Don’t waste time looking for the elusive ‘quick fix’

Posted on 09/02/09. Source: Fairway to Green Magazine (By Dr Karl Morris)

Dr Karl Morris (pictured) - one of Europe's leading mind coaches - is a PGA consultant and has worked with Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell, avid Howell, Lee Westwood and many other tour pros.  He writes an exclusive column for Fairway to Green Magazine each month, see his latest below (or catch-up with our archive here)

The secret to good golf is that there is ‘no secret'.

While we are looking at the mental aspects of golf mastery it is important that we look at what I call your ‘golfing philosophy'. In effect, what do you believe it will take to become a good golfer?

One of the key points I always stress to the players I work with is how vitally important it is for you to find out what works for you rather than what may, or may not, work for someone else.

Take advice certainly, find out information, test out different theories by all means, but keep uppermost in your mind the idea that what you do with your golf game must fit you and your personality. We all love the idea of a miracle cure, or the elusive ‘secret', but over and over again we find out on tour that adhering to certain basic fundamentals and trusting the team of people around you is the key to long-term success.

One of the players I am most proud of, in terms of his achievements since we started to work together, is Philip Archer. Chances are you may not yet have heard of Phil. He didn't have any sort of amateur career to speak of and five years ago he was struggling playing in local pro-ams.

A plan was put together and he has worked religiously and stuck to that plan. Five years later and a top-10 finish in the Volvo Masters and a top-40 spot in the European Tour order of merit in 2008 are testimony to an ‘overnight sensation' that took five years.

What Phil has achieved is testament to what is possible with a long-term commitment instead of our eternal thirst for the next cup of ‘quick fix magic' that lasts at best another week.

Vijay Singh is arguably golf 's hardest worker, but what he does every day is only what he feels he needs to do to be at his best. His make-up is such that he wants to step on to the tee knowing he has prepared as completely as he can. He loves to hit practice balls because going on the range isn't real work to him; it is another opportunity to explore what he can do with the golf ball. If you are going on to the range with the flawed mindset that, by hitting balls for hour after hour, day after day, you will have ‘paid your dues', and will therefore deserve to play well, then you will be disappointed.

If Vijay is today's workaholic, then Ben Hogan could be considered the equivalent from yesteryear.

Arguably the greatest ball striker of all time, Hogan was on a never-ending search for golfing perfection. Endless hours on the practice ground ‘digging the answers out of the dirt' resulted in a level of consistency that had never been seen before and hasn't been bettered since.

Legend has it that Hogan didn't like to play 36 holes in one day around the same course because of the likelihood of him finding his own divot marks in the afternoon round.

The mechanics of Hogan's swing have been dissected endlessly over the past 50 years. But Hogan must have had an incredibly powerful mental attitude to go with a sound technique. He may not have worked with a psychologist but he had a ‘trained brain'.

Here are just a few of Hogan's ‘mental fundamentals'. Love the challenge: "I have loved playing the game and practising it. Each day made me feel privileged and extremely happy, and I couldn't wait
for the sun to come up the next morning so that I could get out on to the course again."

Accept your mistakes: Hogan had a reputation as a perfectionist, but he often stressed that mistakes were human. "No golfer can always be at the peak of his game," he said.

Learn from experience: "I always kept a diary of what I was working on in practice. How else could I be consistent?"

Have single-minded attention: Hogan was famous for his ability to stay focused despite what was happening around him.

"Have a very clear intention on each shot. What do you want that golf ball to do?" he said.

More information ...

Take a look at the revolutionary new programme ‘5 Shots Lower Without Changing Your Swing' by Dr Karl Morris, at www.golf-brain.com