19th Hole

Kim Anders
Director of Instruction
John Jacobs Golf Schools and Academies Estrella del Mar Golf and Beach Resort
Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico, AZ
jkanders4@gmail.com

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It Just Takes Discipline!

I’ve worked with Terry several times this winter and he has made great progress. As with most people, he does pretty good for several holes and then, as he says, “I take a nap for a few holes,” resulting in some bad scores. “I’m playing the best golf of my life if I could just get rid of 3 or 4 bad holes.”

When I work with someone I stress the importance of having a Plan for every swing they make. Once they get in the habit of having a Plan they need to have the discipline to execute their Plan. This is all pretty easy to do when practicing, but move 50 feet over to the first tee and it becomes a completely different game.  

See the green 400 yards away, the lake on the right, OB on the left, big bunkers reaching out into the fairway just about where your tee shot will land. Suddenly, discipline and a Plan are the last thing on your mind.  

Terry and I and our wives happened to get paired together this week in a couples event. On the first tee he made one of the best swings I had ever seen him make – nice swing Terry.

This continued for the entire 9-holes. I could tell he surprised himself several times, and on the 7th hole he hit a fairway metal from about 165 yards into a stiff breeze to about 15 feet from the hole. I could tell he was surprised with this particular shot.

The last time we worked together I was impressed with the questions Terry was asking. He was talking about ball flight, if he moves the ball back or forward in his setup it causes the ball to fly differently, right? He was getting “it”!  

When a student gets on a hot streak like Terry was I like to know what they are thinking about that makes their swing suddenly click. He gave me a little smirk and said, “Just takes discipline!”

He understood the couple of things we were working on gave him the absolute best chance to produce a good shot. Not a guarantee, but it was truly the best chance he had. This was his Plan, and he was doing it…with discipline! He was having a lot of fun, too!

If you’re having trouble developing your Plan see your PGA Professional! It’s time to start getting more enjoyment out of your game!! 

Kim Anders is Director of Instruction at the John Jacobs Golf Schools and Academies at the Estrella del Mar Golf and Beach Resort in Mazatlan Mexico. You can contact Kim at jkanders4@gmail.com.