What’s Your Game Plan for 2022?

This time of year, I start to reflect briefly on the past 12 months, take stock of where I am and, most importantly, decide where I want to go.  I’m always excited to start planning for the next year.

Many people talk about New Year’s resolutions.  And, most of us know that most of the resolutions we have set over the years have not come to fruition. I even found an article about why that is commonplace.

Whether your focus is fitness, diet, lifestyle, relationships or something else, I’m of the thinking that you just gotta’ start somewhere.  I feel that even if I have to regroup a few months down the road, at least I started.  And I know at this point in my life, I will always be a work in progress.

This year I decided to begin my process differently.  I would begin by learning how coaches work with students to create optimal performance.  After that, I would create my plan. I took the first step the week after Thanksgiving.  In a visit to her house, I had a long discussion about sports performance with my sister-in-law, Dr. Susan Barstis, a developmental psychologist who works with young athletes.  Her advice aligned closely with what my coach, Mario Bevilacqua, subsequently suggested.  The question I had for my sister-in-law and for Mario was the same:  what is likely to get in the way of me actually hitting my goals?  As the article above says, one of the keys is really detailing what I want to accomplish, and by when.  And, the goals need to be short term, months aways, not years, and realistic.

Mario recommended a good book which covers all of the bases.  I must admit that I’ve read many good books over the years (my husband gives me a hard time about all my “self-help books” LOL).  Many say the same thing albeit just a bit differently.  Mario’s recommendation was With Winning in Mind by Lanny Bassham.  He was an Olympic silver medalist who created a mental management system to elevate his performance so he could win a gold medal— and how it worked.  He now teaches Olympians worldwide, athletes, coaches, parents, and business professional to find success.  I downloaded it first on Audible and then ordered the hard copy for reference (which my husband then took off with).

In the meantime, I used it to create create a plan with all my goals, which includes my personal goals regarding lifestyle, this blog (thewomangolfer.com), and yes, my golf game.  I included fitness and health goals in there also.  I hadn’t created an actual written plan like this since I quit working full time a few years ago.  Before there were iPhones, I used to love Franklin Covey planners — I was a FC geek for sure.

Of course, one book isn’t going to be perfect for everyone.  So I have listed below three other books I have found most helpful in improving my golf game over the past few years.  I have discussed some of these previously but they are great to revisit in light of goal setting for the new year.  Of course, there are other excellent books but I wanted to keep the list manageable.

Be a Player: A Breakthrough Approach to Playing Better ON the Golf Course

Pia Nilsson & Lynn Marriott have written numerous books on the mental game but I think this is one of their best books yet.  Each chapter presents a series of “human skills”—including assignments, explorations, and mini-lessons—that strip away the complexity surrounding swing technique and playing consistency.

The 8 Traits Of Champion Golfers: How To Develop The Mental Game Of A Pro

For each trait there is a specific chapter that includes a quiz you take. The quiz  reveals just how much of an issue each trait is for you.  The eight traits are those that surveys reveal make the difference between golfers who are able to stay on the pro tours and those who drop off.

Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

Dr. Bob Rotella is one of the most renown performance consultants.  The most wonderful aspect of this book is its conversational tone, a blend of anecdote and lesson.  Golfers will improve their golf game and have more fun playing having read it.