Make it your intention to play with intention this season
At this time of year, many golfers are determining their goals for the season.
That’s great, but I’m inviting you to also consider your intentions for the season.
As a coach, I’ll start by asking a new student what their goals are (the what), but then our attention moves to intentions (the how).
Most people focus on goals, but goals are based on outcomes, which, especially in golf, are not within our control.
We influence outcomes but we don’t control them. How about a goal of getting off to a good start? What if you’re five over after three holes? Or you set a goal of hitting 10 fairways but your swing isn’t in the slot today?
With goals, we tend to evaluate ourselves as passing or failing, which is interpreted by our unconscious as precarious and even threatening. No wonder we get anxious and tight.
A goal is also something that transpires in the future. As events both good and bad roll on in a round of golf, or say a job interview, you worry about the outcome. You don’t need to be Eckhart Tolle to know you’ll ride an emotional roller coaster.
That said, goals can be positive if placed in perspective. Having a goal—such as getting to a certain index, winning a tournament, making a team, and so on—provide you with direction.
However, intentions guide the actions that move you toward your goals.
What is an intention? To me, it’s a commitment to a course of action—a way of being in the present.
An intention for a round of golf could be:
- I play with a sense of freedom and gratitude
- I accept any result
- I feel the clubhead on every shot
- I’m the best golf partner ever
Intentions for the season could be
- I commit to playing creatively
- I’m not defined by my golf scores but by how I show up
- I’m dedicated to following my processes
- I have zero expectations; I’ll just see what happens
Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott of Vision54 say that an intention is a declaration of how you’re going to show up when you play. “Intentions … help you manage the inevitable variability of golf, (and) support both performance and enjoyment.”
Intentions are completely within our control, mainly because they are usually process oriented.
Intentions also foster heightened awareness of what we’re doing, thinking and feeling. They help us stay present. They remind us that when we react when we inevitably screw-up, we can respond by focusing on our intentions.
For example, say you just sent your ball into the farmer’s field, and you have taken the Lord’s name in vain and feel like tossing your driver in said field. Because you buy 100 per cent into how awareness is a very good thing, you remember that you had an intention to focus on your breathing. Now, your driver is safe and you return to Earth.
Throughout the round, the tendency is to think about on how each hole will affect your score. We all do it. It’s normal to think. Not thinking means you’re dead.
Given we all have generally disobedient minds, you can prepare for evasive action before the round by setting an intention: (a) to have an intention (b) make it your intention to evaluate your round by how well you’re executing on your intention.
The late George McNamara, a Master PGA of America Professional, calls it the “awareness game.”
“You can ask yourself on the first tee, what’s my intention? What do I want to pay attention to for the next four hours? Regardless of results, can you stay committed to your intention?
“When you play, can you stick to an intention? So that regardless whether you hit it left or right, you’re evaluating if you stayed focused on your intention, not on the result. In an awareness game, you cannot lose.”
Like all coaches, he knows it because he’s lived it.
George told me a story about his first Extraordinary Golf coaches’ workshop. He told Fred Shoemaker that he was frustrated he wasn’t progressing faster with his game.
Shoemaker told him: “When your commitment to your intention is greater than your addiction to an outcome, you’ll change your golf swing.”
George: “Are you calling me an addict?”
Fred: “Yes.”
George: “Whoa. It hit me right between the eyes.”
I cobbled this last bit from a conversation that Howard Glassman and I had with George during our Swing Thoughts podcast back in 2019. (Check out episode #107. Fast forward to the 26th minute for our discussion with George. It’s pretty funny.
My most recent book is Getting Unstuck: 7 Transformational Practices for Golf Nerds, which is now available in both soft cover and Kindle formats.
