Lesson 3 of 5
What To Do
Many amateurs expect to hit every green and make every eight footer. Tour players do not. The best players in the world make about half of their putts from eight feet and hit about two thirds of greens in regulation. When you expect perfection, every normal miss feels like a failure, and that frustration costs you more shots.
JJ has found the same things in every golfer who keeps improving: 100% belief in what they practice and how they play, clarity on their strengths and weaknesses, a specific blueprint for their process, and consistency in their practice and routines. Notice that none of those are a score. Set your expectations on the process and let the score follow.
How To Do It
Step 1: Learn the real numbers
Even the best players miss half their eight footers and a third of their greens. Hold yourself to realistic standards for your level, not to highlight reels.
Step 2: Set process expectations
Instead of "I will shoot 85," expect things you control: full routine on every shot, commit to every target, react well to every miss. You can do all three on any day.
Step 3: Check JJ's four core values
Rate yourself on belief, clarity on strengths and weaknesses, a specific blueprint, and consistency. The lowest one is where your expectations should go to work.
Step 4: Expect some bad shots
Go into each round expecting a few poor shots. When they come, they are part of the plan, not a disaster. That one change takes a lot of pressure off.
Step 5: Grade the process after
After the round, grade your process expectations before you look at the score. A great process with a high score is still a good day. It means the score is coming.
Mental Game GPA
Grade yourself 0 to 4 on 29 statements across six areas and see where your mental game stands.
When To Use It
- The night before a round, when you set your goals
- After a missed short putt or a missed green
- When you feel frustrated with a normal miss
Common Mistakes
- Expecting to make every putt inside ten feet
- Setting a score as your only goal
- Treating every bad shot as a disaster
- Looking at the score before grading your process
Practical Exercise
Normal Miss Breath
Use this after a missed green or a missed putt that tour players miss all the time. Breathe in for 4 and remind yourself it is normal. Hold for 4. Breathe out for 4 and let the frustration go. Hold for 4 and come back to your next process goal.
Pattern: 4-4-4-4 seconds, 2 cycles. The voice counts each second for you.
Ready
Takeaways
- Tour players make about half their eight footers
- Expect the process, not a score
- Belief, clarity, blueprint and consistency
- Plan for a few bad shots
- Grade the process before you look at the score
Reflect
Use It Next Round
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