Baker Golf

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐟 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝.

With Baker Golf Online Coaching, I bring over 20 years of coaching experience straight to your phone, tablet, or PC:
📱 Upload your swing videos from anywhere
🎥 Receive honest, direct, step-by-step video analysis
🎯 Get simple, actionable fixes (no complicated swing rebuilds)
Whether you’re trying to break 90, lower your handicap, or just hit the ball cleaner and more consistently, online coaching gives you expert eyes on your game whenever you need them.

Life is short. You should be playing better than you imagined. Start now. Visit bakergolf.co.za/ -coaching to check out my online coaching options, or Send a Message to start a conversation today!

𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐓. You should be playing golf better than you imagined.

Get proper mentoring from Owen Baker. Send Owen a message or email him [email protected] and start now.

𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐓.
You should be playing golf better than you imagined. Get proper mentoring from Owen Baker. Send Owen a message or email him [email protected] and start now.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 '𝐅𝐢𝐱𝐢𝐧𝐠' 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐊𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐟 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞

My online client Donny, a decent 13 handicap golfer from Boulders in Colorado, was making a fundamental error, and it had nothing to do with his swing mechanics. He was so focussed on tracking and fixing his mistakes that he began completely ignoring what works. It's a big reason as to is why most players plateau at their current handicap and never break through to the next level.

Your brain is evolutionarily programmed to focus on threats and problems. When you hit a terrible slice into the woods, that shot screams at you for the next three holes. But when you pure a 7-iron to eight feet, you barely acknowledge it before moving on to the next shot. This natural tendency is sabotaging your improvement faster than any technical flaw ever could.

At times, golf instruction isn't about swing positions or equipment adjustments. It's about understanding that your best shots contain all the information you need to play better golf. Every time you strike the ball exactly how you intended, your body performed a complex sequence of movements with perfect timing, rhythm, and coordination. Instead of dismissing these moments as lucky accidents, you should be studying them like a detective examines evidence.

𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅, 𝒎𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒔. 𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊s𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒅, 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕.

Think about your last round where you played well. You probably can't recall specific technical thoughts you had during your best shots. You were simply reacting and responding, trusting your natural swing. But I bet you remember every detail about the shots that went wrong and what you think caused them. This imbalanced attention pattern trains your nervous system to expect problems rather than success.

The science behind motor learning proves that focusing on successful movement patterns creates stronger neural pathways than trying to eliminate unsuccessful ones. When you repeatedly visualise and feel your best swings, you're literally rewiring your brain to reproduce those motions more consistently. Conversely, when you obsess over your mistakes, you're strengthening the very patterns you want to eliminate.

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞.
After every good shot, immediately take time to notice exactly how that swing felt. Pay attention to your tempo, your balance, the sensation of impact, and your finish position. Don't analyse or judge, just notice and file away that feeling. This simple practice creates a library of successful sensations your body can access under pressure.

For your short game, the same principle applies with even greater importance. Most golfers remember their chunked chips and bladed pitches in vivid detail but forget their perfect touch shots immediately. Start cataloguing your successful short shots with the same intensity you currently reserve for your failures. Notice the sensations - how your hands felt, how your body moved, and how the club interacted with the turf and ball.

Putting reveals this pattern most clearly because the margin for error is so small. Great putters have exceptional recall for the feeling of perfect strikes and perfect reads. They can reproduce successful putts because they've trained themselves to notice and remember what success feels like. Average putters focus entirely on what went wrong with their misses and wonder why they can't find consistency.

The transformation happens when you flip this attention pattern completely.

When you try this your brain will resist it initially. Problems naturally grab your attention while successes fade into the background. You must consciously train yourself to notice and celebrate what's working. The golfers who master this mental shift discover that their bad shots become less frequent without any technical changes to their swing.

Your muscle memory is constantly recording every swing you make. When you focus predominantly on mistakes, you're programming inconsistency into your system. When you focus on successes, you're programming reliability. The choice of what to rehearse mentally is entirely yours, and it may be the most important decision you make about your golf game.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲. There's real value in a quick, honest look at what went wrong so you can learn the lesson and make an adjustment if needed. The difference is duration and intensity. Glance at the mistake, extract the lesson, then let it go. Don't replay it, don't relive it, and don't let it occupy your mental space for the rest of the round or the drive home. Save your dwelling, your replaying, and your emotional energy for the good shots. That's a real investment.

The fastest way to lower your scores isn't to eliminate your worst shots but to reproduce your best ones more frequently. Your best shots already contain everything you need to know about proper technique, timing, and feel. Stop overlooking them and start learning from them. The improvement you're seeking isn't hiding in your problems; it's there in your successes, waiting for you to listen.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝?

If this article resonated with you, imagine what's possible with a coaching approach built entirely around this philosophy. Message me directly or send an email to [email protected] to start your transformation today. You can also visit bakergolf.co.za to learn more about how we can take your game to the next level.

Your best golf isn't behind you. It's waiting for you to start listening to it.

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐟 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝.
With Baker Golf Online Coaching, I bring over 20 years of coaching experience straight to your phone, tablet, or PC:
📱 Upload your swing videos from anywhere
🎥 Receive honest, direct, step-by-step video analysis
🎯 Get simple, actionable fixes (no complicated swing rebuilds)
Whether you’re trying to break 90, lower your handicap, or just hit the ball cleaner and more consistently, online coaching gives you expert eyes on your game whenever you need them.
Let’s get your game on track. Visit bakergolf.co.za/ -coaching to check out my online coaching options, or Send a Message to start a conversation today!

Baker Golf | Play Better Than You Imagined Owen Baker – Professional Golf Coach at Mossel Bay Golf Club. In-person lessons, online coaching, mindset coaching and playing lessons on the Garden Route.