I want to with the British Open next year is a SMART goal. It’s specific (The British Open), it’s measurable (Win), it’s attainable (it’s an ‘Open’), it’s realistic (a good, consistent golfer can achieve this), it’s timely (next year).

Now there’s a whole lot of sub-goals, or outcomes, involved in getting to this point, but as a goal, it’s pretty good. So, what’s your SMART goal for your golf?

Some SMART examples:
I want to win the Augusta Masters in ten years time.
I want to break 80 this year.
I want to play 40 times this year.
I want to drive over 240 yards by October.

Whatever your goal, I’d like to ask you this: “For what purpose?”

Your answer is important. Keep asking yourself that same question for each response. This can take some time, but it’s so worth while – at the end you find the real driver (no pun intended) to help you achieve it. Here’s an example from one of our coaching sessions:
“I want to break 80 this year”
For what purpose?
“To improve my game”
For what purpose?
“So that I’ll know I’ve improved”
For what purpose?
“So that I can beat my friend”
For what purpose?
“‘cos I want to win”
For what purpose?
“Because I like to win”
For what purpose
“To prove I’m the better player
For what purpose? This went on for a while in a loop from winning to better player and round.
For what purpose winning and being the better player?
“To be happy”
For what purpose?
“To be at peace with myself”
“and satisfied”
“and joyful”

Once the loop is broken through, the real drivers often come flooding out.
For this individual – the ‘real’ reason to break 80 is to be satisfied, at peace and joyful – the winning and being the better player is just a confirmatory result.

The best and easiest way to do this is to work with someone else. They coach you through the ‘for what purpose?’ and not let go until you say something ‘valuable’. Again, you’ll know when this happens – you’ll in fact observe a big change in physiology – a ‘warm glow’ is how it is frequently described.

Why is this important? Well, you like to know why you’re doing something don’t you? Just imagine if everything you did, every day, had a known purpose for you. How great would that be?