Don’t Fix the Wrong Problem
A lot of golfers spend a lot of time on the driving range practicing hitting straight shots and long drives. They hear over and over that “the short game is where the money is made” but they think that if they can hit the ball an extra 10 yards they’ll suddenly be competing with the pros.
They’re wrong.
Today, when I golfed, I had one of the worst rounds of the year in terms of hitting the ball. I hit 3 greens in regulation and hit 4 fairways. Awful. But I also had 40 putts!
Rather than practice hitting my driver in the fairway tomorrow, I’m going to practice hitting putts. If I can shave 12 putts off my round I will shoot in the 70s, whereas if I hit 3 or 4 more fairways, I’ll probably still shoot mid 80s.
Fix the problems that have the biggest impact on whatever you’re doing before you work on the problems that are the most public. Sure it looks good to drive the ball 350 yards, but that will not improve my score as much as putting - being a good putter is much more mundane, but also makes me a much better golfer.
