Hyo Joo Kim Improves Her Game From Home
What were your goals for this season? Were you looking to make adjustments to improve your ranking or lower your handicap?
Did you want to improve consistency or score less double bogeys over the course of 18 holes?
Were you looking to break 80 or 70 for the first time?
You may feel like your goals are unattainable now that the coronavirus pandemic has you isolated to the confines of home.
“My season is ruined. I finally felt like I was going to accomplish something big and now I can’t do anything. I’m stuck at home, confined in a small place without having any space to practice my shots.”
Many golfers will choose to complain about their circumstances and abandon their golf game completely while other golfers find a way to work through their circumstances to keep them moving closer to their seasonal goals.
Though you may be stuck at home but you are not stuck with nothing to do.
Even though you are at home with limited options to improve your golf game, there are several opportunities and resources available to you to get to a whole new level in your golf game.
You don’t have to abandon your goals, but you can choose a different path to achieve your goals in the future.
An adjustment in your plan, not your goal, may be just what you need.
For example, if your goal is to decrease big numbers, you may not be able to practice on the practice greens, but you can work on relaxation or focusing strategies at home.
When you adjust your plan, you can still make significant strides to achieve your overall goal despite your circumstance and gain an edge over the competition who do not see the opportunity during these adverse times.
Tour golfers are isolated at home, just like you are. The coronavirus has forced all golfers including Hyo Joo Kim, three-time LPGA Tour winner and major champion, to find unique methods to improve her golf game while stuck at home.
Kim set a goal of getting more distance on her tee shots. Without access to a driving range, Kim adjusted her plan by focusing more on weight training.
KIM:”I want to see the increase [distance] in my shots at the tournaments. This was probably the very first time, since I started golf, that I’ve worked this hard at weight training… It is disappointing that the Tokyo Olympics have been postponed, but I consider it a good thing that I’ve got more time to prepare… By gaining power, I’ve gained about 10 meters [on my tee shots]. I’ve gained confidence as well.”
Being away from the golf course does not have to mean inactivity. You can still work hard and return to the game better than before the coronavirus.
Adjusting your goals by including mental toughness training, weight training or flexibility exercises, can keep you on track to accomplish your long-term goals.
Adjusting Your Golf Goals This Season
Restate your goal for the season…
Identify two adjustments to your goal or short-term goals you can work on while at home. Consider objectives that will give you the most bang for your buck like mental skills training or physical conditioning.
Next, what’s the plan for working on these two short-term goals. What specific actions will you take to improve? How many hours per session and many times per week?
Working towards immediate goals is empowering. True champions work behind the scenes when others are waiting or resting.
Related Golf Psychology Articles
- Striving for Small Goals Leads to Improvement
- What is a Positive Attitude in Golf?
- How Short-term Goals Helps You Focus
- Subscribe to The Golf Psychology Podcast on iTunes
- Subscribe to The Golf Psychology Podcast on Spotify
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