College golf is fun, but the adjustment is humbling, and not always easy.
If you've landed on a college golf team, it's probably because you've experienced some level of success at the junior golf level. But once you get to college, that starts to change. You're surrounded, and competing, by players of similar ability level. And because you're a freshman on the team, you're probably deep down the pecking order.
It's tempting, in those moments, to begin trying to transform your game. What you have doesn't feel like it's enough, so the only thing to do is make wholesale changes to your game, and your golf swing.
But that, as we discuss in the latest episode of the Golf IQ podcast (which you can listen to below and subscribe to here) is the worst thing you can do.
Don't panic overhaul your game. Refine it.
As me and my episode co-host Maddi MacClurg discuss in the episode, and as PGA Tour pro explains, it's important for college golfers to remember during these down moments that the game that got you onto the team is good enough to become a big part of it.
"You don’t need to reinvent your swing or your game to make your team," Poston says. "Learning how to refine what you do is much more important than trying to become somebody else.”
What does that mean? It means focusing on incremental progress. Working with your coach to identify different areas of your game you need to improve. Practicing more efficiently. Tweaking your swing, rather than transforming it, under the advice of a coach. Working out in the gym under the eye of a trainer, and adding speed in a way that won't leave you injured. You may not find your eureka moment, but you won’t need to. You'll be inching your way towards your goals in a sustainable way. And the rest of your team will be better for it.
Once again, you can listen to the full episode below (and subscribe to the pod here)