Welcome

Welcome to issue number 44 of The 3 Minute Golfer. This FREE, weekly publication is here to help every golfer improve their mental game and their personal wellbeing. 

Over the next few newsletters, we will take a deeper dive into some of the performance challenges faced by the predominant mental styles.

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In this issue:

• A Mental Style Comparison – Art Versus Science

• Wellness Tip – Managing Your Golf Injuries

• Mental Demons Q+A

• In Person Events - Book The 3 Minute Golfer

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A Mental Style Comparison – Art Versus Science

On every golf course, at least two different mental styles roam the fairways. One arrives armed with spreadsheets, launch monitor data, and a laser that could guide a moon landing. The other shows up with vibes, a half-remembered swing thought, and a strong belief that “this feels like a 7-iron.” Thus begins the eternal psychological standoff between the Nerdy golfer (Issue 11) and the Arty golfer (Issue 8).

The Nerdy golfer believes golf is a puzzle that has almost been solved, just not by today’s data set. They speak fluently in carry distances, face angles, spin rates, and decimals that extend well past what the human eye can perceive. Every shot is a hypothesis, and every miss is a disappointing but valuable data point. Fun is postponed until the numbers agree.

Arty golfers, by contrast, believe golf is closer to jazz than physics. They don’t fear risk…they flirt with it. High in confidence, adaptive problem-solving, and a willingness to try “something cool” define their style. They are not playing to avoid mistakes, they’re playing to create magic, or at least something Instagram-worthy.

When the Nerdy golfer stands over the ball, their brain is hosting a conference call. Wind speed, lie angle, slope percentage, and three prior shots are all given time to speak. By the time they swing, they’ve mentally played the shot five times and disliked four of them. The Arty golfer, meanwhile, has already hit the ball and is admiring the shape it might become.

Scorecards are sacred texts to Nerdy golfers. They are tracked, analysed, and occasionally mourned. Arty golfers treat the scorecard more like a suggestion…something to glance at only after the round, usually with surprise. “Wait, I shot that? Huh. Felt better.”

Equipment tells the story, too. Nerdy golfers carry clubs that have been professionally fitted, re-fitted, and possibly re-fitted again after a concerning TrackMan session. Arty golfers choose clubs the way artists choose brushes…based on intuition, aesthetics, and whether it “feels good.” If it worked once, it’s staying in the bag forever.

Playing partners notice the difference immediately. The Nerdy golfer explains why the shot missed, complete with diagrams traced in the air. The Arty golfer explains nothing, because explanation would interfere with the next creative impulse. Silence, after all, is part of the process.

Under pressure, the Nerdy golfer tightens their grip on logic. More analysis, more control, more certainty…surely the answer is in there somewhere. The Arty golfer loosens up, trusting feel, rhythm, and a deeply held belief that something wonderful could happen. One seeks correctness, the other seeks possibility.

Neither style is wrong, just profoundly different. Nerdy golfers find comfort in understanding the game, believing mastery lies just one calculation away. Arty golfers find freedom in expression, knowing that golf, like art, resists being fully solved. One chases precision, the other chases moments.

And perhaps that’s the real magic of golf…it embraces both. The scientist and the artist, the calculator and the creator, walking the same fairway for entirely different reasons. One is trying to beat the game. The other is trying to play it.

See the References Here.