The Four Foundations of Golf: How to Build a Game That Lasts a Lifetime

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Professional golfers are playing an entirely different game. Be careful assuming you have much to learn from them whenever you watch television broadcasts or read articles about their swing tips! TV is mostly a highlight reel of the best shots at any time. If they exclusively showed tour players at the bottom of the leaderboards missing cuts, you’d see a very different version of golf. A typical tour player will hit the ball about 20 feet from the hole with a full wedge shot in the fairway. This is an essential reference point for multiple reasons. A PGA Tour player will make bogey roughly 80% of the time in a recovery situation like being in the trees. Stop trying to be a hero! Putting is perhaps the most difficult and misunderstood part of golf. Golfers have their best chance of holing putts inside of 8 feet, and outside of those distances, it becomes more of a test of speed control and proximity. Birdies are very hard to come by, even for tour players. Lowering your scores is not about making more birdies; it’s more about mistake avoidance. In a way, I was shifting my mindset and identity. While I still have to work on these shots to maintain my skill, I believe I am an excellent intermediate wedge player. One of my favorite authors, James Clear, describes these as identity-based habits.

In my opinion, Jon’s book has three chapters that are worth the cost of the book alone. Much like the Buffett example above, these concepts shifted how I look at and approach the game of golf. They have nothing to do with swinging a golf club and are core ideas that apply to golf as a whole. It wasn’t easy, but now I genuinely believe that I am good at both. But I had to change my processes and habits along the way. As I kept slowly chipping away and celebrating my tiny accomplishments, I was also proving my new identity. I did not want to be the dissatisfied golfer who looked at the course with fear anymore. Using Grit On the Course When you’re looking to solve a problem in your golf game, having grit and the proper habits is usually a winning combination. I recommend the book Atomic Habits to just about everyone who follows Practical Golf. I was utterly terrified of intermediate wedge shots for years and would do anything to avoid leaving myself 30-80 yards from the hole. Eventually, I realized this was impossible to do, and to get better, I had to conquer the problem head-on. So I poured over Dave Pelz’s Short Game Bible. I highlighted, took notes, and made a genuine effort to absorb the information. However, golf might not be as serious as an endeavor for you. Or you might not even have many opportunities to play. I’ll let you make the ultimate decision, but grit might not be relevant or necessary for some. That’s the beauty of golf – there is no right or wrong in your approach. Exploring GritJon does an amazing job at quantifying the specific areas of your game that you need to improve if you want to start scoring better. This isn't just some random book filled with fluff. It's about understanding how to be more efficient with your time to get the most out of your game on various topics. He leaves no stone unturned. I highly recommend it!" I’m a big fan of Jon Sherman and Practical Golf. I also listen to The Sweet Spot podcast and appreciate what he and Adam are adding to the community. Since 2015, Practical Golf has been one of the top online game-improvement resources for golfers. Jon Sherman has written hundreds of articles, sharing his perspective as a “player-coach.” You can finally get all of the methods he’s used to become a scratch golfer and coach other golfers in one complete guide. Legendary investor Warren Buffett is often asked what book he recommends to new investors. His answer is The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham (aka the father of value investing).

Golfers tend to use their scores to measure how their day went. Because of the game’s inherent volatility, this can significantly alter enjoyment levels. Scoring ability is a relative concept in golf, but the scoring range is not. Whether you are a PGA Tour pro or a beginner, your scoring can fluctuate tremendously from one day to the next. It’s very normal! When most golfers improve, they typically can tighten their scoring windows and make their poor performances “not as bad.” A lot of golf is about mistake avoidance. Thinking about scoring potential as a bell curve can be helpful. Don’t expect low-probability events on the low side, and try to accept those that occur on the high side.

