#18 [Journey to Scratch] Unsolicited Swing Advice, New Friends, and Emotional Resiliency on the Course
Episode Introduction and Summary:
Hey, fellow golfers, welcome back to The Scratch Golfer’s Mindset Podcast! I’m Paul Salter, The Golf Hypnotherapist, and mindset coach. In today’s episode, I reflect on a surprising turn of events that helped improve my game – unsolicited swing advice. I discuss:
- How a chance encounter on the range with a 36-year pro changed my grip and swing
- The challenge of balancing multiple swing thoughts and maintaining focus
- My journey to staying committed to a new swing routine
- How meeting new golfers has provided valuable lessons beyond the course itself
I also share insights into maintaining a positive mindset, embracing new learning opportunities, and the power of self-talk on the course. If you’re working on breaking 90 or just want to improve your mental game, this episode is packed with actionable tips to elevate your golf mindset.
Be sure to tune in for more updates on my journey to scratch and how you can apply these lessons to improve your own golf game.
P.S. If you’re interested in learning more about how mindset coaching and hypnotherapy can help you get unstuck from the proverbial bunker of poor performance on the course and in your business, click here to schedule a coaching discovery call with me.
P.P.S. Check out the Golf Noob YouTube Channel.
Key Points:
- The people you meet on the golf course can provide valuable lessons and learning opportunities about yourself.
- Understanding the adult learning model can help diffuse frustration and impatience and accelerate improvement in your golf game.
- Unsolicited swing advice can sometimes be incredibly valuable and lead to significant improvements in your game.
- Having a game plan, putting well, and maintaining emotional control are key factors in playing a successful round of golf.
- Positive self-talk is crucial for improving your golf game and can have a positive impact on other areas of your life as well.
Key Quotes:
- “The people I meet on the golf course may prove to be even more valuable when it comes to providing teaching lessons and learning opportunities about myself than the game of golf.”
- “Having a general working understanding about this learning model, it’s called the adult learning model or the conscious competency model of learning, is going to help you diffuse some of the normal feelings of frustration and impatience and help you better understand where you are in the learning journey and ultimately what you need to prioritize to accelerate improvement in your golf game.”
- “There were so many times, especially coming after coming off of a par or a couple good holes. I just want to bomb it. I just want to bomb it to the green. And there were several times where I voiced that out loud.”
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Time Stamps:
- 00:00: The Value of the People You Meet on the Golf Course
- 03:49: The Surprising Benefits of Unsolicited Swing Advice
- 07:32: The Importance of Having a Game Plan
- 09:17: Mastering the Art of Putting
- 09:46: Maintaining Emotional Control on the Golf Course
- 19:25: The Power of Positive Self-Talk in Golf and Life
Transcript:
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (00:03.378)
I think that the people I meet on the golf course may prove to be even more valuable when it comes to providing teaching lessons and learning opportunities about myself than the game of golf. And I don’t think I would have said that three months ago, but the amount of kind, cool, intelligent, selfless, inspirational people
I have met on the golf course through the game of golf and such a limited window has been nothing short of outstanding. Welcome back to another episode of the Scratch Golfers Mindset podcast. My name is Paul Salter. I’m the golf hypnotherapist and I help golfers like you get unstuck from the proverbial bunker of poor performance so that they can play to their potential and really just achieve your full potential.
on and off the course and welcome back to another episode. This particular episode again is entitled journey to scratch every single Tuesday. I provide you with an update on my personal journey to becoming a scratch golfer and I’ve got a lot of exciting information to share today and the first thing I do want to mention is just a quick note on last week’s edition of the more pars than bogeys newsletter. I think it’s a phenomenal read.
Obviously because I’m biased, I wrote it, but here’s why. It’s about understanding the way that we learn. There are four distinct phases every individual progresses through when it comes to being oblivious and unaware about learning a new skill and why learning said skill would be valuable to proficiency all the way to mastery. And this is so applicable to the golf swing.
Having a general working understanding about this learning model, it’s called the adult learning model or the conscious competency model of learning, is going to help you diffuse some of the normal feelings of frustration and impatience and help you better understand where you are in the learning journey and ultimately what you need to prioritize to accelerate improvement in your golf game, which was why the newsletter is so aptly named.
