Our younger years included going to school, passing ONE GRADE AT A TIME and ultimately graduating.  Have you considered your golf development the same way?  At any given time, you could ask yourself, “Have I graduated from this area yet?”  Over a golf lifetime, many “mini graduations” (perhaps your posture), become bundled with other mini graduations to form your complete set-up.  Having multiple goals while practicing is like having multiple teachers in the same school classroom teaching different subjects concurrently.  Would you agree that you wouldn’t pass any subject? 

Have you set your sights on one mini graduation at a time, trusting that it will adhere to areas you have already graduated so you can keep moving forward, OR do you find yourself constantly “tinkering” with your set-up and swing?  Experimentation, trail-and-error, and instant gratification will NEVER allow you to graduate any area and you will be “held back” in your golf “schooling.”   

It’s a “leap of faith” and takes discipline to resist the temptation to go “back to school” (YouTube, tips, quick fixes, lessons, magazines, etc.) when unsatisfied, but in my research (40 years’ worth), it might be the ONLY way to explain those who “make it” and those who don’t in this game.   

FOREVER FIXING, BUT NEVER COMPLETING THE BUILD!  

Please know that by using the concept of “graduation”, no one is saying that you need to be “perfect”, the “valedictorian” of your class.  NO!  Your “diploma” is subjective to YOUR golf goals (but please let your PGA Professional in on them so we can plan accordingly!)  There’s a HUGE difference between being “content” and being graduated.  You’re not being asked to be content with your current game if you know deep down you can reach a new level, but I am challenging you to become graduated, having the self-trust and discipline to believe (at some point) that you have built all the tools you need to reach your potential without being perfect!  Pushing yourself to be the “valedictorian” is counter-productive and exhausting.  Is Jim Furyk’s swing “perfect?”  Has he graduated?      

Have YOU graduated?