The phrase that I hear the most from golfers is “I want to be more consistent.” According to Merriam-Webster’s definition of Consistency, “marked by harmony, regularity, or steady continuity: free from variation or contradiction.” Every golfer would love to shoot the same good scores from round to round. When I talk to golfers the first goal is to discuss and unpack what issues are holding them back from being “consistent.” To get down to a specific and individual level you need to ask multiple follow up questions.
These are my most common:
· What is your average score?
· What do you score on a bad day versus a good day?
· What are the issues with your Driver? Fairway woods? Hybrids? Irons? Wedges?
· Do you have any issues with Course Management?
· What issues do you have with Chipping? Pitching? Lobbing? Putting? Bunkers?
· Do you drink too much beer while you are playing and fall apart on the Back 9?
After asking these types of question, it is normal to discover multiple areas of the golfer’s game that needs improvement to become “consistent.” 85% of golfers that I interact with have the same issues. They slice too much and it causes distance loss. They have issues with non-center contact on the clubface. They struggle either hitting the ground to early before the ball or missing the ground entirely and topping the ball. Improving these areas usually lead to better scores and I have helped hundreds of golfers.
That being said even after golfers improve (7-10 strokes) it is still common for them to say that are still not “consistent.” Their average scores has improved but they still have good days and bad days and want to get rid of the bad days. In their mind if their goal is to break 90 that they should score right around 90 every time they play. They question why they still have a good day that they score 85 and the next week score a 95.
This is what the graph regarding Jon Rahms scores from the start of the 2021 season through U.S. Open is all about. You are looking at 61 rounds of the Number 1 golfer in the World. Everyone would be ecstatic to shoot these scores. The more important aspect though is recognizing the Range of his scores. Between his best round and his worst round there is a 13-stroke difference. This my friends is what golf looks like over time. Notice there are only couple straight lines between the rounds and the majority of the graph is Up, Down, Up, Down...
The truth about golf is there is no such thing as “consistency” in the long-term. We may have weeks or months of a hot streak or a cold streak. The one guarantee over time is that scores will fluctuate. Golf is HARD. That may be one of my favorite things about it. To get good there are no shortcuts, you must put in the time to practice and play consistently. Once you achieve your scoring goals, it takes regular practice and play to stay at that level. I can score 68-72 on a good day if I am playing and practicing every week. If I take a month off from play and practice, I might score 78-85 and after that take a month or two to get back to my good level. We would all be much happier golfers if we would accept the reality of the game. At least knowing this information is half the battle.
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