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (02:23.488)
Accelerate improvement in your golf game, the conscious competence model of learning. It’s linked below. I know that you will find it valuable. And then second shout out to Mr. Ryan Moore, who I had the pleasure of playing around with this past Sunday up at the groves in Lando lakes, Florida, beautiful, challenging short course par 66. And I am going to get into this a little bit later of the episode, but want to just shout out his YouTube channel, the golf new.
I had no idea this guy was actually working in golf in any capacity before I met him. And I’ll share that story in a little bit. But if you are looking for budget friendly or ultra budget friendly feedback, tips and advice on types of golf balls, equipment, apparel, and everything in between that I really have no intimate knowledge of whatsoever, this is your go -to equipment guy. He’s got over a thousand subscribers on his YouTube channels, a weekly video.
or three doing comparisons on products, wedges, drivers. He was testing out a driver when we played together yesterday. Can’t recommend them enough. Go check out the channel. I’ll link it below. He’s the golf newb specializing in helping beginner and intermediate players make the best choices for their game on all things, equipment, golf balls, and apparel. And with that said, we are going to start off my update on the last week of golf. Talking about
unsolicited swing advice. So there I am Friday morning at 7 a on the range. Not a single soul is out there yet. I’m over at Rogers Park in Tampa, Florida, and I’m feeling really excited to be there. I mean, first and foremost, it’s Friday morning. I’m out on a golf course like doesn’t get much better than that. And I’m really excited specifically because I’ve got my swing cues dialed in. I know what I’m focusing on. I’m focusing primarily on my 52.
my utility wedge in my nine iron this morning. Or at least that’s the game plan coming into this practice session. You see, as I am out on that range, one of the instructors is beginning to tape off areas for the children’s camp that will begin in a couple of hours. And he’s marking all these sections on the range. And I start to notice he’s getting a little close to me and I’m hitting the ball pretty well. I’m still feeling really good. I’m kind
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (04:44.152)
I’m focused on me, but I do happen to notice like he’s getting really close and I take the proactive kind approach to say, Hey, do you need me to move in my, your way? And he responds and I’m going to butcher a little bit. goes, no man, you’re good, but your swing could use some angles. And you got to remember I’m four months back into the game at this place. I’m just trying to focus on my backswing making contact. And I’m like, dude, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Like
and I’m sitting there wrestling with the debate in my mind. Like, do I just politely decline him and just keep doing what I’m doing? Or do I try to really keep an open mind here and just see what this man has to say? Like, clearly he’s an instructor. He’s wearing a shirt that says golf hall of fame. Okay, let me listen to him. Well, 30 minutes later, he has given me 30 minutes of what was once I thought maybe unsolicited device to ultimately shaping into
incredibly valuable coaching tidbits. spent 30 minutes with me. He reworked my grip, which felt completely foreign and uncomfortable. And he completely reworked my swing, giving me three or two, excuse me, specific cues to work on that I kid you not, in the 30 minutes, my biggest challenge that I was really working on that morning was I’m making great contact. was really happy with my swing, but
Most of my shots were still about 15 to 25 yards to the right of where I was aiming and I was having trouble, for lack of better description, hitting the ball exactly straight to where I was aiming. Well, like that, he fixed it. He gave me two mental cues that helped me repeat it consistently and holy shit, he made a world of a difference. He didn’t even try to sell me until after the 30 minutes. He gave me his rates, his packages.
I got his contact information and to be candid when I am ready to take another round of lessons, he will likely be the person I reach out to. 36 year pro teaching career, he’s got guys who played on the PGA and ladies playing currently on the LPGA tour and a very nice funny, know, brash, inappropriate guy who teaches the game very simplistically. He was very hands on and it was interesting to note because clearly that threw a wrench in my plan Friday morning and
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (07:04.798)
I bet you struggle with this too. Like, am I alone here and thinking like, just shut up. I don’t want all of these swing thoughts in my mind. I just did a podcast last week, like commit to a one track mind with swing thoughts, but I let this guy in and it actually proved valuable. So now as a result, my own doing, Paul, you should listen to your own advice, but here I did not. I’ve got a cacophony of different swing thoughts going on in my mind. So of course,
You know, I live in an apartment right now and I keep my clubs in my car. So I brought my wedge inside so I could just practice that grip all day. I felt like I didn’t put the club down all day, so was just.
