#24 [Journey to Scratch] Practice, Patience, and Planting the Seed
Meta Description (145 characters):
Discover why mastering fundamentals in practice is key to breaking 90. Paul Salter shares his journey and tips for balancing practice and play.
Hey fellow golfer, what is up? Welcome back to The Scratch Golfer’s Mindset Podcast! I’m your host, Paul Salter, The Golf Hypnotherapist, and I’m thrilled to bring you another Tuesday recap on my journey toward breaking 90 before November 13th, 2024.
In today’s episode, we’re diving into:
- The importance of balancing practice and play to improve your golf game.
- How working on fundamentals off the course is essential to lower scores.
- My personal progress, key takeaways, and challenges over the past week, including lessons with Coach Melvin Beard and how I’m improving my swing with visualization techniques.
If you’re serious about breaking through your scoring plateau, stay tuned as I share key strategies that will help you reach your goals faster.
In this episode, we’ll cover:
- Why the ratio between practice and play matters for your scoring.
- The role of visualization and subconscious work in building confidence.
- Tips for maintaining emotional resilience when practice sessions don’t go as planned.
If you want more specific tips, check out Episode 20, where I share my full blueprint for breaking 90, and Episode 22, where I dive into performance goals and non-negotiables to make progress every week.
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.
Key Points:
- Practice is essential for improving your golf game and shooting lower scores.
- The subconscious mind plays a crucial role in executing a consistent and effective swing.
- Visualizing the perfect swing before bed can help the subconscious work on improving it.
- Reevaluate your ratio of practice sessions to playing rounds and prioritize dedicated practice time.
- Be patient and committed to the process of improvement, focusing on the long-term goals.
Key Quotes:
- “Your longevity, your scoring and your potential depend on the strength of your fundamentals.”
- “The most important work I can do is away from the course.”
- “Why do I continue to make a simple game so complex?”
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Time Stamps:
- 00:00: Introduction and Setting
- 03:17: The Importance of Practice
- 09:16: Challenges in Swing Consistency
- 14:26: The Power of the Subconscious Mind
- 16:18: Reevaluating Your Relationship with Practice
- 18:36: The Role of Patience in Improvement
Transcript:
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (00:02.21)
Hey fellow golfer, what is up? Welcome back to another episode of the Scratch Golfers Mindset Podcast. I’m your host, Paul Salter, the golf hypnotherapist. And if I ever get around to posting these on YouTube so you see the video, you will notice, you will enjoy and appreciate from an aesthetic standpoint that I am now back in an office. We have moved, I am out of.
We are out of the one bedroom apartment. have plenty of space, new office, new vibe, new energy. And perhaps for you, the dear listener on the other side, maybe a slightly different sound, maybe no change whatsoever. I’ll continue to dig in and make sure it’s an aesthetically pleasing experience for you from the audio standpoint. But welcome back. Thank you so much for tuning into another episode. And this is your reminder. Every Tuesday is a recap.
Tuesday is a recap into my journey, my quest and path to becoming a scratch golfer. It’s where I specifically not only highlight the scores, the stats, but more importantly, I highlight my own challenges, my frustrations, my obstacles. And I do so for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, to normalize some of the struggles you’re going through mentally, emotionally, technically in your game.
to help you feel less alone. And then two, to also show you exactly what I’m doing to fast track a solution to get out of my own way and keep moving in the direction I desire. Now, if you caught up with me in episodes 20 and 22, you know I am less than 90 days away from my goal self -imposed to breaking 90 by November 13th and.
We are well underway. We’ve got about 20 more rounds to play between now and then and a hell of a lot of practice to be had. But when I think about practice, you know, the thought that keeps coming up for me is practice. mean, man, you’ll be talking about practice. Good old Allen Iverson. I mean, sometimes that’s how I feel. There’s a part of me, like a little voice that says, damn dude, if you just go out and play 20 rounds, like really fast, really consistently,
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (02:20.942)
You’re bound to inevitably inevitably break 90. Like it’s almost like mathematically you’re going to ingrain so much. You’re going to find some semblance of a swing that is consistent and just good enough to get you to where you need to be. And that sounds really good and enticing at times. And if I take a big step back, I thoroughly enjoy practicing and I do really find a sense of challenge, joy, fulfillment, play and creativity in my practice.
