The Strength of Simplicity
Our baby is six weeks old now, and as you can imagine, sleep has been… inconsistent. Life and routines and predictability feels a little upside down—all good things, but tiring.
I walked 9 last week, and something I noticed was my brain and body just didn’t have the same sharpness as usual. I felt like I was playing good enough to be under par but I made 4 bogeys and 5 pars to shoot a +4 39.
I think that’s how it goes for all of us. There are seasons when work, school, family, or just life in general takes more out of us. And when that happens, golf can feel harder than it should.
Our brains have a finite capacity of energy and attention. There’s a real mental phenomenon called decision fatigue. As you use your brain more and more throughout the day without any recharging, the energy level depletes.
The important thing is to recognize that situations really can be harder at times. You don’t need to beat yourself up about not feeling 100% all day every day, or for every hole of every round. It’s normal and it’s expected to have natural cycles of more and less energy.
So what do you do when you don’t have much energy to give? You keep it simple:
- Pick one target and swing to it.
- Stick with one thought instead of juggling three or four.
- Don’t waste energy on shots you can’t get back.
That’s it. Nothing fancy.
And honestly, the same thing applies off the course too. When life is full, the best thing you can do is figure out what’s essential and let go of the rest.
So if you’re in a tough stretch, know you’re not alone (you at least have me there with you 😅).
Validate where you’re at, and then keep it as simple as possible. Sometimes that’s the strongest play you can make.
One thing for you to work on this week:
Keep your pre-shot routine as simple as possible: one target → one thought → swing