Break’s reward

It happened again. I took a few days off to go to a wedding in Missoula, MT and upon returning I played my best golf to date, as well as had a productive practice session.

There was a lot of time to think and process what I have been learning over the long weekend and today everything that I had been working on seemed to click and I shot a 42 on the back nine of the Great Blue golf course out at Heron Lakes.

From the red tees, the back nine (harder nine of the two sides) is 2659 yards with a handicap of 7o.7 (total for the course) and with a 6-iron I think that a 42 is a decent score. It’s definitely not where I want to eventually be, by any means, but it’s a good number to break in future rounds. My previous personal record on that side was a 45. What went right was 5 pars and a few good saves from fairway bunkers. What I realized that I need to work on this week is downhill lies. In particular, downhill lies where you need to get some loft on the ball.

Seems that I had three tough downhill lies and I couldn’t quite get the ball over a small hill in front of me on any of them. My misses were not that bad, but if I was more comfortable with that shot I could have shaved at least a stroke off my score, perhaps two. This is where deliberate practice sets in.

I’ve recognized a weakness in my game and will set out to strengthen that. First thing in the morning is best as the brain is the sharpest, so I will start tomorrow with a good hour-long session purely working on downhill lies. It’s wonderful to be at the point where I can start recognizing specific weaknesses in my game. This has not always been the case; the first year I was just working on everything because everything was basically a weakness. Now, I can pin-point specifics to spend more time on. Good stuff.

Here’s a picture from the weekend. Was in the middle of Glacier National Park, but still had those clubs with me!

9 Responses to "Break’s reward"

melissa - your ex-roommate :) says:

August 3, 2011 at 11:05 pm

Hey Dan,

When I read your blog, I notice you focus on improving your weaknesses. I think it’s probably good for the moment as you’re still a beginner and you are working towards becoming competent in most aspects of the game. However, I wanted to throw out an idea that I actually learned at work. Later on, maybe you could think about focusing on your strengths, and working on those, instead of your weaknesses. I did a quick google search for “focusing on strengths, not weakness” and a lot of articles come up. Here’s one off hand that gives you the gist.

http://ezinearticles.com/?People-Grow-From-Strength,-Not-From-Weakness&id=1721463

I actually really like this idea and I use it in hockey. Instead of focusing on things I’m not as strong at (skating), I focus on things I’m already good (stick-handling) at and get better. It makes the learning process more fun and definitely boosts confidence. And I also find that your strength can quickly become become your “thing”. In the NHL, players have obvious strengths and weaknesses. Some players are better playing the physical game, while some are great skaters. Not all of them are the best at each of the aspects.

Just something for you to think about

Let me know when you’re in LA!
Melissa
dan says:

August 3, 2011 at 11:23 pm

Howdy Melissa,

Good to hear from you. I like that article and agree with you that there are people who are known for their strengths. First thing for me is to get my skill level across the board to a high level and then at that point perhaps it will be time to become a specific type of golfer (there are a lot of amazing putter, short game artists, long ballers, etc). One of the main tenants of Deliberate Practice is to constantly be working on your weaknesses in order to improve upon them. These weaknesses can, of course, be in your strength areas, but as long as you are improving somewhere you are becoming a better player.

I hope to be in LA soon, will let you know. Perhaps November when the weather turns up here..

See you soon!

Dan
Tim says:

August 4, 2011 at 11:00 am

love this shot of you! great to see you with your clubs everywhere you go, I need to start doing this!

if you’re ever in Santa Barbara, CA for any reason, hit me up and let’s play a round!!!
dan says:

August 4, 2011 at 10:07 pm

Hi Tim,

If and when I’m in Santa Barbara I will definitely look you up. Let’s get a round in soon!
Stefan says:

August 5, 2011 at 12:41 am

Hi Dan,

there exist contrarian articles too. In some management theories they suggest concentrating upon what is called “the critical path” or the weakest part of the chain. Because improving there will add the most value to the total outcome.

Focusing on strenght might surely be the right idea after becoming at least “average” at every part of the game. For example for some time I struggled to get the ball onto the green with an acceptable number of shots, when at the same time I was already very good at putting. If I had then concentrated on improving my putting even more, I would never have had the chance to show my good putting on the course because I had to pick up the ball before the green …

I think you’ve already got the concept. The mentioned NHL players are at least average everywhere and when they then concentrate on improving their strenght areas(what indeed mentally is the best concept) they can really become great.
Charlie says:

August 5, 2011 at 9:13 am

I’d be wary of the contrarian approach suggested here, especially at your point in the journey and in the field you’ve chosen. Golf tends to punish poor shots more than it rewards good ones. Your current weaknesses reflect swing errors (or mental shortcomings) that you must correct before they become ingrained.

As for developing and improving strengths, your entire hole-outwards approach is designed for this purpose. You’re making putting, chipping, pitching, and the wedge game your strengths, and these are the areas (in that order) which most affect your ability to score.

Keep your mind mindfully open, but believe in the path you’ve chosen. That will be your greatest strength.
Linda says:

August 6, 2011 at 6:12 am

Since everyone’s talking about strengths vs weaknesses…. I believe you can make your entire game strong Dan! I don’t know why people think everyone must have a weakness – if you’re not an expert, then yes you have a weakness in that skill. But if you’re an expert, even your weaknesses will be strengths relative to others.

As you get better and better and making practice more deliberate and purposeful gets harder and harder (does that make sense?), remember this excerpt from “Bounce” (if you haven’t had a chance to read it yet).
“‘When most people practice, they focus on the things they can do effortlessly,’ Ericsson has said. ‘Expert practice is different. It entails considerable, specific, and sustained efforts to do something you can’t do well – or even at all. Research across domains shows that it is only by working at what you can’t do that you turn into the expert you want to become.”
dan says:

August 7, 2011 at 8:32 am

Charlie and Stefan,

Thank you, as always, for the comments. I think you are both right. The approach we are taking is to get as good as possible in all areas of the game while moving out from the hole. Deliberate Practice suggests that you focus on your weaknesses in order to improve your overall game. I believe that this is the best approach, especially for someone new to the game. Perhaps there will be a day when I can “specialize” in some aspect of golf, but for now it’s all about pushing forward and making the weaknesses strengths.
dan says:

August 7, 2011 at 8:33 am

Linda,

Thanks for the comment and excerpt. I couldn’t agree more!

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