Instruction
Why your comfort zone is killing your golf game
As the golf clock ticks we all get trapped in repeating habits, and a golfer’s “comfort zone” is most often below where he or she is capable of playing.
What people may not know about these repeating habits is that they often don’t recognize them, and acknowledging them is key because they shape what they can and can’t do. People become comfortable with these behaviors, and they end up running the show.
Most people are familiar with the idea of comfort zone: the space where your activities and behaviors fit a routine and pattern that minimizes stress and risk. It’s a comfortable place where people aren’t threatened and everything always stays the same, and that offers mental security.
The Comfort Zone Explained
There’s a lot of science that highlights why it’s so challenging to break out of your comfort zone, and why it’s good for you when you do it. With a little understanding and a few adjustments, you can break away from your comfort zone on the course…and this will lead to rewarding improvement in your game.
In 1908, psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dodson showed that a state of comfort created a steady level of performance. They also highlighted that if you want to increase your performance, a state of relative anxiety is needed – a place where stress levels are slightly higher than normal. This is called Optimal Anxiety and it’s beyond your comfort zone. Further, they also showed that too much anxiety can produce too much stress, leading to performance drop-offs. So finding the right balance for you in your game is key.
You are not alone in the quest to expand your comfort zone. The leading professional golfers and other athletes I work with daily are constantly working to shift their comfort zone and find the place leading to higher performance. If you want to become a better player and see improvement, finding your own approach to shift your comfort zone is an important exercise for you too.
The Golf Treadmill
Let me give you an example of my first introduction to the comfort zone.
When I was growing up at the golf club, I did the scoring each year at the club championship. I stood at the scoreboard and marked scores of the membership. Players were categorized in four divisions (A, B, C and D) based on handicap index. I saw the same faces each year, and year after year the same players turned in basically the same scores.
I always wondered how it was possible that a golfer could play 
(and practice) the game for 10, 20 or 30 years and stay in the same division every year without any real shift in improvement. I saw little shift between divisions from year-to-year.
The answer is these players, over time, became comfortable with where they were and never addressed how they might shift their comfort zone and move to another level of play.
The longer you stay in the same comfort zone, the more it shrinks and the harder it is to expand it. And the more you continue to do the same things, make the same mistakes and engrain the same habits, the more your comfort zone shrinks – and you become THAT player – your identity.
What Causes You to Be in the Comfort Zone?
You’ve seen it many times. You or your playing partners start playing great or “out of your mind” and then whammo – a string of poor play occurs. This often happens when a player has some good play early and then subconsciously slips back to “where he or she should be.”
In your golf game, your comfort zone is determined by the range of scores you typically shoot – let’s say between 85 and 90. Whenever you play, you’d like to shoot a lower score, but you are expecting a result in your “usual” range. Inevitably, you’ll have rounds where you flirt with scores outside your zone; maybe you reach the turn at 3-over par, recognizing that a similar back nine will give you a score well under your normal zone.
Then what happens?
You start thinking about what could be. You start playing defensively, trying to “protect” your great round. Next thing you know, you’ve adjusted everything back to your comfort zone and the career round fades away.
I’m sure you’ve also seen the reverse happen. You are playing terrible and then a sudden surge of good play at the end of the round mysteriously puts you back in your comfort zone.
What are Your Roadblocks to Growth as a Player?
We all have roadblocks to growth. In spite of your efforts to grow and get better, certain walls can interfere with your progress. Here are a few that may be familiar to you:
Fear of growth (not feeling safe to grow): A major barrier is what is called the “I’m stuck” syndrome. “I’ve always played that way, so how could I possibly change?” You feel stuck at times, and when you do, you don’t feel great about yourself… or your game.
A negative view of yourself as a golfer: You see and know yourself as a “D” player or someone who struggles to shoot good scores, so that’s where you stay as a golfer.
Skepticism: You believe any steps you take to improve won’t work or will be a waste of time. “I tried that and it didn’t work.”
Uncertainty regarding how to begin or what direction to take: You don’t know how to get better, how to evaluate your game or what steps to take to do it.
Challenging yourself emotionally: Force yourself to work on your weaknesses. It’s not an easy thing to do, and not as fun as the feeling of working on your strengths and seeing a good result.
It’s too late for me to change, I’m too old or I don’t have enough time: You use excuses that it’s not the right time to improve your game. This is a state of procrastination.
The most important factor for you to break out of your comfort zone is asking yourself why you are doing it. It can’t be for contrived or superficial reasons. You must be genuinely interested in improvement, and know what benefits you want to get out of it.
