Swing Changes & Trusting the Process

“Do you want to leave this lesson today hitting the golf ball better, or do you want to actually fix the root of your swing issues?”

Ouch. That question – that opened my first golf lesson since high school golf – stung. What do you mean I have deep-rooted swing issues? I’m a 10 handicap! Ok, well…technically, on paper I’m a 10 handicap, but I’ve been in a rut for months that’s lasted through the winter season.

A rut that has had me hating what was, several warm and sunny months ago, the source of my happiest moments. A rut that has me thinking that it turns out I’m not even good at the one thing I’ve been good at my entire life. A rut that most recently led to me walking off the course on the 14th hole, admitting defeat after too many tops, chunks, and blades to pretend to have fun anymore.

This led me to giving an answer I didn’t want to give.

“Sure, let’s actually fix the issues.”

“Ok – but you’re not going to like me when you leave here.”

And he was right. Throughout the 45 minute lesson, we changed everything. My stance, my posture, my grip, my takeaway. It was 45 minutes of agony. I hit bad shot after bad shot while the coach ensured I was making progress, inching toward doing the right thing by taking dozens of steps backward. It was humbling to say the least, humiliating to say the most. How can I be doing the right thing if the end result is terrible? It’s not the thought that counts, it’s a sport! It’s the score that counts!

But still, I (mostly) bit my tongue. I have to confess that at one point after a particularly bad shank that cut it close to a goose on the other end of the range, I told the coach, “this isn’t very fun".” But otherwise I tried to feign a smile, laugh through the bad shots, and trust the process.

But trusting the process isn’t something I’ve ever been very good at. Not in life, and certainly not in golf. I’m more of an instant gratification type, which is why I’ve left a littered trail of hobbies and projects behind me throughout my 32 years of living. If I can’t master it quickly, I’m not exactly one to push through the pain of practice. Golf is the rare exception.

But just as in chipping away at a bad habit in life and trying to get a bit better each and every time, I’m attempting the same for my golf swing. Focusing on one small win at a time, forgiving myself when I slip back into old habits, and most importantly – trusting the process.