I don’t know one golfer who doesn’t have at least one facet of their game that gives them fits. Even the professional players rarely sync every part of their golf game at once to give them the ultimate golf experience and success.
For me, if I identified the facet of my game that gives me the most trouble, without a doubt, it would be putting the ball on the green. Putting for you non-golfers is the special stroke and club you use when your golf ball is positioned on the green but not yet in the hole. Assuredly, there are a lot of factors that contribute to putting woes. Of course every putt is influenced by the speed of the ball once struck and the slope and angle of the green. The harder the putt is struck the less the slope and angle will effect its path. Other influences have to do with the putting stroke itself and how the putter effects the roll of the ball on the green. Many of these factors are unseen to the natural eye, but are revealed every time the ball doesn’t fall into the cup.
To overcome this deficiency, I have changed equipment several times, changed my grip on the putter several times, changed the ball position in my stance and a host of other various adjustments that have yet to yield the desired results. I have also watched many instructional videos from top-notch instructors and believed I had “figured out” my putting problems only to realize, yet again, I have not. What to do?
As it relates to my putting problem, I have to admit that there is some twisted delight that I receive in trying out new techniques and ideas, hoping for some major breakthrough in this area of my ‘game’.
As a Christian counselor, most counseling appointments are focused on one of these areas of life that just isn’t up to par. People really do want to do better in life, especially in the area of relationships and how they relate to the world around them. I don’t have the numbers in front of me but it’s obvious that the volume of self-help books and programs out there for every conceivable expression of life reveals a desire to do better. Unfortunately, no matter how much you invest in external helps, the reality, much like my putting, is that most of these problems don’t change much.
One simple reason for a lack of true change is that most people never get to the origin of their problems…themselves. Just like in putting, the ball is stationary and I alone hold the putter in my hands that directly affects its outcome. My first step of progress is admitting that I am insufficient within myself to change myself.
“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God…” 2 Corinthians 3:5