The 2020 golf season is still a ways out for an Alaskan like me, but I’ve had a moment of clarity about what it takes to be competitive in golf. The first step is to choose a method of play.

A big mistake I’ve made in the past is to try too hard to play perfect golf, meaning I tried to hit perfectly straight shots all the time. When shots started drifting off target, I tried to get them back on target, even while in the middle of a tournament round. This results in a never-ending chasing of one’s tail and a lack of focus on the task at hand, which is winning.

In my most successful competitive events over the years, I didn’t always have my best golf swing, but I knew exactly what I was trying to do with every shot I hit. I think of one time in which all my shots were hard, short draws. They weren’t pretty at all, but I knew the ball would draw every time, no matter what and I stuck with it and I scored well and won.

So, what will my method be heading into 2020? I’ll write more about that later, but at least I know I need a method. That’s an important first step.