Tag: The Road to Scratch

Golf is mental 2019 goals

New Year, New Perspective, Same Great Game

Posted on by Golf is Mental

I'm not really a New Years resolution type of guy. The concept of waiting until January 1st to instill positive change in one's life is a weird one to me. Why can't we set our minds on doing something positive on March 17th? Or October 21st? Having said that, there is something mentally refreshing about the ol' Gregorian odometer turning over. The start of a new year creates the perception of a clean slate from which to renew our ambitions. As golfers, we need all the help we can get keeping our minds free of unnecessary clutter, and the start of a new year is a good excuse to clean house.

Priddis Greens Hawk #12

The Art of Patience

Posted on by Golf is Mental

Stay patient. So simple. Why is it so difficult sometimes? I've struggled staying patient on the course at times. In my previous blog entry I wrote about how patience was taken over by frustration in our first round of the Calgary Golf Association's Riley's Best Ball event, which knocked us to the consolation side. Since then we've mustered up a couple wins and found ourselves in the consolation quarter-final match last night on the Hawk course at Priddis Greens G&CC. It has taken me a while to implement relentless patience this season, but I have started to find some recently.

Storey Creek Golf

For the Love of the Game

Posted on by Golf is Mental

I play golf because I love the game and everything that comes along with playing it -- time with friends/family, exercise, challenge, purpose, and a post-round beer, to name only a few things. This doesn't mean there aren't sporadic feelings of frustration and betrayal.  Most of us who play the game, in many ways, experience the emotions of being in a lopsided relationship. It feels at times as though we love golf more than golf loves us. We put so much into it and at times get nothing back on the scorecard. When it feels like golf is betraying us, we swear coming off the 18th green that we need to take a break, just to wake up the next morning with renewed optimism, that our next effort or tweak will encourage golf to be more faithful to us.

Kananaskis Golf Course - golf is mental

Road to Scratch Update: Gearing up for the Off-Season

Posted on by Golf is Mental

I've said it before and I'll say it again -- everyone needs an off-season. Whether it's measured in weeks or months, we all need that physical and mental reset. After using a productive off-season last year to start the season strong, lower back and sciatic nerve pain eventually held me back from making more progress … Continue reading Road to Scratch Update: Gearing up for the Off-Season →

goal setting for golfers

Road to Scratch Update: Setting Goals for the 2017 Golf Season

Posted on by Golf is Mental

Seems like each year I start setting my golf goals for the upcoming season earlier and earlier. Although our golf season here in Alberta doesn't typically start until around April, there are plenty of things that can be done during the winter to get yourself in a position to have a stellar golf season. The daunting part about a commitment to improve your golf game is that there are no straightforward formulas to do it. You can't just Google a "couch to scratch" training program...

golf off season plan

Crushing the Off-Season

Posted on by Golf is Mental

As a golfer in Canada, learning how to embrace and make the most of the off-season is essential to my sanity. Although the end of another golf season can feel like a bummer, I also look forward to the off-season and all of the opportunities that come with it. I recently saw a comment from DM Golf Performance on Facebook that reminded me of the importance of having an off-season: