The Four Simple Steps to Hating Yourself...errr...I mean getting better at Golf! 🤪

G'day golfers!

I’ve seen a lot of fancy definitions of golf over the years—strategic, beautiful, frustrating—but let’s be honest, at its core, golf is a brutal, humbling discipline designed to expose your soul.

If you’re looking for constant affirmation and validation, try knitting. If you want to face the cold, hard truth about your patience and ego, welcome to the course. I love this game, but it ain't for the faint-hearted.

Here are the four non-negotiable demands golf makes of you. If you can’t handle these, you’re in the wrong sport.

The Four Simple Steps to Hating Yourself...errr...
I mean getting better!

1. Truth About the Traditional Golf LessonThe Ego Must Die (Repeatedly)

Look, I’m going to shock you with a statement here: The game is specifically designed to make you feel stupid.

You will chunk it. You will blade it over the back of the green. You will hit the absolute purest drive of your life into the one tiny patch of scrub you swore you couldn't reach. That perfect shot you hit yesterday? It means absolutely nothing today.

Golf strips your ego bare and leaves it on the tee box. The real masters aren't the ones who avoid mistakes (they don't exist); they're the ones who can hit a shocking shot, laugh at the absurdity, and still commit 100% to the next one. If you’re busy blaming the greenkeepers, the game’s already won.

2. Get Comfortable With Delay (The Golf Clock)

This is the game of delay. Results, swing changes, and that feeling of truly "getting it" refuse to arrive when you want them to. If you’re wired for instant gratification—where you expect to hit a bucket of balls and instantly shave five strokes—golf will lead you to a deep, agonizing frustration that you can only relieve by buying a new wedge.

It’s like waiting for the perfect steak; you have to let it sit and cook. You have to put in the boring, deliberate, focused practise, knowing that the payoff might be weeks away. Golf rewards sustained, almost painful patience over short-term pressure. If you rush it, you ruin the meal.

3. Your Tantrum is Irrelevant

I can guarantee you one thing: The outcome of your shot genuinely doesn't care about your shit!

Lose your cool, throw your club, or stand there yelling at the bunker you just found, and guess what? The ball is still sitting there, and the next shot just got ten times harder because your brain is full of emotional fog. Blaming the clubs or the course is a futile, dramatic evasion.

Golf is the one sport that forces you to take full responsibility for your actions. Every meltdown costs you strokes. It demands that you stay present—not thinking about the last shot, but focused entirely on what's important now.

4. Love the Grind, Not Just the Scorecard

There is no such thing as "mastery" in golf; there is only continuous, never-ending refinement. If your sole focus is on scorecards and trophies, I can promise you'll burn out faster than a sparkler.

The true joy—the laugh-out-loud moment of pure golfing satisfaction—is found in the micro-breakthroughs: a flushed 7-iron that stops exactly where you wanted, holing that crucial 3 metre par-save, or walking off 18 knowing you maintained mental control even after that shocking drive on the third. The real reward isn't the final number; it's the journey of learning to manage the chaos.

The Real Payoff

Is golf for everyone? Absolutely not. It requires a sense of humour about your own ineptitude. But for those individuals who can stomach the struggle and laugh at the pain, the rewards are unmatched. The slow, yet undeniable personal growth you gain from learning to control your own brain—that is the essential value of the game.

Ready to face the brutal truth and start seeing real progress? Book a call with me today so I can guide you in the right direction!

• What are the best golf lessons on the Gold Coast?

  The Gold Coast offers a range of options including Emerald Lakes, Palm Meadows, Hope Island, Southport, and Coolangatta-Tweed. Paul Williamson provides personalised on-course coaching that goes beyond traditional lessons, covering skills, strategy, and mental game in real playing conditions.

• Do one-hour golf lessons work?

  One-hour lessons provide quick tips but rarely translate under course conditions. Paul’s on-course coaching uses 9-hole assessments to build a tailored plan that actually drops strokes from your scorecard.

• Where can I find on-course golf coaching on the Gold Coast?

  Paul Williamson, a PGA Professional with 30+ years’ experience, provides personalised on-course coaching at courses around Carrara, Hope Island, Robina, Southport, Coolangatta-Tweed, and the broader Gold Coast.