Welcome to a new golf season!  The theme of my 2024 articles will be “BUILDING NOT FIXING.” 

I will use each issue to help you become a set-up and swing BUILDER, not a “FIXER-UPPER” on a roller coaster ride of constant experimentation.  “Build it and the shots will come…”   

I would like to believe that I have a healthy “addiction”, a lifelong goal of getting as close to my personal golf potential as both a player and instructor.  Sadly, there are those who struggle with unhealthy addictions; and with full empathy, I would like you to liken your golf development to those with an addiction. 

Do you believe the purpose of going to the practice range and/or taking lessons is to “fix” something, to find the “medication”, to heal your current golf “wounds?”  Are golf tips, pointers, etc. the “pill” needed to keep you motivated, extending that “good feeling” until your game gets “sick” again?  When this happens, is your plan to get another medication from another “doctor”/PGA Professional (or magazine, book, friend, YouTube video, Golf Channel Academy, etc.)?   

Long ago, I made the choice to avoid this path.  What’s yours?  Could your practice sessions be analogized to someone who “needs” a fix.  Each fix, though, only lasts a short time and then you must meet up with your “dealer” for another, continuing the cycle until you hit “rock bottom.”  Hit rock bottom, find a YouTube video, take another lessons, fix, rinse and repeat? 

Medical doctors have to make decisions about the future SIDE EFFECTS of each drug prescribed today.  What have been the “side effects” of your golf loop of fixes; frustration and inconsistency perhaps?  Should golf lessons and range sessions have the goal of converting poor shots into “good” ones in the short-term, allowing the cycle to continue?  Are all the “voices” you have allowed into your head inadvertently acting as “ENABLERS”, giving positive reinforcement to a cycle of FALSE POSITIVES golf shots?   

FIXING “BAD” NOW DOES NOT MAKE YOU “GOOD” IN THE LONG-TERM, but it can give you a short-term side effect of euphoria when you hit that amazing shot or play that great round.  Be warned that instant gratification can be a powerful “drug”, luring you to stay on the same cycle.  Do you want to continuing needing your golf dealer for your “fix” forever, or are you ready to end the cycle, ready for your long-term golf rehab which will never “relapse?”  BUILDING NOT FIXING.