I was sitting at my table at the golf course, shuffling through bills, garnishments, payroll, and all kinds of other issues that have very little to do with running a golf course.  Suddenly Scott sat down with me and wanted to catch up on all things personal and family.  He was living in Kansas and we hadn’t seen each other in a number of years.  I had two different perspectives about Scott over the last 40 years.  I was a brand new teacher in Kelseyville and he was a member of KHS’ athletically  dynamic class of 1982.  Some 23 years later he was an assistant basketball coach for me as we worked with a talented group of 8th grade boys.  His son Cody and my son Nick were members of that team.

One of his first questions was how strong was the Kelseyville High School golf team going to be this year?  I told Scott that we wouldn’t be as talented as we could be.  The two best golfers entering KHS were also strong baseball players who have been on travelling teams over the past several summers.  They had strong performances in the recently contested Lake County Junior Golf Championship but were still inclined to play high school baseball this year.

Over my 40+ years as a golf coach I am very familiar with this issue.  Think of it this way.  You play in a high school golf match, shoot par golf, and there’s a good chance that the other kids  will grudgingly acknowledge your brilliant play.  Instead you hit a walk off home run in a high school baseball game and you are mobbed by your teammates at home plate while parents and friends in the stands loudly cheer for your accomplishment, In the end its all about camaraderie.  You get immediate feedback in high school baseball while you are somewhat of a solo act in high school golf.

My discussion with Scott morphed into his experiences in high school sports.  He played on a very talented basketball team and was basically the star of the track team in the spring.  His track coach was also the cross country coach in the fall and strongly encouraged Scott to compete during that season.  He told Scott that he was very capable of receiving a cross country scholarship when his four year high school career was over.  Instead he chose to be a role player on the football team.  It all came down to running over hill and dale in the middle of nowhere or getting to play football under the lights before a packed stadium.

All this got me to thinking about choices youth athletes make when it comes to participation in sports.  A big part of all this is camaraderie and yet a secondary consideration is the ability to improve.  For instance, let’s say you’re a pretty good pitcher at the Little League level.  To put in the time to improve, you need a wingman, or in this instance, someone willing to catch for you.  Trying to improve your jump shot in basketball, it’s beneficial to have a little brother willing to shag for you. The same is true in tennis.  It’s hard to work on your serve and then go pick up the balls at the other end of the court and start over again.  Some team sports like football, volleyball, and basketball require some form of group participation to improve.  It’s hard to work on your killer-crossover when there’s no one else on the court.

Yet golf offers a myriad of practice possibilities that merely require a golfer and a bunch of practice golf balls.  You can really improve your score by heading to the practice green.  You can chip, you can hit pitch and run shots, you can work on your wedge game, and you can head to the practice sand trap and work on the aspect of your game.  Most driving ranges will sell you a bucket of 50 range balls and you can hit everything from soft wedges to drivers.  You can also play the game by yourself.  You don’t need three others to take to the links and sometimes on a quiet afternoon you can hit multiple tee shots or give yourself a personal mulligan when you skull that eight iron over the green.

Of course, while we have focused on kids and the notion of personal improvement, this mantra holds true to the adult world.  I oftentimes talk to 50 year olds who are frustrated with their below average short game or inadequate putting stroke.  My question is how often do you practice these weaknesses in your game?  Have you ever considered taking a series of lessons from your local PGA teaching professional?  You just won’t get better by playing more golf with your usual Saturday morning foursome.  Steph Curry got better by constantly shooting.  Aaron Judge spent hours in the batting cage.  All the greats are first and foremost hard workers.  There are no naturals.  Golfers can get better with more practice and if they really want to see their scores go down, then the practice green is the answer to improvement.

Yes it is time consuming.  Then again, do you really, really, really want to get better?