Kelli’s Korner – Set Your Schedule and Play to it!!
Set your schedule and train accordingly to compete and play your best.
What do I mean by this? I am merely suggesting that all of you set your competitive schedules early in the Season and prepare your practice schedules accordingly to compete on the dates and events that you have chosen. What happens if you aren’t playing your best when an event that you have scheduled arises? The answer to this simple: You Play.
That’s how you improve. Competitive reps whether you are playing your best or not will make you a far better player. If you aren’t hitting it your best when an event hits, it’s the perfect opportunity for you to see how good your short game is. In my opinion, not playing is not an option. For instance, if you qualify for a High School Tournament several days in advance or several weeks in advance…get ready to play. You have to play with the game that shows up for those few days. Maybe it’s better than you expected, maybe your game is worse than you expected. Either way…it’s not a big deal. You don’t have the option to not go because what you think your best game and best ball striking is MIA and nowhere to be found and it’s Tournament Time. Sure…this will get your blood pumping and your heart racing on the first tee and give you some unnecessary anxiety…but that’s what makes you better. I have always had a game plan for every competitive round I have played since I understood the concept of a game plan and course management. I can assure you, I rarely executed a plan the exact way I mapped it out in my head. The reality is: you are going to miss shots and miss targets…the fun is what you make of the missed shots and what you can get out of your game when your execution is a bit off.
Playing and competing gives you the best opportunity to improve. You are never as good or as bad as your last shot, or round, for that matter. Your self worth does not lie in a single shot or score. I know at times this can be a challenge…but at the end of the day, it is about the process and the steps you are taking to improve on a daily basis. That is one of the things that makes golf an incredibly challenging game. The work that you put into it each day does not necessarily translate into immediate results and that can be incredibly frustrating and disheartening. But, the real measure of all of your hard work will be demonstrated in your shots and scores soon enough. You have to stay patient and trust that you are doing the right things to improve. Your scores will follow suit and start getting better soon.
The idea is to have a plan and stick to it. Work out a program with your instructor with how you are going to improve and what your goals are each month. Then, measure your successes and shortcomings based on that program. I would suggest you have a similar plan in the classroom and with your fitness as well. It is well documented that people who set goals and write them down are far more successful in achieving those goals because you have a plan. I challenge all of you to try it.
Here’s the bottom line: make a plan, commit to the plan and success will follow. Don’t expect to always have your best…it isn’t possible. Be open to accepting the challenge of playing an event when you don’t have your best in your bag. And at the end of the day, remember…it’s just a game. Have fun and go play.
Fairway and Greens,
Kelli