Along the way, I witnessed many of the same behaviors in others. What is most interesting is that having grit elsewhere in life does not necessarily mean it will translate to your golf game. I’ve played with successful business people, professional athletes, and plenty of other high achievers who undoubtedly have serious grit. But it was nowhere to be found once they teed it up. After a few bad swings, they would lose their composure and continue in a negative mindset for the rest of the day. My initial take: about 80% of what is covered in this book is in Lowest Score Wins. And in many cases, LSW covers it more effectively by giving succinct actionable advice. There’s a theme and flow that both books use: While I’m no master of grit, my experience has shown me its value over the years. Some parts of the game came easier to me at times than others. But eventually, I hit a lot of frustrating walls. Learn mental techniques to calm yourself, build routines, and stand over the ball with more confidence

You don't need to be perfect to have a great round of golf; you need to be patient. At least one part of your game is going to abandon you. If you can remind yourself that mistakes are OK and have the mental resolve to dig in, your scores will improve. Jon offers a genuinely unique perspective as a player-coach. His methods are tried and tested - and proven to help golfers worldwide get better without having to stand on a range all day, tinkering with their swing. The Four Foundations of Golf is an excellent addition to any golf library, explaining a wide range of improvement methods in great depth without being confusing. You'll get so much out of this book, you'd be a fool not to get it!"Its much more in depth. LSW and Every Shot Counts don't discuss the mental game or go into as much detail on practice or how to manage expectations. Its from a more balanced, rational and relatable perspective for the average golfer. Golf is primarily a game of proximity. The closer you are to the hole, the better your chances of posting a lower score over the long run. As you get farther from the hole, golfers separate themselves more from one another in scoring potential. You could closely match the performance of a tour player from 30 feet with your putter but would never get close to them with a 200-yard approach shot. According to research done by Mark Broadie, ⅔ of scoring differential occurs in the long game (tee shots and approaches) versus the short game (wedge and putting). Proximity plays a massive role in scoring with tee shots, approach shots, and wedge play. No matter what level of golfer you are, being closer to the hole will result in lower scores on average. Therefore, it must be considered when choosing targets and club selection.

Unfortunately, we can’t have it both ways. You can’t become the golfer at the top of your mountain (which is different for each player) without climbing through some mud at the bottom. Golf is a very peculiar but addicting game compared to other leisurely pursuits. Let’s face it; our tribe is a little crazy to chase a small white ball around a large field. It’s hard to explain precisely why golf can be so addicting. A lot of it has to do with how challenging the game is and how good it feels to have those moments where we think we figured it out. But with those incredible highs comes a lot of lows. And I believe those lows are why many players quit the game or find themselves in perpetual limbo. The Four Foundations will teach you how to be your own coach, and not waste time on methods that don't work. Stop listening to your friend's questionable tips and learn what all the greats have figured out. If you like detailed, straightforward information with plenty of examples, you will love this book. It will reshape how you think about golf entirely and give you the tools and strategies to transform your entire game. Think of birdies as an occasional bonus. Overall, you should not pursue them; it will create more mistakes than it’s worth. A typical PGA Tour player averages about 3.5 birdies per round, and most of those occur on Par 5s. Recreational golfers seldom make birdies, even scratch golfers! Birdies are challenging because of a mixture of approach shot proximity and putting difficulty. It is much easier to prevent larger scores than to make birdies. That is the cornerstone of smart strategic play.

Using Grit On the Course

Tell your friends: If you have friends who are golfers, please let them know about the book! I wrote it so that a player of any level can learn actionable ways to lower their scores. Since I am self-publishing, I am relying on the golf community to spread the word. Recovery shots are one of the most misunderstood scoring situations. Golfers of all levels can separate themselves by making smart decisions. Instead of thinking about saving par, shift your mindset to saving bogey. After an errant tee shot, it’s very common to go “on tilt.” However, choosing the more aggressive strategy will likely compound your initial mistake and result in a double bogey (or worse). PGA Tour players make bogey 80% of the time in recovery situations. What you see on TV is not real; keep reminding yourself of that statistic! The correct strategy is to advance the ball as far as possible while making sure your next shot will have a clear path to the green. Sometimes, this means punching out sideways. The key to building lasting habits is focusing on creating a new identity first. Your current behaviors are simply a reflection of your current identity. What you do now is a mirror image of the type of person you believe that you are (either consciously or subconsciously). Are you struggling to take your golf game to the next level? Learn the philosophy that has helped thousands of players worldwide lower their scores and improve their relationship with golf. My three sons will read this book, specifically Part One: Managing Expectations. While you can reference specific areas of Jon’s book directly without issue, I highly recommend you read Part 1 first. This section, along with the work of many of Jon’s references, showed data and educated or corrected me on defining: what is a good golf shot; what is a good round; and setting realistic performance expectations. Part 1 is applicable beyond golf (as is the Mental Game, Part 4).