Build Slowly
Expanding the perimeter of your comfort zone by slowly and intelligently pushing your barriers will build confidence. The process should be methodical and progressive. Don’t run out and try to change your entire game overnight. Evaluate what needs to be done – physically, mentally and emotionally to move up a level – and create the steps to get there. It will be a gradual process and almost guaranteed won’t be a straight line.
Some Ideas to Start Expanding Your Comfort Zone
Face Your Fears: Stepping out of your comfort zone will probably cause some fear, and the dreaded “what ifs” are the downfall of many players.
- What if I fail?
- What if I really can’t do this?
- What if I’m not good enough?
Stay in the moment and do things slowly and purposefully. A committed plan with reasonable milestones will give you the confidence to get to a new place.
Change Your Routine: You can begin growing your comfort zone through small changes in your approach to the game, adding 45 minutes each week in short game practice, taking one lesson per week working on building limitations, or getting to the course 30 minutes early to warm up. Break out of your normal routine to help break through mental barriers. Create a goal to perform a new swing movement, task, or practice regime each week.
Get Out of Your Own Way: See yourself in a new light, because you probably put self-induced limits on yourself. The truth is that sometimes you’ve just got to get out of your own way. If you begin seeing yourself as a better player, chances are you will be. Raise your opinion of your game and yourself and you will set the table for better performance.
Time to Change: Comfort feels all cozy and warm when you’re in it, but it’s also a double-edged sword. Stay comfortable for too long and you begin to get bored, lazy and too satisfied. If you want to improve, avoid being a walking golf zombie: just another “D” player that does what he/she has always done. Challenge your status quo, push your limits and you’ll see the game in a new light.
It won’t be easy, but I think you’ll like the results.
There may be no more painful affliction in golf than the “yips” – those uncontrollable and maddening little nervous twitches that prevent you from making a decent stroke on short putts. If you’ve never had them, consider yourself very fortunate (or possibly just very young). But I can assure you that when your most treacherous and feared golf shot is not the 195 yard approach over water with a quartering headwind…not the extra tight fairway with water left and sand right…not the soft bunker shot to a downhill pin with water on the other side…No, when your most feared shot is the remaining 2- 4-foot putt after hitting a great approach, recovery or lag putt, it makes the game almost painful.
And I’ve been fighting the yips (again) for a while now. It’s a recurring nightmare that has haunted me most of my adult life. I even had the yips when I was in my 20s, but I’ve beat them into submission off and on most of my adult life. But just recently, that nasty virus came to life once again. My lag putting has been very good, but when I get over one of those “you should make this” length putts, the entire nervous system seems to go haywire. I make great practice strokes, and then the most pitiful short-stroke or jab at the ball you can imagine. Sheesh.
But I’m a traditionalist, and do not look toward the long putter, belly putter, cross-hand, claw or other variation as the solution. My approach is to beat those damn yips into submission some other way. Here’s what I’m doing that is working pretty well, and I offer it to all of you who might have a similar affliction on the greens.
When you are over a short putt, forget the practice strokes…you want your natural eye-hand coordination to be unhindered by mechanics. Address your putt and take a good look at the hole, and back to the putter to ensure good alignment. Lighten your right hand grip on the putter and make sure that only the fingertips are in contact with the grip, to prevent you from getting to tight.
Then, take a long, long look at the hole to fill your entire mind and senses with the target. When you bring your head/eyes back to the ball, try to make a smooth, immediate move right into your backstroke — not even a second pause — and then let your hands and putter track right back together right back to where you were looking — the HOLE! Seeing the putter make contact with the ball, preferably even the forward edge of the ball – the side near the hole.
For me, this is working, but I am asking all of you to chime in with your own “home remedies” for the most aggravating and senseless of all golf maladies. It never hurts to have more to fall back on!
Over the last couple of decades, golf has become much more science-based. We measure swing speed, smash factor, angle of attack, strokes gained, and many other metrics that can really help golfers improve. But I often wonder if the advancement of golf’s “hard” sciences comes at the expense of the “soft” sciences.
Take, for example, golf instruction. Good golf instruction requires understanding swing mechanics and ball flight. But let’s take that as a given for PGA instructors. The other factors that make an instructor effective can be evaluated by social science, rather than launch monitors.
If you are a recreational golfer looking for a golf instructor, here are my top three points to consider.
1. Cultural mindset
What is “cultural mindset? To social scientists, it means whether a culture of genius or a culture of learning exists. In a golf instruction context, that may mean whether the teacher communicates a message that golf ability is something innate (you either have it or you don’t), or whether golf ability is something that can be learned. You want the latter!
