In Minnesota we are forced to take a four to five month hiatus from the game of golf, so when nice weather returns, we are wild to get back out on the golf course. I find that the first round of the year is different from many others. It’s exciting; it’s free-flowing; it feels comfortable; it’s just fun. Why? Because I approach it with NO EXPECTATIONS! I’m just happy to be swinging the club again, to be taking a nice, long walk, to be outside in warmer weather, and to be with my golfing friends. In my mind, what happens with my game is secondary.
Expectations can really mess you up. They crop up after playing a round with few mistakes (“I’m going to golf this well every time!”), after breaking through a score barrier, i.e. breaking 100 (“I’ll never shoot another score of 100+!”), after taking a lesson (“I’ve got it figured out now!”), after reading a great tip (“Now I know how to get out of a bunker!”), or after a good practice session (“I’ll never shank another shot!”).
That’s just not how golf works. We need to have goals, and we need to take lessons, read tips, and practice in order to reach those goals. But the ascension to those goals is not a steady upward path. There are peaks and valleys. What’s important is what you do/how you react to those times when you slip backwards.
Dr. Bob Rotella in his book, Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect, says that “expectations are great i you confine them to long-range considerations. It’s fine, for example, to expect that if you work at your game intelligently for an extended period of time, you will improve. But expectations can hurt you if they are narrowly focused on the results of a particular stroke, hole or round…. You have to put expectations out of your mind by the time you get to the first tee.”