Failing Forward

By: Gregg Steinberg, WGCA contributing writer When Dustin Johnson lost the lead to Ian Poulter during the final round at the WGC-HSBC, he did not force the issue and get too aggressive, leading to a blow-up hole or two.  The wiser and more seasoned Johnson has learned from his past mistakes.   He said he must be patient and stick with his game plan and let the scores happen. It worked, and DJ found the winner’s circle to what he called “the biggest win so far in my career.”   We all make mistakes. We all fail at times in our golfing life. We have all had a few terrible holes and many horrendous rounds. We have all seen the greatest golfers in the world fail, as well. However, the most successful golfers use failure as a springboard to greater days on the links.   Dustin Johnson has failed forward.  He has used his mistakes in the past as lessons well learned. Here are a few suggestions to fail forward in your golfing career:   1)      Be real about your mistakes. Realize that failing in golf and performing poorly at times is part of golf. Take it easy on yourself when you hit some bad shots and have a bad hole. One of the greatest golfers of all time, Ben Hogan, expected to hit five stinkers a round. 2)      Create a failing forward journal. After each round, write down five mistakes you made. Then write down what you learned from those mistakes and move on. The importance of this mental exercise is that you no longer dwell on the mistakes. Focus only on what is gained in knowledge from each experience.   But, don’t just think about what you should have done. Go out and practice the skills you need to improve, both mental ones and physical ones. As legendary basketball coach John Wooden once said, “Failure is not failure unless it is failure to change.”   Dr. Gregg Steinberg is a regular guest every Tuesday on “Talk of the Tour,” heard on the Sirius/XM’s PGA Tour Radio. He is a tenured professor of sports psychology and has been the mental game coach for many PGA Tour players.  Dr. Steinberg is the author of the bestselling golf psychology book MentalRules for Teaching Golf, which can be obtained by calling 888-346-3290.