Darrek Ferrell, ICMA-CM on LinkedIn: Embrace Imperfection (2024)

#Golf #StorytellingOften seen as the exclusive pastime for CEOs and celebrities, this stylish sport holds valuable lessons for us all. Beyond the manicured greens and designer polos, golf teaches discipline, focus, and strategic thinking that can elevate your game—both on and off the course. Read on …Golfers take planning seriously. Before a game, they prepare their clothes, shoes, clubs, and extra golf balls. They also check the weather and arrange who will play with them. Golf courses also have strict timing, allowing only four players every five minutes. This teaches good planning for life too.Time management is crucial in golf. No one is ever late to a golf course because timing is important for everyone. Each group of golfers has a specific slot, and if you miss it, you have to wait for the next one. On the course, taking your time for each shot is essential. Golfers have the opportunity to practice and must respect others' time too.Golfers also pay attention to their fashion and cleanliness. It's a reminder that being presentable and clean is important not just on the golf course, but also in other aspects of life. Golf encourages physical fitness and meaningful conversations, promoting good mental health practices.Strategic thinking is necessary in both golf and life. Golfers plan their shots from the tee to the green, considering the course layout and adjusting their game. This strategic approach can be applied in life by emphasizing planning, adaptability, focus, and patience.Networking is an essential skill in golf as players interact, share experiences, and build relationships. This skill can also be applied in life by forming connections that open doors to new opportunities and collaborations. Effective networking involves genuine engagement and mutual benefit.Golf requires mastering technique to achieve consistent and accurate shots. This dedication to refining skills can be applied in life by practicing and continuously improving one's skills and strategies.In both golf and life, challenges will always arise. The key is to stay resilient and deal with them with integrity and respect. Golf teaches the importance of patience and respect while providing opportunities for everyone to learn and grow.#MondayMotivation #Golf #Networking #Mastery #Technique#Timemanagement #Strategy #Photography #StorytellingWhatgolf practice will you apply this week?

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Today I want to talk about Self Confidence in Golf.Self confidence is a developed attitude. Your beliefs affect how confident you are. After all we are all born equal and its up ourselves to nurture confidence in our abilities and passions we have.Our upbringing has a lot to do with how confident we grow up. This inner trait is deeply rooted from an early age till adulthood. Not all of us endure a confident upbringing making it harder for us as individuals to build on a solid foundation. But its possible to change all that.One of the strongest strategies you can use to build your confidence in golf is to deep dive into visualization. We all have this capability to see an outcome before it happens and to "play movies" in our minds.Visualization plays a vital role in shot making and every shot we play in golf. Its like going to the movies before you play every shot.The more you practice it the more predicatable you shot making becomes and your confidence grows.I can attest to this as I learned from when I first started playing to see every shot before I played it in as much detail as possible. I can recall countless shots I played to perfection. It does'nt always work out the way we want it to but if we persist we can improve.What I practiced visualizing my shots, my confidence grew and difficult shots wwre no longer as difficult as I first imagined without visualizing them.Keeping a mental picture and recalling good shots you've played also builds your confidence level resulting in making better decisions on club selection.It's also important to know your capabilites and what you know you can and cannot do. A golden rule is, never attempt any shot you have not practiced before hand on the driving range. Comments

Yesterday I was working with a golf student who was very methodical with his practice routine.Focused, serious, and attempting to get the best from his time to improve his golf.So I asked him why was he placing an alignment stick from the hole straight to his ball?“I want to see the line to the hole, he replied.”“What about break how will that influence the line of your putt, I asked?”“Not sure, he replied.”I explained about 92% of all greens have a break that influences putting direction or break of the ball as it moves to the hole.I asked if he had taken lessons and, “1 or 2,”was the reply.Maybe we have a problem of Golf Simplicity.It is easy to find a set of golf clubs, grab a few balls and practice.Therein is the missing conundrum:Simplicity at start means complexity ignored!The outcome is the element of time and negative consternation of the unknown.In short such practices add years to learning the game correctly. Actually the bad ball striking habits that emerge are unrecognizedby the golfer!Tell a golfer they are swinging incorrectly they look at you like, leave me alone just having fun. My game is just fine.Go to your local golf course watch the practice range or follow a few golfers on the course. Well it’s pretty obvious the untrained are out there in significant numbers playing & having fun without the education that can improve their play. It might be this is okay. Just spending time outdoors with their friends is what matters most, not the score!There are many causes of this process. Poor coaching, difficulty of the game, lack of practice time, lessons cost too much, my game is fine belief, or no need to progress.Maybe this is the reality that a fun experience playing with friends & socializing is most important.It might be witnessed indoors watching machine golf, drinking with friends, no worries about the course. Easier to hit the ball.Dr. Dunkley

