Just like everyday life, when we play a round of golf, there is a lot of unpredictability. There are endless possibilities for what could happen, that we don’t have control over. But what we can control (and our success depends on it) is how well we can manage our response to what happens, so we get the best out of ourselves in every round.
This is why expectations don’t serve any purpose in golf. You can’t expect anything to happen. If you do, it will only lead to frustration. What you can expect is variability, so you may as well prepare for it and embrace it.
The variability we get in golf is a good thing. In fact, it’s part of what keeps us coming back. If every round was 100% predictable, the game would be nowhere near as fun.
Top players have learned how to be adaptable and become Masters of Variability. For this reason, they feel fully prepared for anything that could happen and they are more confident as a result.
That said, you don’t want to spend time worrying about what could happen. It’s better to allocate time to thinking about the possible variables and how you will manage them (and practice them), so you can be fully present during each phase of the round. Predicting variability and developing your plan to manage it should be an ongoing part of your “process”.