It may sound obvious to suggest that you find a golf instructor who thinks you can improve, but my research suggests that it isn’t a given. In a large sample study of golf instructors, I found that when it came to recreational golfers, there was a wide range of belief systems. Some instructors strongly believed recreational golfers could improve through lessons. while others strongly believed they could not. And those beliefs manifested in the instructor’s feedback given to a student and the culture created for players.
2. Coping and self-modeling can beat role-modeling
Swing analysis technology is often preloaded with swings of PGA and LPGA Tour players. The swings of elite players are intended to be used for comparative purposes with golfers taking lessons. What social science tells us is that for novice and non-expert golfers, comparing swings to tour professionals can have the opposite effect of that intended. If you fit into the novice or non-expert category of golfer, you will learn more and be more motivated to change if you see yourself making a ‘better’ swing (self-modeling) or seeing your swing compared to a similar other (a coping model). Stay away from instructors who want to compare your swing with that of a tour player.
3. Learning theory basics
It is not a sexy selling point, but learning is a process, and that process is incremental – particularly for recreational adult players. Social science helps us understand this element of golf instruction. A good instructor will take learning slowly. He or she will give you just about enough information that challenges you, but is still manageable. The artful instructor will take time to decide what that one or two learning points are before jumping in to make full-scale swing changes. If the instructor moves too fast, you will probably leave the lesson with an arm’s length of swing thoughts and not really know which to focus on.
As an instructor, I develop a priority list of changes I want to make in a player’s technique. We then patiently and gradually work through that list. Beware of instructors who give you more than you can chew.
So if you are in the market for golf instruction, I encourage you to look beyond the X’s and O’s to find the right match!
Most pros take months, even years, to win their first tournament. Lottie Woad needed exactly four days.
The 21-year-old from Surrey shot 21-under 267 at Dundonald Links to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three shots — in her very first event as a professional. She’s only the third player in LPGA history to accomplish this feat, joining Rose Zhang (2023) and Beverly Hanson (1951).
But here’s what caught my attention as a coach: Woad didn’t win through miraculous putting or bombing 300-yard drives. She won through relentless precision and unshakeable composure. After watching her performance unfold, I’m convinced every golfer — from weekend warriors to scratch players — can steal pages from her playbook.
Precision Beats Power (And It’s Not Even Close)
Forget the driving contests. Woad proved that finding greens matters more than finding distance.
What Woad did:
• Hit it straight, hit it solid, give yourself chances
• Aimed for the fat parts of greens instead of chasing pins
• Let her putting do the talking after hitting safe targets
• As she said, “Everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots”
Why most golfers mess this up:
• They see a pin tucked behind a bunker and grab one more club to “go right at it”
• Distance becomes more important than accuracy
• They try to be heroic instead of smart
ACTION ITEM: For your next 10 rounds, aim for the center of every green regardless of pin position. Track your greens in regulation and watch your scores drop before your swing changes.
The Putter That Stayed Cool Under Fire
Woad started the final round two shots clear and immediately applied pressure with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes. When South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim mounted a charge and reached 20-under with a birdie at the 14th, Woad didn’t panic.
How she responded to pressure:
• Fired back with consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th
• Watched Kim stumble with back-to-back bogeys
• Capped it with her fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 18th
• Stayed patient when others pressed, pressed when others cracked
What amateurs do wrong:
• Get conservative when they should be aggressive
• Try to force magic when steady play would win
• Panic when someone else makes a move
ACTION ITEM: Practice your 3-6 foot putts for 15 minutes after every range session. Woad’s putting wasn’t spectacular—it was reliable. Make the putts you should make.
Course Management 101: Play Your Game, Not the Course’s Game
Woad admitted she couldn’t see many scoreboards during the final round, but it didn’t matter. She stuck to her game plan regardless of what others were doing.
Her mental approach:
• Focused on her process, not the competition
• Drew on past pressure situations (Augusta National Women’s Amateur win)
• As she said, “That was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win. So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this”
Her physical execution:
• 270-yard drives (nothing flashy)
• Methodical iron play
• Steady putting
• Everything effective, nothing spectacular
ACTION ITEM: Create a yardage book for your home course. Know your distances to every pin, every hazard, every landing area. Stick to your plan no matter what your playing partners are doing.
Mental Toughness Isn’t Born, It’s Built
The most impressive part of Woad’s win? She genuinely didn’t expect it: “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win my first event as a pro, but I knew I was playing well, and I was hoping to contend.”
