That’s the first mistake rookies make in golf. Which I found out from Colestones golf coach Scott on Friday.

I’ve played a whopping three times in my life. The last being ten years ago for my wedding. 

Ya, I’m no expert. That’s why when the coach asked at the beginning if I wanted tips I said “yes.”

I’m never too prideful to learn. Which was good because I was making plenty of mistakes.

The first being trying to hit the ball. Which seems logical to me.

What seems right isn’t always the right answer, though.

Instead, coach Scott explained that I needed to work on my swing. Do that correctly, and you’ll hit the ball. 

Then he proceeded to show me how to actually swing. Naturally, we are taught to bend our arms when swinging.

We do this with baseball bats, hockey sticks, and just about anything else.

Not with your golf swing. You gotta keep your arm straight during the swing. Which feels totally weird because your brain says to bend your arm.

Which you have to remind yourself not to do every time you swing.

It’s a complete rewiring of things. I’m not the only one that has this problem. His students that play hockey and baseball experience the same problem.

I’ve run into this same problem with real estate agents in the industry. The so-called gurus of the industry has preached for many years about how to sell people. 

Which really translates into how to become a professional stalker.

Like teaching tactics of forced registrations at open houses. 

You might have run into this? I walked into one open house where the agent had the table right at the front door with a sheet for you to sign in.

How ridiculous is that? 

Which is basically saying I don’t know how to get along with people and build a relationship, so I’m going to try some strong-arm tactics on you.

If that doesn’t smell of commission breath, I don’t know what doesn’t.

This is the same reason why agents have you sign a contract, they fear they haven’t built a good enough relationship and fear their skills aren’t good enough.

They are taught to hit the ball and get paid rather than working on their skills to help their clients and themselves.

That’s why I have a Fire Me Guarantee. I’m not worried about that, I work from the heart and that takes care of the rest.

But it brings to mind that just because we have been taught something for years and years doesn’t mean it the right way to do it.

I’ve found over the years that the real masters of how to do things in life aren’t on the front pages of the paper or book stands.

You’ll find that most of those people are just salespeople looking to make a buck.

True masters are actually behind the scenes people. They don’t bost and let their body of work speaks for their craft.
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That’s why they are so hard to find. But they are out there.

Which is important to know. Industries change and so do positions. 

Sometimes we look back on life and say “Man I really used to hit the ball. Those were the good old days.” 

Could it really be that? Or maybe we were never taught it’s not about hitting the ball at all.

It’s all about our swing.

Have a great week.