21 Golf ?s Of Christmas - SAQs - How Can I Get More Consistent?

Yesterday's first article in this Christmas Golf Series of Should've Asked Questions hopefully gave you a laugh or two...even though the laughs came at the expense of a great Player.

I'll have another 'Hall-Of-Famer' story for you in a moment...and a Video.

So, when a golfer asks this question, "How can I get more consistent?", I often ask how they define 'Consistent'.

I must admit, I consider this a 'Good Question'. 

And now, getting back to the concepts I brought up yesterday - 'Right Questions' will often help us more than 'Right Answers'. 

But in this case, since we have a 'Good Question' before us, let's consider the answer...

and to do that we must generate a good definition of 'Consistent'.

Cooper Osborne, a very good PGA Teaching Professional whom I worked for in Jacksonville, has a great saying.

"Evaluation is your best Teacher".

There's a lot of meat in those words.

You see, you are much more 'Consistent' than you probably realize.

Watch this brief Video...and you will really see 'Consistent' Golf in action..then come on back for the good Players' and Instructors' definition of 'Consistent'.

'Consistent' Golf means: Good Misses!!!  It does NOT mean hitting every shot perfectly.

I first learned this incredibly important Golf Concept playing with my Hall-Of Fame Aunt - for the first time in 1978 - at Sapphire Valley in the beautiful Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina.  About halfway through the back-nine her drive cut a little to the right, the first one to have done that all day.

As we eased back into the Golf Cart, I said, "I guess yoiu missed that one, huh, Aunt Sis?"

She looked at me - "So", she said, "I can still get 3 or 4 from there quite easily, can't I, Joel?"

"Yea, but I thought you always liked to hit that draw?"

"I do", she mentioned, "but the biggest difference between a player like myself and a player like you, Joel - is that we enjoy our good misses, while average players like you, Joel, complain about your good misses".

Do you get the idea here, my friend?  Just as you saw in the Video above, Consistently hitting every shot the exact same way just ain't gonna happen.

So, how do you Evaluate your Golf Shots?  I'd say try to become more like the Hall-Of-Famers, Louise Suggs and Bobby Jones and the like.  Enjoy your 'Good Misses'.  Remember, "Evaluation is your best Teacher".

I bet you'll be surprised how 'Consistent' you are already.

Tomorrow I'll let you know, how to get even more 'Consistent'.