Her winning mindset:
• Didn’t put winning pressure on herself
• Focused on playing well and contending
• Made winning a byproduct of a good process
• Built confidence through recent experiences:
- Won the Women’s Irish Open as an amateur
- Missed a playoff by one shot at the Evian Championship
- Each experience prepared her for the next
What this means for you:
• Stop trying to shoot career rounds every time you tee up
• Focus on executing your pre-shot routine
• Commit to every shot
• Stay present in the moment
ACTION ITEM: Before each round, set process goals instead of score goals. Example: “I will take three practice swings before every shot” or “I will pick a specific target for every shot.” Let your score be the result, not the focus.
The Real Lesson
Woad collected $300,000 for her first professional victory, but the real prize was proving that fundamentals still work at golf’s highest level. She didn’t reinvent the game — she simply executed the basics better than everyone else that week.
The fundamentals that won:
• Hit more fairways
• Find more greens
• Make the putts you should make
• Stay patient under pressure
That’s something every golfer can do, regardless of handicap. Lottie Woad just showed us it’s still the winning formula.
FINAL ACTION ITEM: Pick one of the four action items above and commit to it for the next month. Master one fundamental before moving to the next. That’s how champions are built.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” on RG.org each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more Tips!
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kik hack spy tool
Oct 2, 2015 at 3:19 am
Many players often join to play with their friends who
are at a higher level and will have to play non-stop to get to a high enough level to join them.
Philip
Jul 3, 2015 at 5:49 pm
A lot of truth in the concept of comfort zones. I see it plentiful within myself and others around me. However, for golf it does not apply to me as I have deliberately decided a few years ago when I got back into golf to always push myself outside my comfort zone to prove to myself how good I could be at something if I worked hard at it, kept setting higher goals, and never quit. Occasionally, I think that it would be more enjoyable if I just settled into a comfort zone and cruised, but I already do that too much in my life. My golf journey is a catalyst to living and to stop just existing.
DrCRHop
Jun 30, 2015 at 11:03 am
Unfortunately, mice and rats are not humans. And even though they can and are used in studies, many of those do not translate to humans. Anxiety studies are notoriously wrought with issues trying to translate rodents to humans. So, although you quote the person from the NIH, and what they said is true in some instances, any study to do with the CNS (anxiety/depression/etc) are not translatable. Mice are not small rats, and rats are not small people. Quite a stretch the tie them together.
John Haime
Jun 30, 2015 at 2:03 pm
Hey Dr.CRHop,
Would be pleased to take this offline with you and explain. Conversation definitely getting away from the original intention. A focus on mice is not the focus to help GolfWRX readers with their game.
As you know, Yerkes Dodson is the most quoted experiment in psychology in the area of optimal anxiety and the parabolic performance curve. If I am stretching this – some of the leading psychologists in history have also done the same thing – so I’m in good company (:
Would be pleased to help you with your game and how you might play better.
Cheers!
Alex
Jun 30, 2015 at 9:03 am
This “comfort zone” theory seems to be true when you talk about amateur golf. I’m a lower single digit handicap so at my club I’m at the top of the pyramid. I feel ok about that. Could I play better? Yes, of course, but It’d imply working harder at my golf.
The bracket next to the top at my club always wants a more inclusive Club Championship. They say more players need to have a possibility to compete. That’s classic comfort zone. They don’t think “If I work harder I can reach the upper echelon”
In golf if you want to seriously improve you need to peel your ass off and you need to have goals to meet. Most amateurs don’t take lessons, they check on the internet for quick fixes, or they buy the magical club. That’s the path to failure.
It’s not necessary to be gifted to be an accomplished player. It’s all about attitude.
John Haime
Jun 30, 2015 at 4:06 pm
Good points Alex. Yes, goals – defining them and the plan to reach them is a good step in expanding comfort zone.
And yes, great point. Attitude is key.
Cheers.
other paul
Jun 28, 2015 at 10:47 pm
When ever i think that a hole is important I mess it up. I much prefer to write my score on a little piece of paper in my pocket and not actually read it. Then total it at the end.
May be typos
Jun 28, 2015 at 9:18 am
anyone can be great at golf,
They just need the right nail drill
other paul
Jun 28, 2015 at 10:44 pm
Ha ha ha
James Fairbank
Jun 28, 2015 at 7:34 am
The Yerkes-Dodson law is an outdated and simplified explanation of the anxiety/performance relationship. The notion of “stepping outside of your comfort zone” is not an original thought either, and has been replicated (I’m assuming unsourced) over and over on many different pop psychology blogs. I encourage anyone to google the phrases “comfort zone where the magic happens” or “your comfort zone real life” and notice the countless images that pop-up expressing these ideas to see what I’m talking about. I am curious to read more information and the expansion to the theory, which you offered in a comment above.
