Will 2019 be your year
for golf inspiration?
Will 2019 be your year for golf inspiration?
How many times have you promised yourself that "next year" will be the year that you find "golf inspiration" and finally improve at golf? As we approach that time of year when the festive season is upon us, and over a few pints we dream of being "good" at golf. You've made progress with your game, and have some talent but have now got to your plateau. You reckon with a bit of work; you can push on to your ultimate goal in golf. Everybody is unique, and we all have different goals, for one golfer, it could be getting to single figures, the next it could be category one, and if you do finally make it to the rarified air of a scratch or even a plus player, playing at provincial standard might be your target. Golf inspiration? Maybe an Irish green jacket?
Dreams!
Why do most golfers, people in general, fail with their good intentions for 2019? Well, you could write a book on that, suffice to say, if it is any consolation to you, the brain is hardwired to avoid pain and to seek rewards! So, what to do to increase your chances of winning your Captains prize? Just like this wonderful lady!
No, Aisling above, is no more determined than you or me (well maybe a little bit!) but she had a secret weapon, besides a lot of golf inspiration, she followed a plan. A plan I try and instill in all my clients. It's Christmas, and you can have it for free but as the darling of the internet marketing world, Gary Vaynerchuk is fond of saying "I give all my secrets away for free, 'cos 99% of people won't do them anyway!"
Golf inspiration is perishable!
A famous coach was giving a lecture a few years ago down in Australia and asked the assembled audience how much they would pay for the latest miracle drug that would improve their lives daily. Help them live longer, be happier? Priceless was the general consensus. That drug exists today, and it is free, it's called exercise.
We know we should do it so why don't we. I like to explain this as the three "states of being," (1) pain, (2) your comfort zone and (3) making progress. It is very difficult to follow the Aisling and Tadhg list if you are in the middle state of being, which most people are. Needing something badly, the hunger for success represents state number one. State number three is the motivation of making progress, you can see tangible benefits of whatever you are trying to achieve, and it encourages you. Be highly aware of these "states of being," it will help you be in the 1% in 2019 and join Aisling above!
Advice on how to maintain that golf inspiration!
Find a friend, if you want some golf inspiration coerce someone to join you on your golfing journey. It will help when things get tough, (as they will), to have someone to talk to and be accountable to!
(1) Key point - Aisling was accountable to me; she was aware of my strict teaching policy, don't do the work, find another teacher.
Set realistic goals, but be careful here, make sure they are neither too high or too low. Set the bar to a level that will be difficult to get to but not impossible. It's a mountain you are attempting to move, with a teaspoon in your hand, break everything down into bite size pieces, set up, grip, path, loading, and posting. Forget the latest swing fads, we are all unique, get the basics right, and you have a great chance of improving.
(2) Key point - You ain't going on the Web.Com tour anytime soon, 27 under par recently won tour school.
Practicing!
(3) Key point - Don't let your mind wander, I see this regularly at the range, your mind gets tired and bored after a short while hitting balls. Divide everything into ten shots here, ten shots there, work on specifics. It will keep you alert. Never, ever, hit hundreds of golf balls, never!
(4) Key point - I see too many people being busy, being busy. "Ideation without execution is a delusion." Scheduling things gives you more chance of actually doing them. Known also as Time Blocking which provides you with a blueprint for the week!
Paradoxical!
Golf is the most paradoxical game ever invented. You need to understand, accept, and get help with this. I know I beat this drum constantly but find a coach, (this is not an advertisement, I have been full for a very long time,) it is a genuine plea to get someone to help you on this journey. You will not do it without expert help.
(5) Key point - Aisling travels a long way to see me and it ain't for my dulcet tones or quick wit. She did her homework. Do the same, work out who has improved in your club, ask them what teacher they went to, and who would they recommend? Word of mouth, the actual experience, is the best advice to take.
That will get you started in 2019
but there is an imponderable that I witness daily as I teach, for example, one client is ranked number one but is not happy, in actual fact is downright unhappy, the desire to crush the opposition is palpable and sometimes a bit unnerving. Another client has recently retired and wants to give this golf thing a real go. Having 36 points off an 18 handicap would be a success. The third is a consultant who is now making good progress but was perplexed that he couldn't master this stupid game. For him, playing consistent golf off single figures will do very nicely, thank you very much!
So, why am I so confident that these players will not fail? They have that golf inspiration. Because they are accountable, to themselves and to me. They are like a dog with a bone; they just won't let go. They have followed three different career paths, with spectacular success. Nothing left to prove but conquering this game of ours. I watch them intently, (as I always do) and they exhibit the most essential quality of all, the one thing that separates the winners and losers in life, the realisation, through experience, that the only real opposition in life stares straight back at you in the mirror.
As the road to Nirvana, below, reminds us, Golf inspiration is perishable, if you don't feed it.
An hour to spare?
Podcast Corner!
I am a big fan of Podcasts, and I like to listen to them in the background while working on all things digital. There are some terrific ones around (if you know where to look) and I will try to guide you towards some of my favorites. This week it's back to the European Tour and Andrew Cotter, this one is a beauty, Billy Foster, the man, the legend and the caddy! It will be interesting to see what bag he will be on next year? I know nothing!! 
Enjoy!
Last Word
Last word this week goes to Norman Xiong, Danny Walker and the graduates of the Web.Com tour school.
Danny Walker (courtesy of the PGA Tour)
It is not the first time that Xiong has appeared on my blog as I have been well aware of his progress through friends in the States. The "next big thing" provides plenty of golf inspiration and has played in a few PGA Tour events with some mixed results (mostly missed cuts), but this was the acid test to see if he could deliver on his tour card for next season. Norman produced the goods in spades, with a 26 under par total that finished in the runner-up spot. Danny Walker (above) came roaring through the field with a final round of 63 to win by one. To put it in context, the last player to earn a card (guaranteed, just eight events), shot 19 under par. Yep, 19 under par for four rounds of golf. As the slogan goes, "These guys are good!"
Other than an unplayable after a wayward drive on the first hole, I played the front nine pretty well, I lost my swing a little bit [on the back nine]. I had some poor swings and a couple of bad breaks, but that happens at some point over 72 holes, so I think overall it was pretty solid and I’ll take where I got.
Norman Xiong
, this might interest you! 
Talk next week!
Tadhg
Tadhg Harrington is a full time, professional golf instructor, and owner of the Harrington Golf Academy, based in Dublin, Ireland. He is a graduate of the Titleist Performance Institute and Setanta College. He is the eldest brother of three-time time Major Champion, Padraig Harrington.
He succeeds, employing empathy, passion and exceptional customer service, teaching above the noise, the quick tips, and the latest fads and is truly unique in the Irish golf industry.
The Harrington Golf Academy provides long term coaching programs designed to bring sensory processing to motor learning skills. Tadhg teaches the long game at Drynam Park Golf Centre and short game at Roganstown GC. His business partner, Ex European Tour Player, Rebecca Codd, also teaches full time at Drynam Park Golf Centre.