“Double Your Money Fast with These 10 Can’t-Miss Mutual Funds – article, page 34”
“Lose Twenty Pounds in Three Weeks with Amazing Weight Loss Pill – details, page 6”
“Why Are You Here? Our Experts Know The Answers – page 21” Skeptical? I certainly hope so. And why shouldn’t you be? More than a basic gut hunch tells you that the promises made in these cover stories are a bit misaligned with fundamental logic. But something else rings true with you – something deeper and perhaps something a bit selfish…the attainment of the secret quick fix. To a tiny extent, your brain dances with the what-ifs associated with these statements. “What if I
could double my money? What if I
could shed twenty pounds? What if I
could be told my life’s purpose? What if it really
is that easy?” But then you pause, collect yourself, and judge the headlines for what they are…junk – garbage designed to draw you in, to grab your attention enough to justify a $4.99 cover price. You shake your head, dismiss the claims alltogether, and successfully thwart the temptation to waste your money. And for that you deserve some praise. Good for you. Well done indeed. I mean, who really buys into all of that nonsense anyway? Someone much more naïve than you, most certainly. Someone with a bit less assertion than what you’re bringing to the table, that’s for sure. Poor fellow. It must be tough to be so gullible…
Hmmmm…..
“Never Slice Again! – Make Your Driver Slice-Proof Before Your Next Round – page 101”
“Never Chunk Another Wedge! – article, page 50”
“The Instant Power Move! The Secret Nobody Told You! Add 30 Yards Today! - page 63”
“Banish 3 Putts For Good! – the truth, page 95”
“How To Be Tiger Woods – see inside for details”Interesting…
Look. Don’t try to deny it. Don’t dance around it. Don’t even make an effort to justify it. Because you and I both know that you read golf magazines. “So What?” you might say “It’s not like I’m the only person reading them. Millions of people read golf magazines – so it can’t be that bad. Right?”
Alas, you would be mistaken. Sometimes the masses have collective intelligence
(see The Wisdom of Crowds, by James Surowiecki) – but in this instance they can flush out nothing more than collective idiocy
(see The Madness of Crowds, by Charles Mackay). The aggregate intention of the pooled subscriber base is warming with its idealistic hopes for improvement and its naïve addiction to misaligned instruction. But, in the end, the readers are left where they began – with a flaw in their swing and a hole in their pocket.
If cover page claims of golf magazines worked, the following would happen:
1) Tour Players would read golf magazines
(news flash – they don’t read ‘em)2) Publishers of golf magazines would go out of business
(there’d be no need for them once everyone mastered the game from their tips)3) Subscriptions would go down
(the healthy don’t need the medicine)And, more importantly
4) You would actually get better – drastically better – fast
But, Tour Players continue to seek their instruction individually, publishers are thriving, and subscription bases are growing. And, of course, you still seek the holy grail of swing tips – because for some reason, you haven’t improved as quickly or as substantially as you thought you might when you read that headline about never chilli-dipping a bump-and-run shot again.
So, where’s the justice? What’s the answer? What’s the real secret? What’s the deal?
Well, let’s answer those questions in order, shall we:
1) Where’s the Justice? The justice is found in realizing that “when you do the same as everybody else, all you’ll ever be is average”
(Adalius Thomas ~ Boys’ Latin Golf Practice, April 2006). Well, the average golfer reads golf magazines. Coincidentally (or not) the average golfer also shoots 97 and hits a big banana slice. So, the first thing to understand is that if you want to be something other than average you must instill understandings and disciplines that are not necessarily aligned with what everyone else is doing or thinking. In being different you are exposing yourself to the opportunity to achieve different results – and in this case, something different than a slice-induced 97 might be nice.
2) What’s the Answer? The answer is not to fully dismiss golf magazines (surprise!). The answer is to know
how to read them, and to treat instructional articles with skepticism. Each magazine breaks its articles into six basic categories: Statistics, Human Interest Stories, Tour Player Swing Analysis, General Interest, Editorial, and Instruction. Instruction oriented pieces are the hooks – they draw in the buyer through ridiculous cover-page promises. But they’re not the only articles. Wedged between the front and back covers are other features. These are nearly always safe to read. They do not necessarily focus on improving the games of the masses. They concentrate instead on interviews with tour players, frame-by-frame breakdowns of popular tour swings, humorous editorials by golf’s funnymen, and features on famous golf destinations around the world. These pieces have a great deal of substance, and can actually be very beneficial to read and absorb. In fact, many PGA Professionals have compiled swing libraries of Tour Professionals from frame-by-frame breakdowns torn from the pages of golf magazines (BL Coaches included). But beware mass-produced instruction. In golf, like in many other life avenues, one size does not fit all – and it would be dangerous to assume that one instructional tip could fit the games of an entire subscriber base. Be skeptical of mass-produced instruction. Question its suitability for your swing. Question its impact to your game plan. Question the interest of its source. And most importantly, question its placement in your current course of development. More times than not, answers to these questions will be solidified through interaction with the PGA Professional that is currently working with you on your game. If you have thoughts, opinions or questions relating to an instruction article that you read, take them to your PGA Professional. He/She will help you decide if the tip is indeed a healing elixir or in fact a deadly poison.
Where’s the Real Secret? “The secret’s in the dirt,” Ben Hogan once said when he was asked what he knew about the golf swing that nobody else knew. Hogan was not alluding to the notion that a buried treasure lie beneath the reporters who huddled around him; but rather that the real secret to heightened achievement in golf could only be found by taking divots – lots of divots. The secret was in the practice and in the hard work. Hogan worked harder than anybody at developing his game. When he attained self-actualization on the links, he was faced not with praise for his discipline, but rather with questions about a “secret” – something that he must know that the rest of the world didn’t. There was no such secret. Only a desire to do what others weren’t willing to do – work hard, very hard, for a long, long time. But Hogan had something else also…a game plan – a detailed understanding of his golf swing and sound judgment relating to what was true insight and what was bunk. He filtered out the noise and focused on the substance. And when he worked, he worked with intention – never tinkering, always polishing. The secret for the achiever today is still in the dirt. To succeed, one must practice with intensity and purpose – and take divots from the earth with a focus not on fluff, but on principle.
What’s the Deal? The deal is this: If you ignore the noise and concentrate on what you know to be true, you will succeed – both on and off the golf course. Take stride to understand the difference between truth and fiction. And approach amazing claims with a heightened degree of skepticism – especially when they cost you money.