John Haime
Jun 29, 2015 at 1:55 pm
Hi James,
Thanks for the comments.
As you know, there is only so much detail that can be included in a short article. The Yerkes Dodson experiment is a good illustration of the performance/anxiety relationship – and important because it was the initial structure for other work. Articles here are to inspire thought, consider the subject, consider how it might apply to you and create some action. My role here is to introduce, inspire further thought and give some potential solutions. I am hoping readers will consider the subject, see it is important and be inspired to learn more.
Expansion of comfort zone is more relevant than stepping outside of a comfort zone. Everyone has a comfort zone – but expanding beyond the current state is the key.
Please email me at john@newedgeperformance.org and happy to send you more detailed info related to this area.
Thanks again James,
John
Alex
Jun 27, 2015 at 12:33 pm
Great article. It’s got me thinking…
4pillars
Jun 26, 2015 at 2:45 pm
The 1908 experiment By Yerks and Dobson was on mice,
Couldn’t you cone up with more relevant real data
John Haime
Jun 26, 2015 at 3:23 pm
Thanks 4pillars.
Yes, Yerkes/Dodson – two noted psychologists originally conducted the experiment on mice. It was to start the argument that stimulation up to certain levels increases performance – but stimulation above certain levels can cause decrease in performance. Directly related to comfort zone and finding your own space to expand you comfort zone. Based on this initial reseach – the introduction of the concept of “Optimal Anxiety” was introduced, many others have validated that this is indeed relevant in performance.
The Yerkes/Dodson work points out the roots of the work – much expansion since then.
Would be pleased to provide more info if required.
The idea of comfort zone is a great topic and has been looked at closely in performance.
The best to you,
John
John Haime
Jun 26, 2015 at 3:36 pm
One more quick note 4pillars – directly from Live Science …
The reason rodents are used as models in medical testing is that their genetic, biological and behavior characteristics closely resemble those of humans, and many symptoms of human conditions can be replicated in mice and rats. “Rats and mice are mammals that share many processes with humans and are appropriate for use to answer many research questions,” said Jenny Haliski, a representative for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare.
Mice also make efficient research animals because their anatomy, physiology and genetics are well-understood by researchers, making it easier to tell what changes in the mice’s behaviors or characteristics are caused by.
John Haime
Jun 26, 2015 at 4:06 pm
4Pillars – one more piece of info FYI – that might help … research often begins with mice to demonstrate ideas …
A primary reason mice are used as models in medical testing is that their genetic, biological and behavior characteristics closely resemble those of humans, and many symptoms of human conditions can be replicated in mice and rats. “Rats and mice are mammals that share many processes with humans and are appropriate for use to answer many research questions,” said Jenny Haliski, a representative for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare.
Mice also make efficient research animals because their anatomy, physiology and genetics are well-understood by researchers, making it easier to tell what changes in the mice’s behaviors or characteristics are caused by.
ca1879
Jun 26, 2015 at 10:00 am
Nice little fantasy, but most people play at the level that their talent and preparation allow. The reason you saw the same faces in the same groups year after year is dead obvious. They weren’t in their comfort zone, they were in their talent zone. All the pop psychology in the world isn’t going to turn a duffer into a club champion.
MHendon
Jun 26, 2015 at 11:00 am
Not entirely true. I for one tend to start playing poorly when I have a few holes left and I’m a shot or two under par at that point. I’ll swear I’m not feeling the pressure but it happens almost every time. One of my best examples of that is a few years ago going into the 18th a par five at my home course I was 3 under thinking par ties my best, birdie gives me a new best. I ended up quadruple bogeying it. The crazy thing is the week before and the week after when it didn’t matter I eagled the hole.
John Haime
Jun 26, 2015 at 11:30 am
Hey CA,
Thanks for the comment and perspective.
FYI – shifting comfort zone is not a fantasy. I do this every day with leading athletes and we generate results and change levels.
I agree that someone with limited physical talent can jump to a level of club champion – but, if patient, with the right process, they can significantly shift their ability level.
I think your comment really highlights the roadblocks I highlight in the article. If you don’t think you can do it – you never will. The subconscious mind is incredibly powerful and what you feed into it – comes out the other side.
Thanks again for adding to the conversation.