What Motivates You To Work On Your Golf Game?

Why do you and I start new things, especially things to improve our lives

The answer is so powerful it will give you the key to success in not only golf but in just about every aspect of your life.

I've studied motivation in people for over 20 years now and will give you the tools you need to get great results in golf.

January and February are fascinating for me, I love the enthusiasm in the gym, new members starting and old members returning after an absence, of course the stalwarts remain/

But by Valentines Day things are back to normal, best intentions have faded and only a few new members are still turning up, the gym is back in the hands of the stalwarts again.

And that's how it'll be for the rest of the year.

At the golf ranges much the same thing happens but slightly later in the year.

Better weather, clocks going forward and the Masters on TV usually mean that the end of March, early April are the golf equivalent of the New Year boom in the gyms.

Do you dust off your clubs and get your season started with a trip to the range?

Most probably, most of us do.

And just like in the gyms, within two months the boom is over and only the stalwarts remain.

So let's understand what is going on, and what we can do to turn this situation round and become better golfers this year.

Before we go on here are a few questions for you to answer:

Why are you planning to practice this year?

Is it to change the way you played last year?

Do you want to avoid a problem you have had in your game, for example slicing?

Is it to win an event later in the year or achieve an improved handicap?

Do you want to become excellent in some particular area, for example from 120 yards and in?

You will likely answer yes to most of these questions.

The real truth I've discovered is most players return to the range in the spring intent on one thing… to avoid the problems of last season.

This is strong enough reason to start turning up at the range; the motivation is based on avoiding the pain of bad play.

If you have been through the same you'll know it doesn't take too long before you sort out what's wrong, at least enough to feel you can reduce the pain from last year.

And it's just about now you will start going to the range less and less, not that you notice, you are playing more rounds at the weekend or in the evenings.

But are you a better player?

Stats don't lie, and the average standard of play hasn't changed for years, and most players stay within one stroke of the same handicap for years.

You and I both know players, good players who are much more disciplined in practicing, they turn up all season.

Are they trying to avoid bad play?

Not usually, the motivation driving their commitment to a practice regime is based on striving towards achieving something…

It will be something like a significant handicap reduction other the season or qualifying for certain events, being eligible for higher standard team events or being prepared to be competitive in club, county, even national tournaments.

So this gives us the clue to discovering how we can motivate ourselves to stick with our improvements.

The secret is to be moving towards a specific goal…

…And it must be a goal you know will give you great pleasure when you achieve it.

You see most people start something, training in the gym, practice on the range, to avoid something, pain of being out of shape, slicing the ball off the tee, whatever it may be. Soon enough they make progress and the pain reduces, and with it the motivation goes.

In golf, you need to have your eyes on a goal you want to achieve, and see it so clearly you are motivated to keep on working on your game on your way to getting where you want to be.

You will be moving yourself towards the pleasure of success.

For sure, avoiding pain will get you started, but it's working towards the pleasure of achieving your goals will keep you going.

Now before you finish this article, get a pen a paper, and write down your answers to these questions:

What are your goals?

What events do you want to play in?

What will your handicap be by the summer?

What will it be by years end?

What will it take for you to get there?

Set your goals to move you toward something worthwhile and you'll discover you have all the motivation you need to keep going.