A great day @ Serapong!!

It's always a lot of fun to play the Serapong course @ Sentosa. Difficult, no, very difficult, but a lot of fun and yesterday was no exception.

The Highlites:

-Met for the first time and played with Paul Tudor a.k.a. Right_Sided_Coach (Australian PGA), who is a great guy, a good player, and a knowledgeable Professional. Thanks for the game Paul!

-Watched, as usual, Heartland Golf Schools instructor Mark Bates (Canadian PGA) putt like a tour player. If it was makable, he made it, and if it was not so makable he lipped it out or missed by a couple of centemeters. No doubt about it, the best putter I have ever known. What does he putt with? The "Soft Lady". Old school, not such a pretty looking putter, but if you played with Mark and watched what we did yesterday, you'd probably be searching ebay for one of your own.

-No doubt about it the Highlite of the day / week / month / year, was the Heartland Golf Schools instructor Chris Holloway (PGA of America) 300 m drive, followed by the 243 m absolutly smashed, lazer beam, amazing 3 wood shot right next to the back flag, eagle, on the monsterous par 5 18th from the back tee. If you have ever played the hole or have even seen the boys play it in the Singapore Open you will know that the hole is a monster and that very few players can get it home in two from the back tee. Hat's off to the best eagle I have ever witnessed!!

and.......sorry to say that my round had no highlites to speak of.

After a frustrating round, I did what I teach my students to do, sat down and asked myself, Good? Better? How?What was good about the round? The list was short, but it had it's moments.

What could be better? This list was longer and had mostly to do with things like, poor mental focus on the greens, poor shot selection and club selection that cost me a number of strokes on a number of holes, and a few times I let my frustration show when I am usually rather calm no matter what the cercumstances of the round are.

and How am I going to improve on these things? This list had a lot to do with the game plan, pre shot routine, and mental focus techniques that I teach my students.

Try asking yourself, Good? Better? How?, after your round or after your practice session and start find out a little more about the state of your game. The good and the better part are easy, but if you're stuck with the how part, find yourself a qualified coach who can guide you through the how part. Just a suggestion.

Have you ever heard the idea of the Mastery Golfer vs. Ego Golfer, or Mastery Orientation vs. Ego Orientation.

It's great stuff that the best minds in Sports Psychology will often refer to in their teachings.

The Ego Golfer:
-primary passion is proving worth to others, and tries to appear to be competetent in the eyes of others, even if he is not
-can't wait to spread the word about a good score or a good shot or a good anything so he can hear the praise from others
-will always include a story when talking about a bad round or a bad shot or anything that may damage the image. Says things like "shot 3 over today with a tripple bogey", The "with a tripple bogey" part is the story, and is basically a way of saying, just imagine how good I was during the rest of the round or how good I would have been if it wasn't for this little story.
-Will often miss a learning opportunity while worring about what the others are thinking
-competes against the other golfers, not the golf course
-poor shots lead to anger and frustration and embarrasment

The Mastery Golfer:
-plays the game to learn, to improve, and to have fun, and does not care about his image in the eyes of others or rewards that might come
-refuses to tell the Stories ("with a tripple bogey")that the ego golfer tells and simply tries to make each experience an opportunity to learn something
-Obstacles are view as challenges to overcome (not threats to avoid)
-competes against the golf course, not the other players
-poor shots lead to curiosity and motivation for improvement

Long story short, ego and fear of what others might think is what keeps most golfers from playing their best golf and learning, and improving as quickly as they could.

Do you know any Ego Golfers? are you an Ego Golfer?
Again, not my own stuff, but things that I have learned from studying the experts in the mental and psychological side of the game.


I think that the most common example of Ego Orientation in golf is the golfer who pegs it up from the blue tees and sometimes even the white tees when in fact, his game would be more suited for the red tees. If he did play from the red tees he might have an opportunity to hit a few greens in regulation, and quite likely learn how to score, and seize an opportunity to make the game easier and improve much faster. However, the ego golfer would never even consider it because of what others might think when they see him teeing it up from the red's. Instead he would rather give the impression that he is a good player than take an oppertunity to make it a lot easier to learn how to become a good player. (Now I know that the golf courses in here in Singapore don't allow a grown man to play the red tee boxes, and I have also witnessd a golf course here in Singapore force a lady to play the red tee box even though she is capable of shooting under par from the blue tee box, but in my opinion the tee box you play has to do with your ability, not your age or your gender. I bet you could do it in Malaysia though. )


I try to always approach my own game, and my coaching from a Mastery Orientation, and by being aware of the difference between the two, can always pick out an ego from a mile away.

Ask yourself, Good? Better? How? It's a great way to learn more about, and continue to improve your golf game from a Mastery Orientation.

Thanks for reading!

p.s. I hope I didn't hurt anyone's feelings or ego talking about those who would be better suited to play the red tees, it's simply an idea on one way that could make the game much easier to learn.


p.p.s google Dr. Gio Valiante and Mark Guadagnoli


Have a great week!

thumbs up!!

Hi brad

Great post!!! Though it was difficult reading it from an iphone

Ya sorry about that.
It started out as a story about the eagle, and then turned into a little bit of a run on, and on, and ened up being a whole lot longer than I first imagined, but a whole lot shorter than it could be.

Glad you enjoyed!

No apologies needed mate.

Post was good enough for me to forget about the inconvenience. Realised how troublesome it was only after finishing it.

Hi Brad

I also enjoyed the day at Serapong with the boys from Heartlands.
I agree 100% about Mark being the best putter I have ever seen. Very impressive. His birdie on the tough 5th hole also rated highly in highlights of the day.
As for the eagle Chris made on 18, yep, it was impressive. I am glad he was my partner for the last 6 holes and his eagle helped keep my bank balance in the black for the day.

Look forward to having another game soon mate.

Cheers RSC

in Singapore, besides the Ego golfer and Mastery Golfer...

we have the Buaya Golfer and Seasoned Beginners.

Good read and I shall approach the game like the Mastery golfer...

i like the line "competes against the golf course, not the other players"

Right_sided_coach wrote:

Hi Brad

I am glad he was my partner for the last 6 holes and his eagle helped keep my bank balance in the black for the day.

Look forward to having another game soon mate.

Cheers RSC

ya, sorry about that time that I was your partner

The ego golfer seems to fit a golfer with TM clubs.

duffader wrote:

The ego golfer seems to fit a golfer with TM clubs.

ohh... I'd love to see someone respond that that comment

duffader wrote:

The ego golfer seems to fit a golfer with TM clubs.

TaylorMade!!!