Last updated Nov 04, 2023
The Ladder Analogy in Golf
Golf improvement is like none other. You practice one day and get worse the next. Recognizing this is critical to your success.
Written By: Zach Gollwitzer
Posted in: Golf Mental Game
For the longest time, I've struggled to keep my mind quiet on the golf course. I've had way too many swing thoughts that get in the way of optimal performance. A year ago, I listened to Jason Dufner speak at a dinner, and learned something that changed my mindset forever.
He asked everyone in the room to imagine golf improvement as a ladder.
You start at the bottom, and each successful practice session (if you don't have a strategy or you don't know what you're doing, then you may never have a successful practice session) allows you to take a few steps up the ladder.
There's a catch to this ladder analogy though.
Every time you play, you must entirely forget about everything you have worked on, and trust it.
This causes you to temporarily revert to old habits, and you have to take a step down the ladder.
Dufner said that in order to be successful getting your practice to the course, and improving in golf, you must take 2 steps up for every one step down.
Work hard on the practice range, forget about it on the course, and then get your butt back to the practice range.
It is this discipline that is required to improve your golf game.
Eventually you will make it.
Golf improvement takes TIME.
About the author: Zach Gollwitzer
Hey, I‘m Zach, the founder of The DIY Golfer! I created this site while playing D1 collegiate golf with a simple mission—I wanted to learn the golf swing and get better at golf myself.
Fast forward a few years, and my “journal“, The DIY Golfer, has been viewed by millions of golfers worldwide looking to do the same with their games. my mission is to make golfers more consistent in just a few hours a week through advanced practice strategies and timeless, first-principle golf instruction.