Yet, I notice after a tough practice session or two, a poor round, I just wanna go play again. I can’t leave with my last round on a bitter note, a score that I know is well beneath my potential. I gotta get out there play and put a better number up there. But the truth is your longevity depends on not only your relationship with practice, but your willingness to get in
and execute, commit and follow through on practicing the boring basic fundamentals of this game because your longevity, your scoring and your potential depend on the strength of your fundamentals. And I need you to hear that no matter where you are in your journey. And I needed to articulate that verbally because I need to hear that too. This week I had some really high moments, some…
fairly low moments in terms of where my swing was at, where my confidence was at in the game of golf. And there were many moments where I was so locked in playing well, you know, I was like one or two over after four or five holes playing really good. And it’s like, I just want to keep playing 36 holes, 72 holes, let’s go. And simultaneously where there were moments where it was like triple bogey, triple bogey, double mogey, like, fuck, I know I need to practice.
but all I wanna do is go play. So let’s use that as a reminder first and foremost, your practice is important. If you expect to continuously shoot lower scores and the only practice routine you have is hitting balls for 10 minutes before your weekly round, you’re destined to remain stuck in a state of mediocrity, stuck in a proverbial bunker of poor performance because you can’t change unless you need to change.
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (04:45.464)
Practice is how you build the foundation, which ultimately creates an opportunity to strengthen the confidence you need to play to your potential. And as we now move to my weekly recap, well, here is what we have. I got a lot of away from the course practicing in terms of looking at my swing in front of a mirror. This was something passed on to me.
by a fellow director of golf, head of golf, Mr. Tom Patry down at Twin Eagles Golf and Country Club in Naples, Florida. And I’ll tell you what, I made this connection with Mr. Tom, had the opportunity of playing nine holes with him, really getting to know him simply by reaching out cold email, baby. Cold email is the way to go. Cold email, cold calling. That’s how I’m building a lot of wonderful relationships right now. And this one proved incredibly fruitful.
Hell of a coach, you D1 AA state championship. I won’t say how many years ago, but Tom, you and I both know it was quite a few years ago. Lots of wins under his belt, lots of wins for the players he now coaches and really, really exciting career arc and journey that this man has and picked up quite a few pointers from him. But most importantly, I’m beginning to appreciate the social aspect and the opportunity to go deep.
quickly with somebody while playing a round of 18 holes. And in this case, it was only nine holes, but you really have the chance to get to know somebody, to learn about them, who they are as a person, both on and off the golf course. And that’s something I truly appreciate. You can expect to hear about more about my dynamic in relationship with Tom from a mindset coaching capacity down the road and some additional strategic partnerships him and I are creating. But I was able to play around a nine with him on Dude.
Get this, the most beautiful, pristine, manicured and well -kept golf course I personally have ever played to date, Twin Eagles Golf and Country Club in Naples, I will be back. That is for sure. Didn’t keep score. This man was all about, let’s just get playing, get to the point, have conversation. I didn’t have time to keep up. If I had to estimate, was probably, like I had a semblance of where I was at.
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (07:02.67)
I was probably between 50 and 54, started hot. I think I was four over after three. And then I had a couple holes that I wish I had back to say the least. And then moving on to the next day, very next day turned around, played nine with my dear friend, Kevin. If you recall, I think it was episode one or episode two, I led with, I shot a 65 on nine holes. This was with my dear friend, Kevin.
And this time I tell you, shot a 49 and I shot a 49 leaving four or five strokes on the table. Swing felt incredibly good. And what was really unique about this experience was this is my new self labeled home course, Heritage Isles Golf and Country Club here up in Wesley Chapel. It’s about a 15 minute drive from me. And this is again, my self proclaimed home course. This is where I am really going to prioritize playing as much as I possibly can. And let me tell you,
It’s a favorable course. I feel confident I can attack the fuck out of this course. There are some advantageous opportunities. And like I said, I recapped on Instagram, I had three three putts, quite atypical for me. The greens had some movement, had some atypical undulation to them that maybe threw me for a loop. Did not putt very well. Had four out of bounds. I mean, that alone, I played well. I think I hit four out of.
