Can Luck Be the Answer to a Winning #Golf Mindset?

Skill vs. luck - which one ultimately wins a tournament? Jordan Spieth believes there is an element of luck to his game.

"If you believe that you put yourself in the right positions—like, obviously, making a 50-footer for eagle, for that to go in, there’s certainly luck involved."

Spieth continues, "I put myself in position by executing to get it close, but if you have that extra element of belief that it’s going to go in, then you’re not surprised and you believe that it was you. Then you create a trend of your mental approach with it. And, obviously, it can go the other way really quickly. You can believe you are not going to get a break. And then you probably won’t. It’s amazing how it works."

Tiger Woods once said, "There's no sense in going to a tournament if you don't believe that you can win it. And that is the belief I have always had. And that is not going to change." To believe is a good thing but, what happens when you don't win?

After the third round of the Hero World Challenge, Woods seemed to change his tune and was just happy to be back in the game; he was enjoying the competition of the tournament, not considering the final outcome. "It’s nice to be part of the fight again,” Woods said. “Get out there and fighting against the golf course; fighting against the guys. That’s fun."

Can having fun and not worrying about the outcome increase your luck on the golf course?

Research has determined that "the idea that exceptional performers are the most skilled is flawed."
Winning is overrated and exceptional performance often occurs in exceptional circumstances. Luck also has a lot to do with winning.

Scientists have looked into the science of luck and believe that there is a measurable aspect to luck which "has more to do with psychology than probability." A positive mental attitude combined with not compensating when facing fear can better your chances of winning.

So, can you be "lucky" at golf and improve your chances? Is there a scientific aspect to luck and, if so, how can you apply it to your next round of golf?

Read: Improve your short game in 2 easy steps

An article in Popular Science magazine says that it is possible to trick your mind into believing you are lucky...with "lucky charms". In fact, research has shown that superstitions of any kind can help you perform better on the golf course. "Researchers hypothesized that the people with their lucky charms by their side persisted at problems longer because they felt more effective like they had the assistance of some other power." So now you know it's okay to pull out that rabbit's foot, throw grass over your shoulder and mark your ball that certain way...

Gary Player contradicts research by saying, "The harder you work, the luckier you get."

Of which mindset are you...and what lucky charms do you carry in your golf bag? Let us know in the comments section of our Golf for Beginners golf blog and tag us on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.

Improve Your Short Game in 2 Easy Steps

Did you know that PGA Tour golfers get "up-and-down" only about sixty percent of the time? According to Dave Pelz, that number drops greatly for the average golfer.

Driving the ball moves you down the fairway (maybe), but getting on the green, and finishing in the least number of strokes, is really what the game is all about!

The short game, whether it's chipping, sand saves or putting, should be worked on only at the practice facility - you don't want to start working on your game during a round as that could prove to be disastrous.

Golf for Beginners has compiled a few video tips and drills to help you score better down the stretch.

1. CHIPPING: I just came upon this simple golf video tip from PGA instructor Meredith Kirk yesterday - getting into a good chipping stance.




Read: Tips to Improve Consistency in your golf game


2. PUTTING: According to Dave Pelz, good putts start with tempo. Think "pendulum". Vary the length of your backswing to control the speed of your putts. Watch this Youtube.com video to see how the Master does it:




REMEMBER: Final putting tip for today: the only golf club in the bag specifically made to hit the ball into the cup is the putter – master it first, master it best!

What golf short game tips can you share with our readers? Post in the comments section below and on Twitter, tagging @Golf4Beginners.

Photo: Wikimedia

Golf Courses in Palm Springs Great for a Winter Warm-Up

Gary Player and Pete Dye really knew what they were doing when they designed golf courses in Palm Springs, California; they chose a U.S. vacation destination with about three-hundred days of sunshine a year and a backdrop worthy of a movie set!

Palm Springs golf vacations are happily taken by many during the winter months - AccuWeather shows temperatures in the mid-to-high seventies there while many in the north suffer from the coldest days of the year. Temperate weather is only one reason why golfers choose Palm Springs...the golf courses, hotels, and views, are the real attraction!

For golfers who would like to get a sense of what a Palm Springs holiday has to offer, pack your virtual clubs and join us as we whet your whistle and explore a few courses and hotels in the "Playground to the Stars".

The Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort: located on Dinah Shore Drive, the Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort is surrounded by two amazing championship golf courses, the Pete Dye and Gary Player Signature courses.

Golf Channel states about the course created by the "Black Knight" that the 7,062 layout is "versatile" yet also "formidable. "The Player sports better than 20 acres of varied water features and will play at its most memorable when the drink comes into play." With wide fairways, abounding desert and mountainous views, the Player Course is one you don't want to miss when visiting Palm Springs.

The Pete Dye course is slightly shorter than the Player Course at about 6,700 yards and comes with its own set of challenges, from hidden pin placements to forced water carries and pot bunkers. Twoguyswhogolf offers this advice, "a key to scoring well here is to hit the fairways while avoiding the sand traps and rough, which can make recoveries for par quite difficult. Most fairways are bordered by mounding and trees, which though not dense can certainly come into play on errant tee shots and approaches."

JW Marriott Desert Springs Palm Desert Resort: Fresh mountain air and palm trees in a desert oasis with two awesome golf courses to play - a virtual heaven on earth.

The Desert Springs Palms Course takes players on a scenic trip through thirty acres of landscaped fairways, elevation changes, and views, view, views. The Palms offers the feel of a championship layout with the vistas and features that a resort course has to offer. 

Some golfers have called The Desert Springs Valley Course, "an oasis in the sand" and that it "does not disappoint". The rough penalizes golfers but the fairways are "lush" and precision is key.

My advice to people in the colder regions? Take a break from winter and play some golf in Palm Springs!