locking in that grip, I wrote out bullet points to remember every step of this grip, because it was different than my own. And I’m just swinging all Friday, all Saturday in my tiny apartment, just swinging, like moving my girlfriend, my pets out of the way, my furniture, so I can lock in this swing, what it feels like, because I’m playing Sunday, you know, less than 48 hours, I’m playing a round of 18 with somebody I’ve never met before, who I think is a solid golfer based on what I’ve seen online. So I want to be prepared. And it was just really interesting.
to see how an open mind allowed such positivity into my life. And I know as I’ve talked to so many of you, I have some experience on the golf course and of the sport and of itself. Like there can be a lot of egos involved. Everybody, especially on the range, there’s these people soliciting to give tips and techniques that you sign up with them and pay for coaching sessions. And it can be a
except this time it wasn’t because I kept an open mind and I would have had no problem saying, thank you. That’s enough. If it was invaluable and unhelpful as I just shared, though, it was incredibly valuable, significantly helpful. And when I did put it into practice on a Sunday morning, it proved quite valuable. was striking the ball straight. was going where I wanted it to
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (08:58.976)
And that was a huge difference for me. I didn’t have to start adjusting and assuming the ball was gonna go 15 to 25 yards to the right of where I aim. So a lot to work on, but a lot of positive signs. So really, really unique experience because when I brought that swing then to Sunday morning, I got there early to spend.
You know, I plan to spend about 30 minutes on the range. Just still I have, now I feel like I’m starting from scratch to get to scratch with this swing. And I’m just trying to grease the groove with it, trying to grease the groove repetition. I’ve got these two cues I really need to focus on. And when I do, it comes together beautifully. As you can imagine though, you start meeting somebody new. You know, there’s a little bit of pressure. Like this guy got to judge me a little anxiety, nerves on the first tee. Like when am I going to hit that good shot? And of course, first tee shot, not a good
Second shot though, fucking bombed the five iron. It went exactly where I wanted to, a solid 185, 190 yards. Okay, we’re in business. It works. Hole number two, par 329 yards. Drop it about 12 to 15 feet from the pin. Okay, we are doing this thing. And that will be my transition into kind of the second part. So last week I had a chip and putting practice session. I had the rain session I mentioned, and now here we are Sunday. I’m playing at the Groves up in Land O ‘Lakes, Florida.
beautiful course, beautiful, so much wetland and wildlife, all types of birds, ducks, sandhill cranes, galore, deer were running through the fairway and across the tee boxes right in front of us. Such a unique experience. And as I mentioned, I played with this guy who now I can consider and call a friend, Ryan, who I kid you not, when I’m explaining how I met him.
which was in a Facebook golf golf Facebook group. We were just chatting. I noticed he was local. said, why don’t we go play together? My girlfriend remarks to me after the fact, wait a minute. Did you just go on like a first date bro date? Yeah, I think I did. And I would do it again. It was a blast. So we’re playing this par 66. Ryan’s played this course 150 ,000 times. He knows it like the back of his hand, which was pretty cool. And it is a challenging course. So what’s unique is it’s
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (11:11.456)
3 ,900 yards, super short. It’s a par 66. There’s one, I think there’s one par five on each of the nine holes, on the front and on the back. But it is tight, tight like a tiger. Little Austin Powers reference for you there. Holy cow is it tight. It’s narrow, out of bounds galore. It’s wet. There’s water everywhere, which I only found once. Very, very happy with that. Had some pretty good ball control.
And we’ll get into what went well here, which is first and foremost, I made a game plan. encourage you and I invite you, I challenge you to do this. feel like every week, like if you’re playing a new course, look up the holes, the course layout the day before and have a general understanding and a plan to commit to about which clubs you’re using off the tee box and how you’re approaching every hole.