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Get Screened, Get a Plan, Get ResultsEach season, every golfer has high hopes of playing better golf from the previous year. Golfers spend their hard earned money on the newest drivers, balls and training aids with the notion of “this will be the year”. New technology brings many golfer new hope with the arrival of adjustable drivers to fix the slice, softer balls that promise more distance and new training aids that fix the old problems. But to many of our dismays it is still just the same old result, mediocre and inconsistent golf.Sadly what the average golfer fails to realize is that the best tool that they need to play good golf cannot be bought in a sporting goods store nor found in their bag. No matter how hard you try on the golf course, how many lessons you take, or how much equipment you purchase, you still may have issues with your swing that have nothing to do with those things. This is where a TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) Golf Fitness Assessment comes in handy.What TPI has created is a 16 point screening process to identify body restrictions from your neck to your ankles that can adversely affect the golf swing. There are many factors that can influence our body’s function ranging from exercise history and past injuries, to the type of job we do and current lifestyle. A complete TPI screening identifies the areas of concern so the fitness professional can lay out a corrective exercise plan of attack to address and correct the problems. Don't miss out – Reach out Now to Book your Assessment and Experience the Difference!" ChadPittFitness.com

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How to Read a Golf Course and Strategize for Your Lowest Score!As golfers, we all know that a well-thought-out strategy can make a significant difference in our final scores. By understanding the layout, and opportunities on the course, you can optimize your game and achieve better results.1️⃣ Study the Course Map: Before teeing off, take the time to review the course map. Familiarize yourself with the layout, hole distances, and potential challenges. Identify any water hazards, bunkers, or out-of-bounds areas that might come into play during your round.2️⃣ Assess the Weather Conditions: Weather conditions play a crucial role in golf. Pay attention to wind direction and speed, as they will affect your club selection and shot shape. Adjust your strategy accordingly to maximize your chances of success.3️⃣ Analyze Each Hole: As you approach each hole, evaluate the potential risks and rewards. Identify the ideal landing areas for your shots and consider the best approach to the green. Take note of any doglegs or blind spots that might require additional precision.4️⃣ Consider Your Strengths and Weaknesses: Be aware of your own strengths and weaknesses as a golfer. If you struggle with long irons, for example, strategize to avoid long approach shots whenever possible. Leverage your strengths to optimize your game plan for each hole.5️⃣ Prioritize Accuracy over Distance: While hitting long drives can be thrilling, accuracy is often more important. Focus on finding the fairway or landing areas off the tee, even if it means sacrificing some distance. Hitting from the short grass will give you a better chance of executing successful approach shots.6️⃣ Plan Your Approach Shots: Before deciding on your approach shot, evaluate the pin position and green slopes. Aim for the side of the green that provides the best angle for your subsequent putt. Avoid hazards and choose club selections that allow you to stay away from trouble.7️⃣ Manage Risk: Sometimes, playing conservatively and avoiding high-risk shots is the smartest choice. Assess the potential rewards versus the risks of an aggressive shot, and make a calculated decision based on your skill level and the situation.8️⃣ Stay Mentally Strong: Golf is as much a mental game as it is a physical one. Stay focused, maintain a positive mindset, and don't let mistakes affect your overall strategy. Stay committed to your game plan and trust your abilities.By incorporating these strategies into your golf game, you'll be better equipped to navigate the course strategically and maximize your chances of shooting a lower score. #golf #pga #lpga #scga #pgacoach #welovethisgame #ricmooregolf #getgolfready #thxpgapro

The 5 most asked questions in golf psychology.1. Do you have any technical swing thoughts on the golf course?You should without any doubt have no technical swing thoughts when hitting shots on the golf course. It's ok to have the odd technical thought in your practice swing while you're trying to get the feeling for a move but once you've started your process, started your routine and stepped into the ball, you need to free yourself up completely from any technical thoughts whatsoever. If you're thinking about anything at all, you should be totally 100% focused on your target.2. What do you think about when walking to your next shot?The one thing as you're walking to your next shot, the one thing you should not be thinking of is.... Your next shot. You should be switched off completely from that all the time to keep yourself as relaxed as possible. Talk to your playing partners, have a laugh, try to do anything to take yourself out of the situation. This is particularly useful if you are in the later part of your round, you've got a good score going and you're starting to get a bit nervous.. If you can totally switch off from that shot it will really help you to keep those nerves under control. It's only when you arrive at the ball and you start your process, you start your routine should you actually start to think about the next shot that you've got to play.3. How long does it take to bed in your routine?Bedding in your routine does take time and you have to be patient with your starting that process of starting to get your routine and repeat it on a regular basis. Everybody has their own routine, once you have found yours and you are comfortable with it, keep it and repeat it over and over again. The idea of repeating the same routine is to repeat the same perfect swing. It will probably take a couple of months but it will eventually become a completely automatic process. As you are starting to build your routine into your golf game, don't be frustrated, be patient, it will happen but it takes time for it to become that completely automatic process. Don't let a distraction change your routine. If there is a distraction, step away and allow the automatic process to start again.Question 4 & 5 to continue tomorrow.

