After getting fitted for new clubs, taking lessons from GOLF Magazine Top 100 teachers on both coasts, hitting range balls with a stronger left-hand grip, about 10 sessions with a personal trainer, a nutritional analysis, and a session with a renowned sports psychologist, GOLF Magazine writer Cameron Morfit admits defeat in his quest to lower his handicap from 6 to scratch in 6 months. Final results - his handicap went up to 6.1.


Cameron Morfit getting instruction video

Cameron wrote a series of articles beginning in August that chronicle his attempt to erase his handicap. The idea was to give an occasionally brilliant, mostly erratic 38-year-old, 6-handicap every advantage of a pampered Tour pro; wait six months; see if he improves or not. If so, by how many strokes? What exactly were the breakthroughs? If there's little or no improvement, why not? What are the limits of great technology and brilliant teaching?

In his last article, he informs his readers he's not going to make it from 6 to Scratch by New Year's Eve.

The story is quite interesting, and because Morfit takes an honest look back to share what he learned from the experience, I'd consider his failure quite a success. Instead of blaming his failure simply on having to take on this challenge while also juggling family and career, Morfit instead shares the insightful lessons he learned - which are shared below.

1) Golf has no bathing-suit competition, unless you're Natalie Gulbis

I'd never had a trainer before and I wasn't about to let the opportunity pass. I should have. I'm not saying I shouldn't have done anything, but sweating and stretching isn't as important as putting and chipping. My Idaho friend Scott Masingill, who just got through the Champions tour Q school, says he doesn't do much working out in golf season. If it's good enough for him...

2) Take your strengths for granted and they'll break your heart

I got so focused on the full swing I didn't work on my short game. That's what happened to Phil Mickelson when, still in the honeymoon phase with Butch Harmon, his putting stroke temporarily went AWOL. Working out also can hinder touch around the greens. Whatever the case, I used to be deadly around the greens with a sand wedge. Not anymore.

3) Lose the joy of playing and watch your score go up, up, up

Golf became a numbers game and only a numbers game, and that's no way to play. I learned that my angry guy can't play golf, and still I got angry. I lost track of the number of times I blew it after keeping it together for most of the round. I'd scratch and claw and hang around at 3- or 4-over by the middle of the back nine. From there you can make a birdie or two coming in and card a nice score, or lose focus and shoot 80 or worse. I specialized in the latter.

4) Never underestimate the primacy effect

Localized swing changes can be so profound as to affect everything else. A grip change impacts alignment, swing path, position at impact, the way your hips fire, the way your hands feel through the ball. The whole deal. It was nuts for me to expect to radically strengthen my left hand grip and immediately go low. I've had to break too many bad habits. Psychologists call it the primacy effect: The tendency under pressure to revert to what you first learned, even if it's dead wrong.

5) Even the experts have limitations

At a certain point you've got to stop asking how your swing looks and just go figure it out for yourself. I never did that, partly because I didn't make the time for it, partly because I didn't have the time for it.

Although I never had any confidence that Morfit's approach would succeed in erasing his handicap, especially given limited practice time and such a short time period, the fact that he learned how important it is to improve by at least figuring some of it out yourself instead of relying only on others, and to continue to play for the joy of the game instead of focusing only on results, made this a rewarding and successful endeavor.

Getting to scratch is much more about how you think than how you swing. In my opinion, changing who you are on the course during a 6 month period will provide better results than changing how and what you swing.

During the six months after I got down to a 6 handicap, I experienced my first rounds in the low 70's and got down to a 3.5. Now, six months after that, I haven't made much progress and never broke through an index of 3.0.

What I just realized, is that even though I've started stretching daily and purchased new clubs in the past 6 months, I haven't continued to change myself - and my game hasn't changed either. It appears I've learned something from Cameron's story too!

Series: [Aug 28] [Sep 3] [Sep 13] [Sep 26] [Oct 3] [Nov 11] [Nov 19]

Labels: Articles, Failure