Golf

The most common mistakes that golfers make are physical (not making the correlation between their body and what the golf swing requires), technical (using the wrong equipment), and course management (trying to do more than they're capable of, not playing percentages and being too aggressive).
 
Transcript: "What are the most common mistakes you see golfers make? That question is multi-dimensional. We can talk about it from a physical component, we can talk about it from a technology component, and we can play from a course management. First let's go with the physical component. A lot of golfers don't make the correlation between their body and how it moves and what the golf swing requires and what their body can or can't do. So there may be things your teacher wants you to do that you can't physically do due to limitations. From the technical piece, people often play with the wrong equipment. Either the shafts are too light or the shafts are too heavy or too stiff, so getting fitted is a big deal. And then from the competitive or course management side, I see people try to do way more than they're capable of. Golf is a game of numbers and percentages and playing the percentage, being more conservative in the execution of the strategy, hitting the ball towards the middle of the green rather than going for pins on edges. So those are the most common things I see competing in coaching. Hope that helps. Take care of your body, take care of your equipment, take care of your course management strategy, you'll play better golf."

Yes, I use positive competition with rivals to motivate myself. Beating a friend in a game or competition gives me bragging rights and is a great motivator.
 
Transcript: "Do you ever use positive competition with rivals such as trying a match or exceed their accomplishments as a way of motivating yourself? Of course, yes. I mean, obviously, I call it bulletin board fodder, but any time one of your competitors that is a friend beat you, that stings a little bit more than losing to an enemy sometimes. I like to, as I said earlier, step on their necks. So there's nothing better than beating a friend and having bragging rights. It's a great way to motivate yourself through games during practice or competition where a number on the board counts or winning whatever you're competing in. So yes, it's absolutely a positive and it's a motivator. We always want to beat our friends."

Golf is a game of averages and accepting randomness. You should understand that every shot matters and bad things will happen. Instead of striving for perfection, seek good enough and have realistic expectations.
 
Transcript: "What do you think is the most important lesson to teach golfers? Again, this question can be answered in a number of ways, but for me, I think that golf is a game of averages and there is this thing that you have that's called accepting randomness of golf. So, constantly, I hear some of the players I coach say things like, I got a bad break here, I got a bad break there, but very seldom do I hear them say, oh, I got an amazing break here. Those things average out. If your ball hits a tree, sometimes it will bounce in the middle of the fairway. Sometimes it will bounce out of bounds or in a hazard. I think the thing that's important to understand about randomness is that it helps you accept outcome in a much more predictable way. So your baseline, a drive that goes 350 yards holds no different shot value than a two-foot putt. They are the same value. So every shot matters and bad things are going to happen. There are no perfect golf shots or hitting every shot perfect. There's the pursuit of good enough. So I think seeking good enough is a really important thing and I think that's an important lesson to learn. You can learn technical things. You can find out how high your ceiling is, but golf will beat you up and shoot you out if your expectations are too high. So I hope that helps."

Watching my mother suffer and eventually die of breast cancer at the age of 45 helped me to develop a greater sense of resilience and faith. It taught me that there will be bad and good times, but it is how we handle them that matters most.
 
Transcript: "What characterized the period of your life where you experienced the most personal growth? I'm going to be completely vulnerable and transparent here. Watching my mother die of breast cancer. It was a three-year battle. She was a young woman. She was 45. And she lost her battle two years after she was diagnosed. I think what the amazing thing about people who are going through suffering is there are two kinds of people. People who find the best and try to grow in those times of suffering. And people who are in denial and take a victim mindset. Life is hard. Good things are going to happen and horrific things are going to happen. For me personally, I've learned the most in suffering and watching people I love suffer. To see how they handle things. My mom had a unique way of making everybody around her feel better. Her faith played an integral part in how she handled her battle with cancer. And I carry that with me every day. It can always be worse. It can always be better. And this too shall pass. So losing my mom to cancer and watching her fight diligently and unfortunately losing at the age of 45 is where I experienced the most personal growth. Hope that helps."

Artificial Intelligence and the acceptance of mediocrity are two underappreciated trends today. Both have potential for positive and negative consequences in the future, and it is important to be mindful of how these trends can influence society.
 
Transcript: "What underappreciated trend today do you think will have massive consequences for the future? I think I'm curious about artificial intelligence and its limitations, how it positively impacts human society, and I'm also curious about how it negatively impacts either through the loss of jobs or the creation of additional revenue or capacity as an individual to execute and achieve more or less. One of the other trends that I find fascinating now is the level of acceptance of mediocrity, where people just don't try to do a good job, they just try to do their job. I grew up in an era, and I played a sport where you got paid to play, and if you didn't play well with golf, you were paying expenses and you were not getting compensation. So the thing that's concerning for me now is this level of mediocrity and lack of willingness to work, where people, at least on the West, seem to have an expectation that things will be easy or given to them, and if you don't, nothing worth having, you don't get by hard work. Nothing should be just given to you. If it is, then you should make the most and pass it along. So those are the trends, AI and the acceptance of mediocrity. Hope that helps."

Love yourself, accept yourself, forgive yourself, and be the best version of yourself that you can be.
 
Transcript: "If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be? Well, my piece of advice to myself would be learn to accept myself, get comfortable in my skin, forgive myself for the mistakes I've made, hold myself accountable for the decisions I've made, and just accept who I am. Learn self-love. And I don't mean that in an arrogant way or a controlling way. It just means that you have one life to live and it's too short to beat yourself up. So, simple short answer, love myself, accept myself, forgive myself, be the best version of me that I can be, and love other people. We all have stories, we all have baggage, we all have different journeys, and we're all put on this planet, created or evolved, depending upon where you view. I believe we're created beings. So I think there's a an accountability that comes with that and a responsibility to take care of each other in society, but you can only do that if you love yourself. So that's my answer. There you go."