Seven fairways. I think I was two or three greens and regulation. So working towards that goal of 50 % fairways, 40 % greens and regulation and less to or equal 30 putts in a round of 18. I’m on the right track that putting performance was an anomaly. I felt good. And really what’s most important here that I want to share with you, because it highlights a bit of my emotional roller coaster this last couple of weeks, or last couple of days was
The swing felt good. The swing was locked in. was light. I was at ease. was confident. I was calm or relaxed demeanor catching up with a dear friend of mine. And the pre shot routine was effortless. It was automatic. I just did it. I swung boom, bada boom, bada bang. And it was great. And then we go to the next day. I’m at my lesson. So this is past Sunday lesson number two with coach Melvin beard.
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (09:16.942)
And about 30 minutes before the lesson on there, I’m hitting a small bucket of balls. And again, the swing is locked the fuck in. Things are going straight, perfect apex. The ball is just moving and going where I want to. Clean, beautiful sweet spot contact. And it’s like, as soon as Melvin gets there, I forgot how to swing a golf club. I’m overthinking. Then I’m not thinking about what I should be thinking. Then I’m not thinking and thinking about thinking what I should not be thinking about.
and I’m lost in a rabbit hole of thoughts. And we’re breaking down the swing meticulously. We’re focusing on the takeaway, the P1. Then we’re focusing on P2. And I’m trying to get that vertical path coming down and through the ball, really hitting through the ball so that my divot is actually really, or my low point rather, is actually through and on the other side of the ball a couple of inches, swinging through with the truly straight club face. I have a tendency to really have an open club face at the point of contact.
and I felt like my swing got deconstructed yet again. And I left feeling optimistic and frustrated that I’m just stuck in this seesaw back and forth. There’s days my swing feels fan fucking -tastic. There’s days it doesn’t feel that good. It feels awful. It’s inconsistent. Sometimes I feel like I need to hit 50 balls just to find my swing. And I’m wondering if you relate to that, if that resonates with you based on where you’re at in your journey. And…
Something I’m noticing two observations about my game and I’ll circle back to the lesson is first and foremost, when I choke up on the club, my swing is much more controlled. And I understand the physics and the logic of that. And really where my area for growth is, is continuing to grease that groove smoothly, confidently, lightly, not having to muscle it, leaving, as Melvin said, my ego and testosterone in the car.
at a full swing, full grip. So that’s where my intention and my practice is headed this week. And then second to that, my observation, not only from this last week, from the last couple of weeks, is the first four to five holes, I’m playing well. The flashes of potential are there. The flashes of being able to shoot in the low 40s for a round of nine are there. But if I look at my last three or four scorecards,
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (11:37.72)
The last three to four holes are ripe with doubles and triples. And it’s on me to explore through a lens of non -judgmental curiosity, what’s happening there? What’s happening in the back half? And it’s not happening on like the front nine, I’m playing well the back nine. It’s specific, again, a limited sample size, but first four to five holes of a nine hole fragment, solid, strong, consistent. The last four or so,
The complete opposite. So a lot of observation and curiosity to dig into and explore that a bit more. On the horizon, I’ve got around Thursday and I’ll get up nine and I got around an 18 coming up this weekend with a little bit of practice sprinkled in between either home or some putting on the course. But ultimately I have a couple of key points that I want to share with you that I know regardless of where you are in your journey, you’re going to find helpful.
And first and foremost, I have found that the most important work I can do is away from the course. And particularly for me right now, I know that sustainable, effective, strong, powerful, accurate swing I have, it’s there. I’ve seen it, I’ve felt it, I’ve executed it. At times, it’s a really cloudy day.
It’s clouded by outdated programs and thoughts in my right hand and my conscious mind wanting to take over. It’s crowded by or clouded by old habits, too many thoughts. And sometimes the best antidote is in fact to intentionally detach from overly thinking about it. And this concept is not unfamiliar to you.
Have you ever been attempting to solve a problem or think about an answer to a question, been unable to solve it or find that answer in the moment, only to find it a few hours later or even a day or two later while you’re in the shower, perhaps, finally relaxed, not actively thinking about it? That’s your subconscious who works for you 24 seven behind the scenes, coming to fruition and taking the task at hand.
