He’s done it!!! Darren Clarke has shown us all that age, form and beauty count for nothing when it comes to being the Champion Golfer of the Year 2011! Whilst many young golfers obsess about developing the perfect body and swing, I doubt we’ll see hoards of youngsters rushing out to model The Open Champion. Yet you could not find a more deserving role model in the game! In conditions at Royal St George’s that could only be described as brutal, he prevailed just as strong at the end as he was at the start.

So how did he win? By being the coolest customer out there.

And how did he do that? By loving every shot.

And how did he do that? Well…

You could say it was because he had no pressure of expectation put on him. You could say that his experience of playing in all sorts of conditions at Royal Portrush is what did it. Or you could say that the work he has done with NLP mind coaching gurus over the years has finally come together. Whatever it was, whilst others made their excuses, Darren got on with his job, one shot at a time, right to the 72^nd hole.

And this is my point. If you’ve followed his form over the last 5 years, he could have rightfully had more excuses than most. Yet whilst others gave in to their excuses, he was having none of it. He refused to get frustrated. He refused to give away his power to the elements or the golf course.

Whenever we fail to live up to our hopes or expectations, we all have reasons, such as:

• I don’t have enough time to play/practise
• I’m too old/not strong enough/don’t have the physique
• I don’t have the best equipment/coach/facilities
• I don’t have enough natural talent
• The weather wasn’t very good
• Etc etc!!

Yet these reasons are merely excuses. The more we think those excuses are real or valid, the more we give away our power to play our best. The weird thing with excuses is that whether you choose to empower either:

1. Yourself, or

2. Your reasons

…you will prove yourself right!

The more you focus on why you can’t succeed, the more you’ll make sure you don’t! Yet the more you choose to commit to, and learn from, every shot you play, the better you will play, DESPITE THE REASONS. Much like beliefs, they are self-fulfilling prophecies.

This is what impressed me most about Darren Clarke’s performance. He had no excuses. He didn’t need them. He was just committed to playing his best, one shot at a time.

So what excuses have you got? List them down now. If you’d like, please send me your reasons and I’ll help relieve you of them! Maybe it’s time to let your playing partners keep empowering their reasons whilst you get on and love playing every shot.

If you’re ready to give yourself that commitment, I’m giving away audio mental golf tips through a series of six free tipcasts to help you through the toughest parts of the game. Sign up for my newsletter now if you would like to receive these.

Love every shot!

Adam Sprackling