What if there was no such thing as par?
Seems like an odd statement. Especially considering golf is a game where the sole objective is to shoot a score as close to, and hopefully beat, par.
But what if there was no scoring outcome? No pars, no birdies, no bogies, no triples?
Essentially, all golf involved was you and the shot at hand.
How would you, as a golfer, think such a change would affect your approach to the game?
Well, maybe I can answer that for you…
I want you to think back to a time where you were playing what you personally regard, as great golf. No, I don’t mean that two-up-on-your-handicap sort of business. I’m talking about the days when you go out and all the stars, planets, moons, black holes and cosmic dust align.
You’re bombing your drives down the fairway, every iron shot is pure, you’re chipping it to a foot, and putting? Oh please, that’s as easy as putting the milk back in the fridge.
Needless to say, all is rosy.
But then something happens. You’re marking your score down on the seventh hole and your playing partner says to you, “Wow, you’re five up on your handicap already.”
“Oh, yeah,” you say in a cool tone, trying to act as if this run of good form is the norm.
You try to brush it off, but it’s hard to stop thinking about. You proceed to step up to the next tee and block your drive right into the trees.
“It’s okay,” you say to yourself…. it was only one shot.
But it wasn’t.
And soon enough, your golf game resembles an under-10s game of blindfolded hockey and you’re lucky to salvage a score that keeps you from walking into the clubhouse with your tail between your legs.
Now I’m not saying this happens to you all the time, but I can guarantee it has happened, in one way or another, more times than you’d like to admit.
So what was the issue, then?
Was is technical? Tactical? Mental? Physical?!
Well, Jack Nicklaus has been famously quoted for saying, “Golf is 90% mental and 10% physical.”
And in circumstances such as the above, I’m sure the majority of us would agree.
However, personally, I don’t believe golf is a split percentage at all. In my opinion no aspect of the game will work well without the other being at least of a somewhat similar capability.
Technical ability means nothing without the mental capacity to believe you can play the shot. And mental strength alone won’t allow you to bomb it 300 metres down the middle of the fairway (well maybe at night in your dreams).
Okay then, so what separates the average player from the good, and the good from the great?
Control.
Control over all aspects of the game, both mental and physical.
But what do I mean?
Well, it’s quite simple: the more you practice, the more control you have over that element.
To improve control over your technique, you need to get lessons and you need to practice like you play.
To improve your mental game, you need to gain control over your thoughts, emotions and belief in your ability to execute golf shots.
Thousands (if not millions) of instructional articles dive into processes to help you improve the technical aspect of your game, however what I’m going to delve into is how a simple shift in your thought process can make a world of difference out on course.
“What if there was no such thing as par?”
Think about it for a minute…
You would have no anxiety about your score, how your buddies are doing, if you’re going to break your handicap and by how much… all you would be thinking about would be your next shot. Simply because scoring wouldn’t be a factor.
Phew! What a weight off your shoulders that would be.
And in truth, that’s the reason why the majority of us are happier leaving the driving range after a practice session than when we’re leaving the course. This is because at the driving range, most of us practice ineffectively and therefore do not place any internal pressure on ourselves to achieve a specific outcome, each new ball is simply another fresh start.
Strangely enough, maybe that’s EXACTLY what we need to do on course. Reframe your thinking so that there is no score, you’re simply out there playing every shot as if it was a new one and you place no pressure on yourself to shoot a specific number.
You may have heard professionals talking about ‘getting into the zone.’ Essentially, this is what is happening: they are so focused and consumed by the immediate task at hand that they have no time to waste by thinking about their score.
Funnily enough, this is when they play at their best and also, when you will as well.
Now I’m not saying don’t stay competitive. I’m saying that when you’re on course, don’t worry about the number of shots you have had, instead, direct your focus on the task at hand.
Not only may you surprise yourself, but you’ll also find that the scores will always take care of themselves.