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (13:56.544)
and working on it. And when you’re mostly, most relaxed compared to other moments of your day, such as taking a hot shower at the end of the day, you’re able to turn down the noise, the volume of that conscious mind that just goes bat shit crazy a million miles an hour in a million different directions and really hear what it is your subconscious has to say. So I share that because what I’m intentionally putting into practice moving forward right now is every night before I go to bed,
I’m doing my visualization of that perfect swing, seeing, feeling, hearing it. And I’m asking my subconscious or prompting or probing my subconscious to work on helping me find a sense of ease, confidence, and effortlessness in a particular element of my swing. Help me to continue to find that. So the next day when I go to practice, I don’t have to think about it. I can trust, I can fall back on that because my subconscious
has helped iron out the kinks, work out the perfect angle of my wrist, arms, backswing, yada, yada, yada, so I can show up and just swing. So that’s a tactic I’m putting into practice regularly from here on out, is really planting a seed for my subconscious, a problem, a challenge for it to work on while I’m sleeping so that we can work together and my subconscious can take care of the heavy lifting. Because the truth is with you two, you know how to swing a golf club. You have ample evidence.
that really backs that up. You’ve had plenty of great shots, solid contact, consistent swing, consistent holes, consistent rounds perhaps. Yet you also know just like myself, sometimes we are our own worst enemy. We have, you know, it’s in the inner game of golf, there’s the concept of self one and self two. Self one’s the conscious mind, self two is the subconscious mind. That’s self one. That conscious mind gets so loud sometimes.
and it tries to control, it tries to dominate and take over and take the reins from self to your subconscious who already knows what to do. And I often find myself coming back to this question, which is why do I continue to make a simple game so complex? Why? Why do you continue to make a simple game so complex? That’s what I’m chewing on this week. That’s what I’d like you to chew on this week. And I’d also like to challenge you to rethink, to re
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (16:18.382)
evaluate and revisit your relationship with practice. What is your ratio between rounds played and rounds practiced? And by rounds practiced, mean, you know, at least 30 minutes of intentional putting, chipping, wedge work, iron work, whatever it may be. What’s that ratio like of practice sessions to play rounds? I don’t know if there’s a perfect ratio, but I have a hunch.
the earlier you are in your golf journey, the higher your handicap is, that ratio should be in favor of dedicated practice sessions. Now, we don’t need to match it in a one -to -one ratio of time because a round of golf can take four to five hours. So the way that I’m gonna break down that metric is 30 -minute intentional practices. How many of those are you prioritizing?
making the time for per week compared to number of played rounds. And I’ll remind you, these practice sessions can be on the course, but hey, if you listen to my 20 minute guided audio, play your best round, which you can download for free in the show notes, that’s 20 minutes of deep intentional work to help you become a better golfer. Don’t forget all of the little opportunities you have away from the course.
to play to your potential. There’s the hypnosis, the visualizing and the mental aspect, but there’s the stretching, the flexibility, the mobility. There’s the strength training, all aspects of your game away from the course that you can work on when you don’t have the opportunity to go play or practice at the range or green. So food for thought. What’s your relationship like with practice? What does your current ratio look like of intentional practice to play? And ultimately, I remind you.
to hang in there and be patient. There will be plenty of moments when you are committed to achieving a goal that is beyond what 95 % of the population has accomplished, where you will feel challenged, you will feel frustrated. You will want to throw a club or three, but because you’re doing the deep work on yourself, because you’re committed and playing the long game, because you’re focused and committed to the process and not the results,
Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (18:36.556)
You are in the right place. This frustration, this lack of patience at times is normal. It’s okay. Continue to surround yourself with the people. Continue to equip yourself with the tools and the skills to diffuse any of that toxic emotion and to remain focused and committed on doing what you need to do to reach your goal. And that’s where I am at. I will be getting my daily non -negotiables of flexibility, mobility, and visualization in.
getting the field practice in at my house with my net, getting putting work done a couple of times per week and playing a couple of times as well. And I wish you a wonderful week of playing in the next couple of days ahead. And I remind you, if you have not yet left a rating and review and you continue to come back every week, listen to me, you’re finding this podcast valuable. I would greatly appreciate it if you took 30 seconds to leave a genuine rating and review on Apple podcasts, Spotify.
wherever you are listening to today’s episode. Have a fantastic day. Thank you so much for listening. Hit them straight 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.