On The Tee with Hank Johnson

Preparation is the foundation for success. Complete preparation is the most important part of any learning process.

To better understand the significance of preparation, picture an iceberg floating in the sea (no this is not another story about the Titanic). The visible tip of the iceberg represents the skill that a good golfer displays in competition. The remainder of the iceberg represents their preparation for the competition. It may not be visible from the surface but without the bottom part of the iceberg which usually represents about (7/8) seven-eights of its total size the showy top part, the other (1/8) one-eighth would roll over and sink. When you watch great players perform in a tournament just remember how well prepared they must be to get there in the first place.

In fact learning to be a good golfer is very much like building a house. The skills that everyone sees are like the visible part or the upper house structure. Preparation is like the foundation of the house. Much of the foundation is below the surface of the ground and even the part that shows isn’t usually very flashy. No one drives by a house and says “Wow!! Will you look at that classy foundation!” yet without a solid foundation on stable ground even the most beautiful house is unstable and will fall down.

The most effective form of preparation involves a step-by-step approach to the task at hand. Anything and everything in life can be broken down into its component parts and the more adept you become at this preliminary to accomplishment the more you’ll amaze yourself by what you can do. If you learn to focus your energies on each of the intermediate steps, you will make the process of preparation much more manageable and enjoyable and almost with out noticing your progress, you will find yourself nearer and nearer to your goal.

With this approach “difficulty” has no absolute meaning; it is only relative to the quality of your preparation. If you are fully prepared - if you have developed all of the skills required - then nothing will be difficult for you.

An intelligent and patient teacher can be a tremendous asset to your preparation. Choose with great care. The important thing is not what a teacher knows but what his students know; not what he can do but what they can do.

In many cases, preparation involves the dull stuff that no one likes to do. Preparation is, however, the foundation for success and the most important part of any learning process. To quote my friend Dennis Waitley, “success lies at the intersection of preparation and opportunity.” Make sure you are fully prepared when your opportunity comes.