Many of the young readers of these columns are
playing on high school or college golf teams.
Golf is played largely as an individual
sport. From the time a young player picks up
a club until he or she gets into high school,
the vast majority of competitive experience in
the game is as an individual. Because of
this, most players are far more comfortable
and familiar with playing “for themselves”
than they are playing for a team or a school.
Indeed, many of my clients, when they make the
jump from junior golf to high school golf, and
particularly when they jump from high school
or junior golf to collegiate golf, are
challenged mentally and emotionally because of
some of the differences. Here are a few of
the challenges, with attendant adjustments and
approaches:
1. The coaches direct the
activities, practices, and competitions. This
can be extremely challenging for players (and
their parents!) as the player has historically
had either significant input or complete
autonomy to choose their own practice plan and
competitive schedule. In most high schools
and the majority of colleges, this is not the
case. For some, this feels constricting and
frustrating as they are not able to work
on “what they want to when they want to”, and
for others, they simply do not have the level
of faith and trust in the coach’s golf
knowledge base to follow the orders. My
recommendation is two-fold. First, before
making a choice to be a part of any team, I
strongly advise that the player and/or parents
have a conversation with the coach to discern
if the coach’s style and philosophy is a fit
for the player and whether or not the player
is willing to work within the system. This is
not an invitation for a debate. The coach’s
philosophy is at their discretion, and their
system is their prerogative. The player has
the option to opt in or opt out. If you don’t
like what you hear, then opt out and explore
other options and opportunities. If you opt
in, then recognize that you are bound to the
coach’s philosophy even if you don’t always
agree with it, and that you are choosing to do
this in advance of the season. Be prepared to
make adjustments from what might be familiar
to you and embrace the prospect of growing in
your game while out of your comfort zone.
Second, if you do opt in, make sure that you
communicate clearly with the coach what you
feel has worked well for you in the past.
Most coaches appreciate getting input about
what works for each of their players, and many
are willing to make some adjustments in their
approaches if there is mutual benefit for the
player and for the team. Again, as I stated
before, this is not an opening for a debate,
but rather a chance to articulate what has
benefitted you in the past so that the coach
can make fully informed decisions about your
developmental and competitive process. My
point in all of this is to make sure you do
due diligence by asking the important
questions and getting clear answers before you
choose to be a part of the team. This will
help reduce frustration down the road and will
likely get you aligned with your coach at the
start and for the future.
2. Many players when the become
part
of a golf team take the obligation to their
team very seriously. This is a very good
thing! For some however, this
extra “obligation” feels like added “pressure”
they put on themselves to “not let their
teammates/coaches down”. This actually may be
at or near the top of the list of challenges
for the collegiate players with whom I work.
My recommendation here is that every round of
golf is really about the player vs. the golf
course- whether competing as an individual or
as a part of the team. As thoughts about team
obligations and recognizing it’s not “all
about me” flood into your mind on the course,
get back to playing the course. The best way
to help your team is for you to play well.
The best way for you to play well is to not
give too much power to the thinking about your
teammates or your coach. The best ways to
play well is to make quality decisions about
your next golf shot, execute a practiced and
consistent routine, find a quality target, and
execute a golf shot. Don’t make it more
complicated than that!
3. Related to #2 above is the
distraction that is common from focusing too
much on pleasing your teammates or coaches or
avoiding their displeasure. If you find
yourself thinking about the consequences of
your outcome (e.g. What if I don’t play well
and my score doesn’t count? What if we lose
because of me?”), remember that you are on the
course to play golf, not to get the approval
of others. It is nice for if people
appreciate your accomplishments and it can be
painful if they are disappointed in your
performance. Recognize that your job is to
control what you can- namely your attitude,
concentration, and effort. All you can be
held accountable for ultimately is whether or
not you are doing the work and making great
effort. If others have an opinion about your
performance beyond that, work on reducing how
much weight you put on their opinion. If you
recognize that you are overly distracted by
what others might think of you, some
additional work on redefining your goals and
your purpose for playing the game might be
beneficial.
Overall, playing golf in a team setting can be
extremely fun and rewarding, and can add
elements of excitement that individual play
cannot equal. Recognizing some of the mental
adjustments to be made when in a team setting
can increase the likelihood that you will have
an experience that is gratifying and enjoyable!
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