December 2023 Newsletter
· By Chris Crowder
Why do you play golf!
The game of golf is simple. Stay within the rules and have the least amount of shots as possible!
What expectation do you start your round with?
Some golfers don’t realise but they are actually playing many different games.
Some play “looking good” others “the longest hitter”. Others forms of play “don’t make a mistake/make a fool of myself” the list is endless.
When we don’t perform to our expectation we often get upset frustrated and even angry. We start a round of golf not fully aware of what we are committing too, as the wheels start to come of we don’t really have any clear way to reset.
I often hear elite players from different sports say very similar things.
“I’m just having funn, trying my best”, “staying focused on the process/present moment”, and “the result will take care of its self”.
Some alternative games you could play next time your teeing it up.
- be the best playing partner I can be in my 4 ball
- commit to every shot by picking a target, but let go of the result. Play with freedom
- Stay focused and aware of club face. Don’t judge result just be aware.
Having a goal or target like perhaps win the tournament or enjoy myself is flawed. It’s largely out of our control. This will most properly lead to tension anxiety and self inflicted pressure.
Winning and enjoyed is very important but in my experience winning and enjoyment is a bye product of higher goal setting. There are many golf books on this subject. My favourite authors or people on this subject are. Fred Shoemaker http://www.extraodinarygolf.com (unavailable at migration check, 23 October 2026) Dr. Izzy Justice @izzyjustice Dr. Karl Morris http://www.mindcaddie.golf
Smash Factor
Smash Factor is calculated by dividing the ball speed by the clubhead speed. For example, if you swing a driver with a clubhead speed of 100 mph and generate a ball speed of 150 mph, the Smash Factor is 1.50. So, the higher the Smash Factor, the more ball speed you are getting for a given club head speed.
A great drill for you to try’s take a maker pen and draw a dot on the sweet spot of your club head. The sweet spot is the centre of the face between the 5th and 6th groove on an iron. Draw another dot on a golf ball. Now try and line up the dots when you hit the ball. I also like using face tape so I can see exactly where the strike was. I first heard about this drill on Karl Morris podcast Mind Booster.
Putting
We Know how important putting is. Putting has the most variance of any element in golf. On average a scratch golfer only holes 50% of their 6 foot putts. Some days they go in some days they hang on the lip.
A drill and mind set I like is one I was introduced too by Scott Fawcett hits://decade.golf
Place a tee peg half the width of your putter from the edge of both sides of the hole to create a gate. Basically making the hole bigger. From 6ft to 25ft if the ball goes through the gate class that as a good putt. If you hit a 100 putts and 100% go through the gate, variance will play its part and you will hole a lot of them. The hole will simply get in the way.
If you’re struggling with the direction element of putting, try the drill below. I have used it many times to help golfers with club face awareness.
Putting Drill #push drill
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