And here we are in April, our clocks now turned back, hues of red and gold and a chill in the early morning air. Wasn’t it Keats who described Autumn best: (The) Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. How right he was.
Autumn is often a time of maintenance. Many courses choose to core their greens, re-sow sections of fairways and tackle larger tree pruning projects. Which makes me think about my own golf maintenance; what am I looking to tackle about my own game to make for a more enjoyable and successful round?
Recently a good friend of mine had a golf mentoring session with Janie Reese from Kiss My Putt. Janie specialises in all the aspects of golf that no one teaches you, especially the mental and emotional aspects of the game.
My friend gained a lot, especially about consciously thinking like a very low handicapper. For example, if you are like me and prefer to decrease risk on the fairway, you might choose to hit around a bunker or water feature and take an extra shot, rather than risk the penalties a hazard can incur. Janie’s advice would be – back yourself. You can hit over the water or bunker, you’ve proved this by hitting that distance a thousand times. Really, truly believe that you can hit that distance regardless of what falls in the path. Put your big girl pants on and be brave!
So on the back of this new found thinking, I’ve been trying to be braver and do you know what….sometimes it’s been working! So my season of mellow fruitfulness ‘maintenance’, is going to include a lot more thinking like a low handicapper and practice telling myself, I can do it.
Happy Golfing!
Liz