Some of these holes are incredibly enticing. You can easily drive the green even blast, you know, a fairway wood, a hybrid or a three iron to the green, but they’re narrow freaking greens, you know, protected by bunkers and water in every which direction. There were so many times, especially coming after coming off of a par or a couple good holes. I just want to bomb it. I just want to bomb it to the green. And there were several times where I voiced that out loud.
and talked myself back down to sticking to my plan, laying up, and it went really well. There was one time where I would consider it in hindsight a little bit of an aggressive approach rather than aiming for the right edge of the green. I did go more towards the middle slash left side of the green where the pin was located, which was also where out of bounds and a bunker was.
and I hit the green, bounced right off, was still in play, and that was kind of my only big risk of the day, and it happened to pay off. I parred the hole and moved on. But Ryan even remarked, like, dude, that is discipline. How do you do that? Because there’s so many holes there. I mean, the course is so cleverly designed and it’s so tight that it’s inviting, it’s tempting. Come on, bring out the driver. It’s 280 yards.
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (13:24.256)
bring out the wood, it’s 235 yards away and it’s a strict dog leg, but you kind of have an angle if you hit it over this tree. So very, very proud of myself for remaining committed to the game plan I had mapped out. Second aspect that went well, I putted like a champ and a champ by my standards. I had 36 putts, not something to write home about. However, most of my second putts were within three feet. My speed control and distance
maybe the best they’ve been to date since I’ve started putting I have two atrocious three pots because I rushed and that’s on me. I may be a little tired, a little hungry in the back nine. I don’t know what it was. but other than that, I putted well, very happy with that hit my three iron and my five iron incredibly well off the tee box and just an ability to maintain my emotional control, composure and focus throughout the day. There were a couple times where I literally said to myself
Fuck yeah, I am in the zone. I feel it. I’m confident I can sink this. The ball’s going exactly where I want it. Really proud about that. And as a whole, I played fairly well. I shot a 91, was a par 66. So keep that in mind. We played from the blue tees, which was dealer’s choice, was Ryan’s choice, his home course. That’s where he said he always plays. I just said, hey, I’m along for the ride. I’ll take
so I’m pleased with how it went. And there was two big learning lessons that I noticed was first and foremost, when I was reflecting and reviewing my scorecard after the round, a lot of bogeys and that’s okay. Like I’m sometimes I’m still catching myself to be hardwired that it’s par or bust par or bust. And I allow a little frustration to creep in. I’m not a par golfer yet. Keyword here yet. Bogeys are great.
I shot a 91 on 66. I mean, we translate that more or less to a par 71 or par 72, we’re still right around 100 or so more or less. like, and playing from blue. So progress, a lot of good things are coming together with continuing to show up and play consistently. So I just have to keep that in mind. Like I saw there was bogeys, there was some double bogeys and I still shot a 91. So it’s just a reminder that perfection is not the goal. Just wait coming up this Friday is a whole newsletter on
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (15:41.332)
dark side of chasing perfection filtered through the lens of golf. So that was a good humbling reassurance like bogey keep targeting bogey right now. That’s what we’re going for this particular chapter of our journey. And number two, I had one massive fucking blow up hole hit my tee shot out of bounds went over to the drop area.
And I gave myself a drop and the drop ended up putting me in a position of a very weird lie. was the ball was beneath my feet and I made great contact, but I kind of stumbled as I hit it and got way under the ball. then my second, you know, playing three also went out of bounds. Frustrating to say the least ended up doubling par there, but aside from that, the,
Biggest challenge I’m facing in my golf game right now, which I’m working on, I’m aware, is just I lack commitment to one technique when shipping. And ever since my swing change a mere 72 hours ago, now like that 40 to 60 yard range you’ve heard me talking about, now I’m having to kind of relearn that. I’m stuck between two different approaches on shipping, hitting through versus hitting down on the ball. I don’t even know if that makes sense or it’s technically correct in how I’m explaining it.
And that lack of commitment is manifesting as uncertainty, doubt, passivity, and it’s leading to a lot of chunks. And I even thinned it a couple of times. So I’m working on that. And I think more specifically within that 40, like maybe 30 to 40 yard range, I’m not confident. I’m overly conservative. I’m like, there’s like this innate fear. I’m beginning to recognize that I’m going to hit the ball over the green.
And to be frank, I’m not really sure where that comes from other than from lack of repetition, of course. So I’m really gonna push myself this week. got a couple rounds of 18, maybe three if I’m lucky on the schedule to just fucking go for it. Attack the pin and if I hit it over, like that’s even a win because I’m swinging more aggressively and through and I’m getting more comfortable with is it a quarter, a half or a three quarter back swing.
