Discipline

[wetzel1592]

One thing that the 5 minute daily practice challenge has made me realize is that I’m not near as disciplined as I thought I was. I’m getting better at daily practice, but there’s so ways room for improvement. I am always thinking about ways to improve but haven’t been putting in the work required to make the necessary changes. My range sessions were always based on ball flight and contact. Since I’ve started working with @iacas, my mindset and approach on range sessions has completely changed. I’ve implemented video recording and could honestly care less what the ball is doing. My range sessions are also longer and I end up hitting less balls as a lot of the time is spent on positioning and feels.

I’ve also tried to get more disciplined on only making changes that @iacas and I have discussed. I would try to implement a swing thought or feel I saw on social media only to have it wind up being more detrimental to my game.

By changing my range sessions and swing change philosophy, I’ve definitely noticed the largest improvement in my game overall. 

[JetFan1983]

My inner golf pro prior to every range session:

---

The most frequent random comment I get from people at the range is "I dunno how you can be so disciplined." If anything, I am too methodical with too many slowed down swings. Lately I've made a point to make at least a handful of full swings at the range because the feels definitely do change when I go 100%, and it helps to be aware of that. Plus full swings double as good speed training, so that's another reason for me to do them.

That said, I've filmed over 90% of all my range swings since January 2024. I had over 10000 swings in my ipad but recently deleted them all to create more space. Oh well, but it felt good to let them go. It was cool to see my progress tho before deleting them all. Plus I still have so many in my iphone so it's not like I can't see what I looked like then if I want.

I think discipline needs to come with the right ideas, so make sure you have a lot of those in your head when you practice or you'll just be chasing your tail out there. Get lessons with great teachers so you have the right stuff to chew on.

Anyway, I bounce between my LiveView camera, my iphone, my mevo+ (with pro package and face impact locator) and my hackmotion pro. I need to get more alignment sticks because my club took the complimentary ones away for some reason, but I lately have enjoyed making a hitting station with them. I average about one ball every three minutes I think, with a lot of rehearsal swings, a lot of thinking, and a lot of line drawing of the previous swing on the ipad in between. I make a point to go to the shade nearby to really think about what I'm doing every 10 balls or so because I get annoyed when I see something at home that I could've seen at the range.

I'm no pro but I've improved a lot in the last year practicing like this. My full swing has maybe gone from as bad as a 22.0 (coming off a six year hiatus due to a health issue) to about a 10.0 in that span. Hopefully I can keep trending it down. Disciplined practice for me isn't boring at all, in fact I find it both fun and far less mentally frustrating because I'm hitting the middle of the face more. If anything I found undisciplined practice to be the most frustrating thing of all.

 

Edited May 26, 2025 by JetFan1983

[Ty_Webb]

On 5/21/2025 at 11:42 AM, saevel25 said:

1) Genetics / Talent

I'd probably put discipline as 2nd. It tracks with other sports. Look at the NFL, you have arguably less athletic NFL players be 10+ year starters, and some uber elite guy just flames out in 3 years. It is 100% lack of discipline to stay on track with what matters the most. 

I know this is one from the dead, but a comment. When I was starting to play (14 years old or so), there was another kid a couple of years younger than me who started around the same time I did. I got better fairly quickly and he didn't. By the time I was 18, my handicap was about 5 and his was about 21. He wouldn't play with me because he didn't feel like he belonged. But he worked at it. A lot. Still didn't get much better, but then he clicked and kept working and working and working. Now - about 30 years later, I'm 0 and he's bouncing around between +3 and +4. He's very very good indeed despite not having a great talent for the game. Just dedication to it.

[MentalityJohn]

Great post and I agree with almost all of it. The discipline piece is real — most golfers want the result without the reps.

One thing I'd add: there's a version of discipline that happens away from the range too. The 20 handicapper who texts the next day with a full-speed video — that's not just a practice discipline problem. That's an identity problem. He still sees himself as a 20 handicap who's trying something new. He hasn't made the internal shift to being the golfer who practices with intention.

I work on the mental side of the game and what I've found is that the golfers who actually stick with the slow, boring, disciplined practice are the ones who've done some internal work on who they believe they are as a golfer. The ones who quit after two range sessions never changed the story they tell themselves. They're still running the old software.

Discipline isn't just "will you do the reps." It's "do you believe you're the type of golfer who does the reps." That belief piece is what separates the ones who text you the next day with a full-speed swing from the ones who actually put in the work.

[saevel25]

19 hours ago, MentalityJohn said:

One thing I'd add: there's a version of discipline that happens away from the range too. The 20 handicapper who texts the next day with a full-speed video — that's not just a practice discipline problem. That's an identity problem. He still sees himself as a 20 handicap who's trying something new. He hasn't made the internal shift to being the golfer who practices with intention.

Texting who? 

I send my instructor videos from time to time asking for feedback. I think that is part of the process on staying the course. 

19 hours ago, MentalityJohn said:

I work on the mental side of the game and what I've found is that the golfers who actually stick with the slow, boring, disciplined practice are the ones who've done some internal work on who they believe they are as a golfer. The ones who quit after two range sessions never changed the story they tell themselves. They're still running the old software.

I am more inclined to be that there is a spectrum of conscientiousness. This is primarily genetic. Where people with high levels of conscientiousness will be able to naturally stick to the plan. They are almost OCD with the process. You have people who have very little conscientiousness. They are the people who just act on whims majority of the time. No matter what story they tell themselves they will not be able to lock in. 

I do believe that it is powerful to act the way you want to see yourself be. If you want to be a very competent competitive golfer. Then copy what a lot of high-level amateurs or professionals do on a daily basis. You really have to live that life. Still, your level of conscientiousness will help or hinder that. 

 

[SteveMG]

I like this discussion and I don't see it happening often. I think of commitment as strategy and discipline as tactics. Commitment is the decision—the what and why. You commit to a process, a practice philosophy, a way of approaching the game. Discipline is the how, repeatedly. It's doing the work when motivation fades—sticking with your routine on the 14th hole after three bad swings in a row. Commitment without discipline is just a good intention. Discipline without commitment is just going through motions.

As was clearly pointed out, conscientiousness might be what makes discipline easier for some people ("spectrum"), but it's a trait, not a choice. Commitment and discipline are both choices—and that's what makes them actionable on the course.

The thought expressed in the thread, "You should act the way you want to see yourself for be" is spot on, and applies beyond golf.

Commitment + Discipline = Progress.