Performance Capital

Rob Rashell
Director of Instruction
TPC Scottsdale
Scottsdale, AZ
http://www.robrashell.com 
robrashell@pgatourtpc.com

More Information

Great players, especially Tour players, have what I like to call performance capital. When you add money to your bank account and let it grow over a period of time, you have more and more options.  Maybe you want a vacation, a house, or are saving to meet retirement goals, whatever the reason, you need to start saving, building capital. Golf is no different. These guys have spent years adding to their golfing account with fitness, practice, playing, technique, etc.

If Jordan Speith teed it up in a high school tournament in Arizona, my guess is he wouldn’t be overly concerned about the outcome, similarly if you had a hundred thousand in the bank and wanted a new iPhone, walking into the store and grabbing one would be of little consequence. You’ve worked hard, been disciplined with putting away your money and are entitled to reap the benefits. If you have five hundred bucks in your account and want that same iPhone, the trip to the store just feels different. The best comparison would be an average golfer playing the Wednesday pro am at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, it’s just different.

What is capital in golf? I’m sure you could probably guess. Hitting a bucket of balls would be a small deposit, taking a lesson to work on your game would be a meeting with a financial planner/consultant.  Want a bigger deposit? Sign yourself up for a golf tournament and put your game to the test when it matters the most. Could be a small event at your club, could be a local amateur event, anything where you play by the Rules and have to count every shot. The feedback and information is a big chunk of capital going in your golf account.

I remember my first trip to the US Amateur, a storied national event, I was excited and hopeful, but knew deep down I didn’t have quite enough capital to feel like I could play bad, and still perform well. To have a chance to win, I was going to have to play out of my mind, or get really lucky. I was acquiring a ton of golf capital, experiencing the environment and conditions, up against the best amateur players in the country. 

How does this affect you? Keep your expectations in line with what you’ve been doing in terms of playing and practicing. To move the needle, you’ll need to acquire some golfing capital. Practice, play, hit putts in front of the TV at night, build your skill set, let your golf bank account grow, and when you’re ready, deploy the capital and see what you can do. Good Luck! 

Rob Rashell is now the Director of Instruction at Desert Forrest located in Scottsdale, Arizona. You can reach Rob at rob@robrashell.com.