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (17:44.32)
And I’m learning, but I’m coming up way too fucking short on some of these shots where I’m coming up short of the green and left to do it again. And you can imagine if that compounds and then I chunk or thin the next one. And then I’m adding two to four unnecessary strokes very, very quickly. So that’s where I’m at committing to one particular chipping technique and approach practicing and everything under 60 yards. And then just continuing to grease the groove on this particular new swing that I am committed
This week ahead, like I mentioned, couple playing sessions on the calendar, each of which will enable me to break out my three wooden driver, two clubs I did not touch once this past Sunday. So gonna get some practice time with each of those clubs this evening. And then the point I really wanted to share was going back to playing with Ryan and Ryan knows this is not foreign to him. Ryan is an incredibly
has an incredibly harsh inner critic that is just spewing negative self -talk and You know, I didn’t know the guy for the first hour or so and I’m hearing and I’m soaking it in and by the end I’m giving him some just subtle feedback and encouragement But I can’t tell you enough and you know this but you’ve got to begin auditing your self
The words you use to speak to yourself matter. They carry an emotional energy. There’s an inherent magic, if you will. That’s literally why the construction of words is referred to as spelling. There is a magic, an emotional energy about them. The words you use influence your thoughts.
which influence your beliefs, the zone of filters, the blinders you put up about yourself, what you’re able, capable, worthy and deserving of shooting and scoring on the course. That impacts how you show up to swing and hit the ball, how you score your results, your identity and your reality. Your self talk matters and the self deprecating negative talk where you’re berating yourself, you’re harsh, critical, judgmental is not helping you on the golf course. And if you want,
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (19:55.68)
to really work on this aspect, here’s your challenge. Buckle up for this. It’s gonna feel like I’m coming out of left field. When you are on the course next time and you catch yourself beginning to find yourself hooked in a negative thought pattern or a negative self -talk pattern, I suck, fuck this game, blah, blah, blah, blah, I want you to stop yourself the moment you catch yourself and I want you to do either 10 pushups or five burpees. Yes.
on the course and watch how quickly you’re able to curtail that negative self -talk. And then the next step to that is add a positive complimentary element or at least a neutral element. I’m only focused on my next shot. I’m a, I’m great with my irons. I’m a strong putter. I’m confident at off of the tee box. You’ve got to redirect that negative self -talk. It sets the tone.
for your thoughts, beliefs and actions and ultimately your results and even the tone for your day. And if you’re struggling with this, it’s likely permeating into your work, into your marriage, into your parenting and your home life. It is something that is a low hanging fruit for you to begin to address to help you play better and feel better on and off the course. Otherwise,
That is all I have for you the week ahead. I’ve got a couple rounds already scheduled with some new people really looking forward to that. If you’re in the Tampa, St. Pete surrounding Clearwater area, I love to get around and with you to shoot me a message on Instagram, scratch golfer mindset or Twitter pars over bogeys or just hit me up via email, paul at unstuck yourself mindset .com would love to meet you and to get a round in together.
Thank you again for listening. I’ll quickly share with you this week, Thursday, a really exciting panel of guests on the podcast. I’ve got Mr. Bo Watson and Shannon Shusky, authors of In the Zone Secrets. It’s gonna be a phenomenal conversation. Can’t wait to share it with you. Stay tuned for that this Thursday morning. Otherwise, thank you for listening. I genuinely appreciate you following along and listening to my journey. I hope you’re finding some nuggets, wisdom and value in me sharing.
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (22:07.616)
my wins, challenges and what I’m working on with you. Thank you for listening. If you haven’t done so, hey, 30 seconds to leave a genuine rating and review on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you’re listening to today’s show. Have a fantastic day, a round of golf this week and I’ll catch you in the next episode.
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PAUL SALTER
Paul Salter - known as The Golf Hypnotherapist - is a High-Performance Mindset Coach who leverages hypnosis and powerful subconscious reprogramming techniques to help golfers of all ages and skill levels overcome the mental hazards of their minds so they shoot lower scores and play to their potential.