Courageous Golf Is Not Always What You Think It Is

You may well think of Arnie, Seve, Tiger or Phil when the subject of courage in golf comes up in conversation.

Or you might think a bit closer to home and of your own exploits, like the time you went for it and played a long fairway wood over water to reach the green on a par 5 in two, or when you risked a big blade shot but instead played a wonderfully delicate lobbed wedge over sand, landing softly on a downhill green and close to the pin.

All players and shots we rightly consider as courageous…but I want to offer up another definition of courage in golf.

Firstly, let me ask you this…

What is courage?

Well I like to describe it as

"Facing down your fear" I think this covers most scenarios.

And what do we fear?

Of course everyone is different, it's often said people fear public speaking over death, plenty of people fear snakes and spiders, some heights and others water. But many people love these, so we all fear different things.

But I know the most universal fears people have is the fear of change, or the fear of the unknown. To such an extent, a lot of us will stay in a place, job or relationship we don't like rather than face our fear of the unknown and have the courage to change.

In your golf game, the thought of change may fill you with dread and fear. And here's why I think it may bother you…

It's what I describe as the false association most players make between "striving for consistency in their game" and "consistently doing the same things".

Yes it is true if you do the same things over and over you are behaving consistently, but rarely does this equate to playing golf consistently well.

If you approach your golf game the same way as you always have, do you expect better results, or will you get the same results as you always had.

Einstein described insanity as "doing things the same way over and over and expecting different results"

Now this is where you need courage in golf. The courage to face the unknown.

Ask yourself:

Are you good in all aspects of the game?

Do you need to make changes?

Now summon up the courage to answer these questions honestly, have you known the answers for a while but not faced your own fear of change?

Let's get courageous and take these 3 steps to help you make the changes you need to have a breakthrough.

Carry out a self-assessment, find just one area you need to change; for example, it could be your putting, sand play or mental approach.

Call on someone you trust, a professional, a coach or golf buddy. Have the courage to tell them you know you need to make some changes, and you are ready to make them - ask what changes they think you need to make. When you are genuine and people can see you are serious, they will help you much more than you might expect.

Take Action -face down the fear, it could be booking a putting lesson, or a lesson on sand play, perhaps you need to engage a mental game coach; maybe you have been cruising in social play, avoiding club competitions afraid you'll get a handicap adjustment outwards. Whatever it may be - face it down, take an action to overcome your fear.

Be Courageous.

By using these three steps you will learn change isn't to be feared, and being courageous enough to overcome your fear is easier than you think. It takes some practice for sure, but remember this:

Courage is like a muscle, the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets.