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Playing confidently AND playing smart


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On the one hand: I am convinced that picking smart targets is essential to playing my best golf. The ideas behind DECADE (and similar systems) are sound. Choosing targets that maximize your odds of the lowest score—objectively—is something that I'm committed to.

On the other hand: confidence, even overconfidence, plays a real role in hitting good shots. I'm not talking about mere positive thinking or "manifesting reality" or anything like that. But most of us know that playing golf tentatively has real effects on the kind of swing or stroke we put on the ball.

I see this in Kirke: on the golf course, he carries himself with "Rory on a heater" swagger. It can absolutely be obnoxious (and a dad, it's something we talk about from a character point of view). But it's also in part why I think he's so good at this game. Bad shots just get erased from his brain. He stands over each shot fully convinced he can pull off absolutely anything he wants with a golf ball.

To me, it seems that these two ideas are at least a little in tension with each other. Certainly we can imagine the extreme caricatures: the swashbuckling, fire-at-every-flag approach and the avoid-all-risk approach.

And before you jump in: I know that the mathematically correct choice is (most) often to send it. I get that smart golf isn't always "conservative."

But if you're catching my drift, I think there is some tension between the mindset that says, "I can absolutely pull off any shot I need" and the reality that "Also, that's a really stupid shot that I shouldn't try to pull off."

So all that to say, what's your best advice for playing confidently while playing smart?

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I think for most they don’t understand their tendencies or they over estimate their skills. You see lots of golfers attempt shots that they either never have hit before ever or fail to execute 99% of the time but because they did if once they think they can do it everytime.

If one knows their tendencies, their skills and what they can execute consistently then they can easily have the confidence over the ball and swagger that they will execute the shot at hand.

One has to analyze the shot including stance, lie, course layout in front of them where the good and bad miss is and what they normally do from that situation.

 

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I think Scott Fawcett sums it up well when quotes Tiger when Tiger says he plays aggressively to his targets.  I personally don’t think there is a conflict in what you are saying because as a player you have to have the confidence you can hit the shot.  A player can’t be tentative but has to play sound strategy AND be committed to the shot to score well consistently.  The mental aspect is the other part of DECADE that people don’t talk about much.  

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Fawcett has a video he pulled together for DECADE members where he goes through all 18 of Tiger's approaches in round 4 of the 2019 Masters and then basically describes them in terms of where the DECADE target would have been for each of the flags. The thing that stood out to me more than anything is that (to Chris' point) aggressive to my targets requires that level of confidence and swagger. Firing at flags isn't about confidence, it's about making a mathematically poor decision and then just hoping that the Blackjack dealer showing 9 busts after you 'hit' with 18. Does it happen? Sure. Are you going to 'swagger' after you rake the chips in after being dealt a 2 or a 3? Definitely. Does that make it a smart decision? Nope. The way I see it, "confidence" is really best demonstrated with being willing to fire at the smart target, especially in the face of someone who just stuffed it to a tucked pin. Sure, they might make birdie on that hole, but the odds are they're going to make a lot more bogies (and worse) if they keep trying to knock down flagsticks. They're going to be short-sided more often, end up in bunkers more often, and see far more shots bounce down into hazards. 

Talk about a confidence-killer...

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I also think that there's a middle ground, or an application of smart golf that fosters and develops confident golf. If you're aware of your limits and the better misses on a course, that gives you the opportunity to know just how far you can push those limits. That in turn could give you more confidence standing over the ball because there's less fear about the unknown or the bad being bad enough to truly undermine your score. 

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47 minutes ago, greggarner said:

Fawcett has a video he pulled together for DECADE members where he goes through all 18 of Tiger's approaches in round 4 of the 2019 Masters and then basically describes them in terms of where the DECADE target would have been for each of the flags.

Isn't that the video where he talks about the announcers saying that he needs to be aggressive in order to win and talking about the scores of groups behind him and his position on the leaderboard?  Scott then shows he never changed his strategy to be more aggressive to make more birdies

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6 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Isn't that the video where he talks about the announcers saying that he needs to be aggressive in order to win and talking about the scores of groups behind him and his position on the leaderboard?  Scott then shows he never changed his strategy to be more aggressive to make more birdies

in the Foundations lessons, it's Month 3, "Play Like Tiger"

Driver: :srixon-small: ZX5 LS MkII 9.5* (@ 9.0*) with 46.5" Ventus Blue 6X
3-wood: :taylormade-small: SIM 15* with Diamana Limited 75S
5-wood: :cobra-small: RADspeed 18.5* with Motore X F3 60S
2i: :srixon-small: ZX with SteelFiber i95 Stiff

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Putter: :callaway-small: Toulon Chicago with a :garsen: Quad Tour or :cleveland-small: HB SOFT Milled 10.5S with UST All-in

Ball: :callaway-small: Chrome Tour (but I might still have some :titleist-small: Left Dashes hanging around)
Bag: :srixon-small: Ltd Edition Tartan, blue/green/yellow

Using :ShotScope: to keep track of my shots

Tested:
:wilson_staff_small: D7 Forged 3i-PW, KBS Tour-V 110S - Official Review
:titelist-small: Blind Ball Test (Ball #3 vs Ball #4) - Unofficial Review
:ShotScope:
 V3 GPS Watch + Tags - Official Review
:OnCore:
 Vero X2 - Official Review

The Stack System - Official Review

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I think there has to be a balance between your confidence and playing smart. Here is an example, today on a long par 4 I hit a good drive but was in the rough with a terrible lie, I had 175 to the pin and 165 to cover a pond, my short game is the strength of my game, I punched out to fairway trying to get 100 yards to the pin which is my perfect gap wedge, I hit a good shot to about 8 feet and made it for par. My point is because of the confidence in my short game, I played smart and made a par, a couple of years ago I would have tried to muscle it out of the rough and would have probably made double 4 out of 5 times.

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In thinking about playing with confidence, I created this decision flow chart for approaching golf shots with (and without) confidence.  It was sort of fun putting this together (using some of my own emotions when out on the course).  I think it's got the right balance of lack of confidence, confidence and over confidence and the likely outcome of those feelings.  Start in the center (where it says "START") and follow it around the decisions we all make within a round.  Some good and some bad.  

I got a chuckle making it.  I hope it brings a smile when you see it.

Cheers!

Golf Confidence Decision Making.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

The golfer is a unique spot as he is both coach and player. If you separate the two mindsets, there really is no tension with playing smart and confident. Thats inherently how a coach and player work.

Imagine a football team driving the ball in opponents territory with only a few minutes on the clock and down 1 point. The modern coaching staff is familiar with analytics. At some point they are close enough that going for a field goal has less risk than trying to drive in for a touchdown, so the coach makes the decision to run down the clock, set up the correct hash, and bring in the kicker. The coach is playing smart. 

The kicker did not choose this game plan.  The decision has been made for him, he just needs to execute. There is no room to question why we didnt keep passing it. There's nothing beneficial coming from remembering the last missed kick. Its purely time to execute and thus you want the kicker to be completely confident over this kick. There's no debate that you want the kicker feeling like he is going to win the game. That he is going to split the uprights with ease and walk off a hero. No nerves, no negativity. Not tentative. Aggressive. Drill it. The kicker is playing aggressive to hit his target to win the game.

These are too different mindsets. 1 - choosing the absolute best plan. 2 - executing the plan presented. Too often the golfer is the QB is this analogy, either thinking that he is going to pay no attention to the directions from the coach in his headset and throw a touchdown himself because he is feeling it, or the QB sitting on the sidelines with a towel over his head doubting that the kicker is going to do his job.

How do you bring this to the course? We all have or own ways, but my best golf usually comes from talking out loud to myself. Like I am the caddy convincing the player of the shot. Like I am two people. Decision maker and executer. Once the shot has been established, you start your preshot routine and its a full go from there. Like the kicker taking his steps into position. Complete confidence in getting the ball to the target. 

 

 

 

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