crazy but golfers all over the world are trying to use every ounce of their energy to think their way to a better game. But it just doesn’t work.

Evan: This is brilliant. It’s all really starting to make sense.

Cameron: It sure is. So when you’re automatic you don’t need to focus time and energy on all things. You can forget about;

– working out how hard to hit the ball
– what sort of swing to use
– how to align correctly
– how to take the club away
– how to swing correctly
– even decision making can become automatic

Your subconscious takes care of all of this. All you have to do is allow it to do what it wants. Your main job is keeping out of the way.

Evan: Yeah! I like it. You really do make it easier by applying automatic.

80/20 Rule is one of the biggest breakthroughs I’ve made with explaining AG. More importantly for all the golfers out there, it gives you a way of simplyfying the game. I’ve been saying for a long time that if playing well is important to you but no matter how hard you try, you can’t crack success, then you need to simplify things, not make them more complicated. Adult thinking favours making things more detailed but this is not what you need.

Another way of saying the same thing: Think less and play more.

I’ll share more stories and insight into the 80/20 Rule in future posts but in the meantime please check out my latest book, Secret Confessions of a Rogue Golf Coach, that explains the process further. It’s only $25 and it comes to you as an instant download (PDF).

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