Comments on: Getting in my own way

By: Katie Seifert

Katie Seifert — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:02:57 +0000

Dan: I can’t believe the amazing timing of this piece not to mention the remarkable content. Getting out of our own way, indeed! I shared this with an employee who had just finished a “bad month” (her words) and when I shared this with her she went wild. I am a fan of golf though not particularly well-versed in all the nuances. One thing I have observed for sometime: frequently I can tell if a player will make his next shot based on his reaction to the previous shot. So often their body language is still focused on what is behind and they carry it all the way through the remainder of the game. I learned to stay in the moment several years back when my late husband was dying and needed a heart transplant. It is a lesson I cherish and will share with anyone who will listen.
I also think clarifying your best shot ( or best presentation or best final product) is absolutely essential. We teach our Staff to review each transaction and in so doing they get the best possible education in the moment, day by day.
All of this plays to one of my favorite subjects: Deliberate Practice. (refer to Dr. K. Anders Ericsson for more re this) If we seek to be world-class performers we must realize what it takes and be comitted to daily, consistent, correct and deliberate practice. What world-class performers do that moderate performers don’t is very simply to practice not just what they are comfortable doing but, more importantly, what they are uncomfortable doing. Why would we want to be comfortable in our professional growth? Nothing great has ever happened in a comfort zone!

By: dan

dan — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 02:41:39 +0000

Hello Nick,

Cool to see some South African golfers on here!

I read Dr. Bob’s book about a year ago and was just looking at it the other day. Perhaps it’s time to give it another read now that I’m actually playing golf..

Thanks and I hope the ball’s flying well in the warm southern hemisphere!

Dan

By: dan

dan — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 02:39:51 +0000

Tony,

haha, I’ve gotten that too. I hit a couple of 50-60 yard shots over the past week and hit them perfect and said so even though the ball bounced off of the tundra-frozen green and rolled 5 yards off into a trap. Still, it was the exact shot I wanted to hit so to me was a perfect shot regardless of the result. We’re in the same boat here.

Thanks for sharing and for reading,

Dan

By: dan

dan — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 02:38:02 +0000

Hello Jim Snell,

Thanks for the post! Took me a while to read it, but there are some great thoughts in there and I appreciate the time you put in and everything you have written.

As far as keeping score goes. I do have a phone app I use because I can register each shot as straight, right, left, long or short and then just plug the score in. I also keep detailed stats about all of the approach shots, putt length, quality of drives, etc. but right now I’m much more concerned with one shot at a time so have not been keeping stats. I know by the end of a round exactly what I need to work on and then can do that the next day, so no need this moment to keep everything written down or on the phone. Once the spring rolls around and I’ve had a couple of months to hit the driver and fairway woods we’ll be back into a score keeping and stat keeping mode, but for the time being it’s one shot at a time.

Thanks again!

Dan

By: dan

dan — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 02:30:38 +0000

Hi Cortney,

Checked out your site and it looks like you are on your way to reach some good goals! Glad that you are taking it to the next level and look forward to seeing your continued success. Looks like we are in the same boat when it comes to the breaking 80 milestone. It will happen! One shot at a time

Cheers,
Dan

By: dan

dan — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 02:27:49 +0000

Hello UC,

Good questions here. I think that the main thing is for you to decide what a “quality at bat” is in whatever field you are trying to implement this process in. For me, a quality at bat is one where I picture the shot needed, choose the right club, go through my pre-shot routine without speeding up or slowing down, stand over the ball knowing I will hit the shot that I need and then executing the shot. Afterwords, I analyze what the club looked like at impact based on ball flight accept the results and then leave that behind before taking more than three steps away from that spot. While walking up to the next shot, I ask myself if it was a quality at bat and then make a mental note if it was not and what I need to do on the next one to make sure I am hitting my 80-90 percent quality shot goal. It has nothing to do with where the ball went or how good or bad it was, but rather it’s all about how I approached and executed the shot. Since starting this, I have had the best rounds of The Dan Plan to date and my general morale during a round is much higher. More info on this is soon to come.

Thanks!

Dan

By: Nick Dougherty

Nick Dougherty — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:47:12 +0000

Hey Dan,

Great project. My brother got me onto your blog and I look forward to following with interest. You will be pleased to know you have some fans all the way down here in South Africa!

Just a quick one. The best book I’ve read on the mental approach to golf is Dr Bob Rotella’s, “Golf is not a game of perfect”. Even the title says a lot, as mentioned above, ‘it is a game of misses.’

Dr Bob emphasizes the importance of a ‘target’ approach to the game. He has seen that the most impressive atheletes simply react to a target, with very little consicious analytical thinking. He also talks about the importance of an ingrained and constructive pre-shot routine. This is especially important in tournament play. A golfer can control alot before the ball is struck (ie. stance, posture, alignment, ball position), he can also control a rythmical pre-shot routine that is consistent. (once the ball is gone, he ain’t getting it back!!)

Personally, although easier said than done, I find that I walk off with my best peformance when I do not even know what my score is, I just know it is ‘hot’ and I wish there were more holes left to play.

Enjoy and look forward to following your progress,

Nick