Get the Ball in the Hole

Seems simple enough, right? Just get the ball in the hole. That’s the whole object of golf.

In all reality, that objective isn’t as hard as we make it out to be. Most beginners can figure out how to get the ball from the tee to the green to the hole.

The problem lies in all the minutia we put inside our own heads on the way to accomplishing that objective. Personally, I’m on a snide of less-than-ideal results from the rounds I’ve played, and I’m struggling to get out of my own way. My head is filled with technical golf-swing thoughts and technique even while out on the course, the original sin of playing free and easy.

My head is filled with “don’t do this”, “don’t do that” or “just don’t hit it out of bounds.”

I was watching a video yesterday of a Tour Pro breaking down an amateurs round and one of the keys he mentioned was removing the word “don’t” from your vocabulary while golfing. Negative thoughts lead to negative actions and lead to uncommitted and hesitant swings. Lightbulb moment. Looking back, “don’t” enters my mind on almost every hole I play. Don’t go in the water. Don’t slice this drive. Don’t leave this putt short.

Instead it should be: “Make this putt” or “hit this spot.”

Golf is simple. Get the ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible. A 3 inch putt counts the same as a 330 yard drive. It doesn’t have to be pretty, it doesn’t have to look like the pros on TV. Just get the ball in the hole. It’s not about GIRs or FIRs or Feet of Putts Made. It’s about one simple idea.

Commitment is king.

I played a round the other day where I didn’t make a swing until I felt 100% confident about the shot and club that I was choosing. My score wasn’t remarkably better than normal (thanks to a really poor day from the short game), but my mindset felt different. I felt comfortable with all my shots and even when they didn’t work out perfectly, at least it wasn’t due to lack of commitment.

Simplify the game. Get the ball in the hole. Nothing else matters. Swing thoughts, technique, swing plane. All that goes out the window and suddenly you can commit to your shots and work towards the one simple goal at hand.

Get the ball in the hole.