I was a kid just out of college, with less than $80 to my name after paying the bills. I had been a golf pro for exactly one week when I met Mr. X (not his real name).  Mr. X  owned a large communications company.  You could see his name on vans and billboards all over the state.  He had a car worth more than I could make in two years.  Yet he admired me.  Why? Because I could hit a drive over 240 yards.  It occurred to me that under any other circumstances, Mr. X would not have given me the time of day.  The game of golf opened up a line of communication and admiration that otherwise would not have existed.

Golf, to me, is the great equalizer.  It does not matter if you are rich or poor, young or old, male or female. If you play good golf, doors will be opened to you that otherwise would remain closed.  All you need is a few key elements and you can play with anyone.

The first key is good technique. With the help of a professional, you can build a fundamentally sound swing. Knowing what and how to practice is essential. With good technique, you can hit the golf ball farther and straighter than before.

Create an excellent short game.  Chipping, putting, bump & run shots, and sand shots make up more than half the strokes a golfer will take.  With that statistic in mind, spend more than half your practice time working on the short game.

Become a positive thinker on and off the course.  I can’t tell you how many times I hear a  golfer putting themselves down, even before they tee off. “Oh, I’m not very good.  I better use this old ball so I don’t hit a good ball in the water.”  If you had that attitude in the business world, you would never make a dime. If you are struggling with your mental game, I recommend checking out books by doctors Rotella and Coop.  They are two of the best sports psychologists in golf.

Commit to a practice routine.  Spending ten minutes a day doing drills, hitting one bucket of balls a week, working for one hour a week on the short game, and playing twice a month is enough to help you really play great golf.  The key is to be consistent.  In anything, if you give random effort, you will get random levels of success. The golfer who has been playing for years without much improvement has never committed to practicing the right way consistently.

On the golf course, it is not the size of the player, the level of the bank account or the title on the business card that counts.  It is the skill of the golfer.  Golf, the great equalizer… it’s a beautiful thing.

-Anne Marie Golslak