My Philosophy

Give A Consistent Great Effort

I am always amazed at what we can learn from successful overachievers. Champions in the boardroom, on the stage or on the athletic field are on a mission to constantly improve their performance, no matter the final outcome.   

True champions put in the blood, sweat and tears to go after their dreams every day. Failing doesn't affect their perspective or their philosophy. High achievers always give great effort to the task at hand, no matter the result of that day's performance. Every day they are doing something productive that improves their knowledge or experience base. They are giving their best at every moment because they know that eventually they will win the ultimate prize. 

Great performers have a mindset that promotes persistence, determination and ultimate success. Failure is not an option, and to think differently or accept mediocrity, based on a weak emotional constitution, is not inherent to their performance philosophy. The elite players of the PGA TOUR find their way to the top, because they realize that the quality of their every-day effort is reflected in their overall performance and success. 

When we fail to play well or achieve our daily goals in golf, we need to view the day as an opportunity to learn what we need to know or do better. Ultimate achievers know that if they aren't failing, they are not pushing themselves into a position to learn something new. We talk of choking in golf as if it is something bad, but the golfer who chokes just failed to handle the situation with a feeling of familiarity. Thus, failing isn't viewed as a bad thing, but a component to eventual success that comes from learning to becoming comfortable in a certain situation. 

Golf overachievers understand that their road to success is filled with failure, choking and missed putts. But by giving a consistent effort on every shot, every day and in every tournament, their chances of victory become greatly enhanced. LPGA player Helen Alfredsson said about giving a great effort into every putt, “I know that I am going to miss putts, but I am going to miss them while trying to make them!” Her attitude reflects her ability to put a consistent great effort into every putt, even if she knows that making every putt is not going to happen.

Tiger Woods is another example of someone giving a consistent effort. If we can learn anything from Tiger, it's that he has always found a way to get the job done. Many times he demonstrated the dramatic, and at other times, it was a simple gut check, but eventually his ball found its way into the hole even when his overall game wasn't in the best shape. 

Tiger's true prowess is his mental and emotional resolve to persevere and adapt. Tiger is at his best when his back is to the wall [or behind a tree] and he has to create shots or make a crucial putt. Even after shooting poor scores and finding himself surrounded by the media, Tiger always focuses on the positives and speaks of his determined effort to create good things about his game.

I have rarely heard Tiger speak negatively about his game. If he did, he would recognize that he made some mistakes and talk of something he needs to work on before the next round. The important point is that he doesn't berate himself, but instead critiques his performance and understands what he needs to do in order to play better. In effect, Tiger is saying that he cannot control his results, but he can control his effort level.

I believe that this is the secret to Tiger's success. If all of us copied his example of effort control, our games would improve 100 percent. If every time you played and you pulled something positive out of your performance, even if it was the quality of giving a great effort into every shot, I'd almost guarantee that your game would improve dramatically.  

The following are tips to building a consistent great effort:

1. Give 100-percent effort every shot, no matter how well or poorly you are striking the ball. 

2. After you have hit your shot, even if the result is poor, find something positive to pull from it. Credit to yourself for hanging in there and giving a great effort. Acknowledge that you made a mistake, accept it, and move on with a reminder that you will start fresh on your next shot.

3. When you talk to yourself about your shot or round, the words should be supportive and evaluative, not critical or judgmental.  Negative statements are emotionally destructive and require twice as many positive affirmations to neutralize the stinging repercussions of those negative phrases.  

4. Always critique the performance, but never be critical of you, the performer.

5. At the end of your round, take stock of the good things that you did and make notes on the items that need attention. Make provisions to correct them before your next round. 

6. Accepting a bad shot isn't easy, but acknowledge that failing is another step to achieving competence and ultimately success. Learn from your failures, accept the mistake and turn it around to giving a great effort into your next shot.