Eternal comfort zone: how to change things

[naval2006]

This may be an assignment for the off season of many golfers.  It's a thing that has been going around in my head for a while.  I'm feeling like my game is in a neverending plateau.  I'm not a bad player but I've played the same for the past 15 years with a short break when I practiced with a real intent and took lessons with my teacher to reach a 4 handicap that I played everywhere I went. 

 

I feel like if I shot a decent score I'm ok.  This is a particular year because I have played mostly on my course so sometimes you go on autopilot.  But what I feel the most is there's no challenges ahead, nothing to get me focused or motivated on and as time goes by I notice I find it harder to set up goals and organize my practice.  I dind't use to play a lot, only Saturdays and twice a week I'd hit a few balls wich was a good amount for me.  Now I have more time to play so I'm getting a bit fed up with golf more often.  But  I think it's all about not having any goals.  And the same on the course: the usual shots, the usual struggle and the usual level of frustration because by the 11th or 12th hole I've lost my concentration altogether. 

 

I guess this is something that happens to all of us.  So I'd like to know what you would do or you've done to sort this out.  I still have some game left and I don't want to waste any more time stuck this way.  Thank you guys for your advice,

 

Alex

[chipa]

Your observation is valid for life in general from my perspective because we always seem to need to have something to look forward to. As far as my golf goals I am trying to get where you are, ie with a repeatable swing so that instead of getting to the course and wondering where I will hit the ball I would be thinking about positions off the tee and course management. If I ever get to that point I think the next step would be to play with people that are better than me or at least my equal for some good competition. Good luck.

[milesgiles]

 

The answer is absolutely to find better competition. If you played to 4 you need guys at least that good and preferably better

[bladehunter]

6 minutes ago, milesgiles said:

 

The answer is absolutely to find better competition. If you played to 4 you need guys at least that good and preferably better

This ^.  Jump in the deepest end you can.  Ego will push you forward faster than anything in my opinion.  Comfort is the disease that causes stagnation.  

[DShepley]

I guess it all depends what you want from your game.  I used to practice a lot more than I do now but manage to play more golf than I have in years.  I find myself in the same boat as you.  For a few years I carried a plus index at my club and competed well in club championships etc.  Then kids and less playing and a struggle to hold onto what was.  In the meantime management changed at my club, club events became different and I found myself not enjoying my time there.  I switched to a new club a little closer to my house but the offset is that they have very few members and no club competition.  I play a lot more golf in a lot less time and I find overall I am much happier...it's just golf none of the BS that goes along with club events, sandbagging, etc, but my game is stuck and I find it hard to get into a competitive mindset.  My regular group plays matches but it's hard to bear down if you know what I mean because it's the same old thing and I'm the lowest player by 5 shots.  This year, I played in a couple scrambles at my old club with members who invited me and we got in the mix.  I found a level of pressure that was missing and was pleased that I was able to hit shots under pressure, focus and commit to shots.  So... my plan is to play in a couple of the area stroke play tournaments next summer to see if I can inject a bit of that focus back into my game.  It's all a trade off really though...I do get complacent with my game but I am playing more golf than I have in years and overall I'm much happier.  Apart from entering a couple of tournaments next year, I'm going to also start focusing on scoring at my new club.  I have been there for 3 years and there are holes that I underperform on still.  I want to really focus on strategy and see how low I can go.  So far my best score is 67, (Par 70), but I have had it as low as 5 under through 15 and not finished.  I need to find a way to play the last 3 in par or better and I think I can do that through better course management.  Basically, make a plan and try to execute it every time rather than blindly plug a tee in the ground and swing away as it is easy to do when you get a bit complacent.