Stuck In A Rut? A Sinking Feeling...

Force a change and stick to your guns.

How many times have you thrown your clubs in the back of your car, chucked your glove in the nearest bin and sworn that you will never play this god forsaken game again?

It’s an all too recurring event for most handicapped golfers and it’s an affliction that all golfers go through – albeit some more than most!

We all know how it goes – play poorly, play worse, one bad game leads to another, confidence takes a beating, start to skip playing and enough said about the resulting practising habits!

Take me for example – not a world-beater by any stretch of the imagination, but nonetheless I, like all keen sportsmen, boast an inner competitive spirit of the will to want to succeed.

After what can only be said as “a bit of a lean spell” on the local UAE PGA Tour this season, I have finally put my hand in my pocket (for the first time since I can care to remember) and enrolled the help of a fellow PGA Professional, James Shippey at Arabian Ranches.

It took me far too long to pick myself up out of a rut and force the change of habit.

Many of you would have followed the ups and downs of three of our own UAE-based Asian Tour pros these last couple of years (Ross Bain, Simon Dunn and Yasin Ali).

It was great to see Ross qualify for The Open Championship last week. Ross has had a poor start to the season for his standards, but after slamming nine birdies in a stunning eight under par 64 to finish in the top five at the international qualifying round for the Open, he is now on top of a crest once more.

So what changed? Ross has struggled over past seasons with putting consistency, but he has shown great inner strength to force a change from his comfort zone, go back to his long putter.

I wish all the best to Ross as he prepares for Carnoustie, but more important than that, he has once more fired up his inner belief which will set him in great stead for the rest of the season.

Jules' Tip of the week

 To break a rut and make your first step to positive change, take a good look at yourself first. With the help of your PGA Pro, look at your practice habits, your preparation habits, your strengths and weaknesses and make a plan to put some good habits in place.

Remember – it doesn’t necessarily take a swing overhaul to come out of the dark and break out of a rut!