I f you ask any college golf coach the details of his or her job, the conversation will inevitably shift from golf talk to life lessons. That’s what this great game teaches players and people of all ages and skill lev- els. Patience, perseverance, positive mental attitude, focus, industrious- ness, creativity and belief are just some of the qualities needed to be successful in both golf and life. It is easy to get overwhelmed with distracting thoughts. “I am three over after five,” or “I need to birdie the two par 5’s on the back nine to shoot even” are all-too-common thoughts racing through players’ minds. When players get caught up thinking along these lines, they lose sight of the task at hand and usually wind up hopping on the bogey train or worse. At Indiana our “go to” phrase is what I call the three most important words in golf: “What’s my target?” Our players hear this from the time they are recruited until the time they graduate and leave college. It is our way of asking ourselves what it is we need to do NOW in order to give us the best chance to hit the shot effec- tively. Included in these three little words are a series of questions de- signed to focus the player: What am I aiming at? How far does the ball have to be in the air? What is the max distance this shot can go? I ask players to describe the upcom- ing shot without putting a value on it. Instead of “I have to make this putt for birdie,” I ask my players to take away the “label” by merely defining the characteristics of the putt: “This is an uphill, right to left eight- foot- er.” It sounds simple, but it takes a lot of practice to adopt this mindset. This attitude is fantastic on the golf course and provides the player with the tools to be in the best possible mindset prior to executing a shot. Even more important, it is applica- ble in school and life. All too often I see student-athletes focused on the projected outcome of a test and its impact on their grade or worrying about things which are out of their control and have no effect on what they are doing. As college golf coaches, all of us are teaching life skills through this won- derful sport. Embrace the three most important words in golf, live that philosophy and watch your scores drop. I promise, you will see results in all areas of your life! My Three Favorite Words BYCLINTWALLMAN Ginger Brown Lemm is the women’s head golf coach at Mississippi State University. A former collegiate golf star at The University of Texas, she also competed on the LPGA’s Futures Golf Tour. Clint Wallman is in his 13th season as the women’s head golf coach for Indiana University. Formerly, he was a collegiate star for Washing- ton State University. COLLEGE COACHES’ CORNER RiseandShine! BYGINGERBROWNLEMM A s college coaches, we study what attributes student-athletes pos- sess and how we think they will fit our programs. Among those attributes are dedication and the ability to maximize one’s opportunities. For some, that could mean reaping the benefits of waking up at 5:00 a.m. every day. I know that is shock- ing, unreasonable and surely obsessive, but think about what you really want to ac- complish. Are you willing to make the sac- rifice for your goals? Do you want to get an advantage over the competition? If you get up at 5:00 a.m., you will have an advantage of at least an hour or two. Think about it. Would it be all that bad to get to the gym early, do a read-through of information you will be tested on in a few hours at school or get in some extra prac- tice before class? Imagine making your bed or doing laundry and getting ahead on your day! In my mind, that discipline and commitment would make you a candidate for elite level programs. “Rise and shine” is critical to the productivity of student-ath- letes once they get to college. Early morning fitness training, practice and play are standard at the collegiate level. For example, in the fall semester, we work out at 6:00 a.m. and practice at 8:00 a.m. It is cooler at that time, and it is also when we compete against other teams. So why not get up and get after it early! You feel like you win before you begin your day, you get to set your objectives before the day explodes and you are forming incredi- bly good habits. Our coaching staff also assesses things like demeanor, on and off the course, in- cluding how you treat your support system. Do you pick up trash, even if it isn’t yours? Are you respectful of others, with the pres- ence and maturity to get yourself back in your zone of performance? Do you pay attention to detail? These are only a few of the things we look at when recruiting, but notice how I didn’t say a word about your swing or scores? Of course we look at those, but everyone whom we look at on this level can play. We filter through many things and we can develop swings and shotswithwork. On the other hand, character attributes like Disci- pline, Attitude, Will, Gratitude and Selfless- ness (DAWGS) usually are set by the time we get to know you. These are core values that we adhere to in the Mississippi State University women’s golf program. A wonderful alum and donor, Mr. Robert D Harrell, Sr., was famous for saying, “You can whine or you can shine — it’s all up to you.” Why don’t you decide to shine, get up and get after it! June 2017 | 11 Subscribe today at juniorgolfmag.net