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Recently, I took my first golf lesson over at my club in town. Fortunately for my patience and swing coach, it wasn’t my first time golfing, but we had some work to do.. So in the 18 years of playing the game, I had never taken a golf lesson. Why? Eh, didn’t think I needed one and after playing this long, how could someone change my swing! Well, here we are sitting at a 4 HDCP at the end of 2023 and I decide to take one now, hmmm. Grant Price asked me the same question, “Zac, why are we doing this if you aren’t going after the FL Tour?” I was in that spot of “where in the world did my golf game go”, “how do we fix this asap”, and “how do I go about putting a full round together?”My answer, consistency. I never practice. Ever. Sign me up for 18 and I’ll meet you at the range to hit a few and then off we are. Well, that’s been my problem. Can’t perform on the stage, if you don’t put the work in behind the scenes. After sitting down and dissecting the Trackman and iPad videos with my swing coach, Grant, here I am thinking I’m going through a rebuild of my golf swing, nope just two minor tweaks. Create more a better angle of attack and create more hip rotation in order to get through the ball better.But will these change, if I’m not constantly at the range beating golf balls until my hands can’t grip a club, the answer is NO. Why is this relevant?Two reasons: 1. Cause golf is freaking HARD man. Takes a lot of practice to create consistency especially shooting the scores I’m after. But, it's possible to get there, just need to stay true to the process right? 2. A very close friend of mine, Zachary Davis, posted something yesterday on a comment I made that I’ve seen plenty of times, but needed to see again. “1% better every day”. No matter if it is your career, home life, or hobby, USE THAT. This thing we call life is a marathon, not a sprint. Take the time to learn a new skill or just take the time to sharpen a tool ya already have. Get better everyday. It's you vs. you. 📈

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Recently a golf student wanted to know what things should be avoided when selecting a new golf coach. Here are 10 Things to Avoid as a Student Golfer.1. If you are not give a written lesson handout prior to your upcoming golf lesson. Be aware it should explain the topic and goals to be taught for the day, if not watchout!2. A golf coach who seems not interested in your personal progress because there are too many students taking golf lessons together.3. Not being explained to by the coach why certain golf skills are important and the best way to learn them. Assume nothing always ask when unclear.4. Golf Coach excessively talking and telling new students details and techniques, rather than helping students feel the moves for themselves. A short discussion on the benefits of using a mirror when practicing at home!5. Learning with a friend or partner during class is key to retain info more easily for new golfers.6. Instruction techniques broken into simple steps are critical. Easy to learn and repeat helps the student when the coach is nowhere to be found.7. Being ignored, disrespected or treated unfairly. Never accept this type of behavior from a coach!8. Money back guarantee if unhappy with any form of instruction or teaching.9. A firm lesson time frame and availability. Free no charge if student feels unsure, anxious or is not getting how to putt or play irons.10. Help with correct golf equipment selection. Never buy without checking prices, time frame, budget and deals. a. Avoid mindless range time just hitting buckets of balls without something to work on based on the coaches direct observation of your game.b. If you are not taught new state-of-the-art golf techniques, then you are being given old data most likely it will not necessarily help you learn. I cannot stress enough how golf lesson should be fun, basic and clear. Good practice as well, with time to learn exactly what is taught that day. Never ever alone time on the range while the coach does other business when first learning!All students need a reading list, ideas on practice time, possible fitness program and local groups that are there for playing with new golfers.The guy smiling will be Dr. Dunkley you are his most prized golf student!!!

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Garage to Green...After many years of losing my mojo for golf, a few rounds with the guys from work recently have reignited my interest for the game. It has awoken my passion once more.I was a member of the PGA for 30 years as a qualified golf professional, I played, I coached, retailed, repaired and was both an assistant and Head professional at some great golf clubs. But about 20 years ago I just lost the urge to play, just didn't enjoy it anymore, I couldn't perform to the same standard, so I switched off. Even coaching lost its appeal. Now at 55 years young, an out of shape man, carrying far too much timber seems to have a second wind. I want to play again, I want to talk about it and I have really enjoyed teaching a couple of people recently, much more than I ever thought was possible again.What has changed? maybe I am just getting old and realise that I am running out of time. I have so much good stuff in my head and thoughts, it would be a great waste to not at least try to help those that want to listen. since I have been away, out of the loop, lots have changed within golf. The equipment, the understanding of the statistics, the coaching methods and the speed at which people swing along with the unimaginable distances they now hit the ball....Wow! Changes galore but also thankfully the basic fundamentals are pretty much the same and the most important position of all, impact! has not changed.Beginners are still there and even though we understand it all so much more than before, the average golf handicap has not really changed much. It is still a difficult game that will drive you mad, if you let it! I think that I still have some worthwhile knowledge of this great game to share with a new audience via all of the social media platforms. I have something to say that can really help simplify the four areas of golf improvement for people these are technically, physically, mentally and equipment techology.So that is exactly what I am going to do. I have built a small teaching area within my garage, purchased a great net, mat, launch monitor, and have even installed some golf specific gym equipment and a work bench. I can teach, repair and club fit once again. A blending of the old with the new, introducing the golfercise and garage to green coaching programs. With the help of my daughter's showing me the basics of all this new social media dark arts, I will be launching some videos on YouTube, Instagram, Tik Toc and others. It should be fun sharing some of my ideas, my experience and my newly found passion for golf. I will be trying to get back into shape, improve my own basics, improve my swing, increase my swing speed and lower my scores while sharing all my secrets with you. We can improve together while having some fun. Watch this space for more updates soon.

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