Mindset On The Course: A Long Horse Race

It has been a while since I've posted, so I apologize. Anyway, let's get on with the important information.

In his book The Bald Truth, David Falk, the super-agent to sports greats such as Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing, talks about the importance of having a broad perspective. He calls it the "long horse race". He says that in the business world, far too many people have a narrow view when it comes to the end result of an action. They wind up putting too much stock in the here-and-now and neglect long-term positive impacts that their decisions could play in the future. He analogizes this type of thinking to a horse race; a horse can lead out of the gate, he could lead at turn one, he could even lead beginning the home stretch. But no one will ever remember him unless he leads at the finish line. On the other hand, a horse could stumble out of the gate, lose position in turn one, or be in the middle of the pack beginning the home stretch and still win the race. The end result is what really matters.

The same is true in golf. Always remember that hole number one is a long way from hole number eighteen. If you birdie number one, great! But it is only a small victory in that moment and your focus must shift to hole number two. What if you bogey number one - what is your response? Ironically, it should be the exact same response as in the earlier scenario. Treat a bogey exactly the same as a birdie while remembering there is plenty of time to recover. In any case, in life and in golf, always keep the end result in mind and attempt to make steps in that direction. Remember, as Mr. Falk puts it, it's a long horse race.