Are You Coachable?

I think we can all agree that golf is hard even under the best of circumstances. Young golfers who are striving to get better often put their focus on finding a good coach and working hard. Those are clearly important considerations but an often-overlooked factor in improvement and success is a player’s willingness and determination to follow his or her coach’s instructions and guidance. In other words, are you coachable?

Before you learn how to answer this question let’s first discuss why it makes such a big difference. Assuming you’re like most competitive junior golfers and you’ve found a good coach and are working hard, one of the biggest remaining influencers on your rate of improvement is what you choose to do in your training and practice time. The best golf instructors understand how valuable this time is and are well equipped to provide you with direction and structure to ensure that this time is productive.

Below is a brief illustration depicting two young players who are striving to reach the same goal. Player A on the left, works hard to stay on track and follow the directions of his coach even in between lessons. Player B on the right, has good intentions but often gets off track and then waits for his coach to get him back on track. Player A will clearly make more progress over time.

In golf, where fractions separate the best from the rest, junior golfers can’t afford to get off track and let days and weeks go by without making progress. Heeding the ongoing advice of an experienced coach can literally make the difference on whether a young golfer reaches his goals or not.

Now that we understand the importance of trusting your coach and following his or her guidance, let’s determine how coachable you are. There are several traits that coachable athletes share. Among the most important are the following:

• They are motivated by the challenge of mastering a skill rather than by the goal of beating someone else or achieving some external reward.
  
• They persist through challenges. They are not discouraged by the fact that golfers lose much more than they win, and they understand that even practice can become a grind.
  
• They are disciplined and stay on task. They accept the fact that to become a skilled golfer, it requires thousands of repetitions and the work is often tedious.
  
• They are conscientious and careful when they train and practice because they know little mistakes add up over time, especially in a sport that demands precision.
  
• Finally, and perhaps most importantly, they are self-compassionate. They understand that by its very nature, golf can be brutal and to maintain effort over a long period of time, they must avoid self-criticism and maintain a positive outlook.

In addition to possessing the personal traits above, coachable athletes use tactics that increase the likelihood that their hard work will pay off. Here are some of the most significant ones:

• They organize their work and lay out a detailed plan for each day of training and practice.
  
• They reflect on their lessons, practice, and play and this reflection often manifests itself in journaling.
  
• They set goals and measure their progress against those goals.
  
• They track their stats regardless of their performance.
  
• They communicate frequently with their coach to ensure that their coach has all the information needed to be effective.

To summarize, being coachable might be the most important quality that a golfer can possess. It doesn’t come naturally and most of us have to work hard to be good at it. From a coach’s standpoint, it’s an absolute pleasure and gift whenever I get to work with an athlete that is truly coachable. If you’re ready to start being more coachable, I suggest that on your next lesson, you walk up to your coach and make the following statement: “Please tell me exactly what I need to do to reach my goals.” Your coach might be surprised but I can guarantee you that you’ll be on your way to a better golf game.​