Disciplined
When you say the word disciplined, what comes to your mind? Is it childhood memories of your parents wanting you to do something you did not want to do? You probably felt like you were being punished.
And if I told you, your golf game needs more discipline would you feel as though I’m punishing you? Most golfers, young and old, competitive or hobbyist, would feel that way. But when you dig deep into the truest understanding of the word and its simplest definition, disciplined is a trait you’ll strive to achieve daily in all aspects of your life.
Sticking with the theme that you must stay dedicated to the discipline of your details, let’s take a small journey down the road of discipline and find out how one simple discipline can create consistency throughout your entire game.
What is being Disciplined?
Disciplined is knowing, understanding, and repeating a set of items, in the same order. This order provides you comfort and confidence at being consistent at any task.
Discipline is described as a process you trust to produce a desired outcome most often. The process is a set of tasks completed in the same order. I bet you have a lot of “disciplines” within your life that you’re totally unaware of. Why? Because you’ve repeated the order of the tasks so often, the process is “automatic”. And those processes are the fabric of your success, both personally and professionally.
Here’s a few simple examples. When you get up each morning, what is the order in which you do things? How did you learn and remember your phone number? When you begin work each day, what process do you accomplish first? In what order do you perform the tasks necessary for you to experience a good night’s sleep?
The idea of discipline allows you to repeat a process you know and trust that works for you. And you use these processes most often when faced with a problem. Do you boil down any problem to its simplest form? If you do, you most likely use a process of tasks in the same order to do so. and discover that something simple you repeat every day can allow you to solve the problem?
How to Create Discipline in My Golf Game
The idea of discipline within your golf game is to repeat a series of tasks that allow you to think less, trust more, and execute with free will. This is essential when faced with any shot, any problem, any situation on thee golf course. For that matter, even at the practice facility. And you can’t do that if you’re distracted. You can’t do that if your not dedicated to discover what those disciplines might be.
But once your dedicated and the distractions are eliminated, you’re now ready to discipline yourself to practice more. You’ll study more video, work out more, and do the other things necessary to improve your skills. And the simplest item to “discipline” is your pre-shot routine.
Make Your Pre-Shot Routine Disciplined
Your pre-shot routine is arguably the one form of discipline necessary to be the best golfer you can be. Almost 100% of my clients tell me they want “more consistency” within their golf games. Doesn’t the word discipline imply consistency? Yet, most if not all clients seeking more consistency fail miserably to repeat a process prior to swinging a golf club that affords the opportunity for them to be more consistent.
To achieve consistency within your golf game, it’s a must you’re more disciplined within your approach to practicing and playing the game. I start all clients’ journey to consistency with evaluating, understanding, and enhancing their pre-shot routine.
A good pre-shot routine repeats itself regardless of the shot you currently face. Once you know the variables of the shot you face, inserting those variables into a good pre-shot routine is easy. And it sets you up to make a swing that repeats. This in turn accomplishes solving the problem you face, the shot at hand.
Summary
There are plenty more ways to discipline yourself to be a better golfer. But if you don’t have a pre-shot routine that repeats, you’ll never experience the discipline needed to reach the potential you believe you possess.