Lucas Spahl Discusses The Importance of Managing Expectations

Alex Elias

---

Courtesy of Evan Schiller (@evan_schiller_photography)

Managing expectations is one of golf’s greatest challenges. Lucas Spahl, First Assistant Golf Professional at The Creek (Locust Valley, NY) and Assistant Golf Professional at McArthur Golf Club (Hobe Sound, FL), said, “I believe that there is a misnomer between what amateur golfers see as goals for their game and goals that are realistic. I think amateurs see their goals as the best possible outcome, but that is not realistic for any player.”

​As amateurs’ goals are often unattainable, whether it be expecting to hit more fairways/greens or score lower, Spahl continued, “If your goals are too difficult to obtain, it can become very draining.”
 
As draining golf can consume a golfer’s mindset, Spahl said, “You can lose confidence, get down on yourself, and negative thoughts take control. From personal experience, I have definitely had a few rounds that have started off very poor, and it’s very difficult to get back on track or to get off the ‘bogey train.’” Ultimately, that loss of concentration leads to one’s scorecard being negatively affected.

How to manage expectations:

“To re-evaluate their expectations, I feel amateurs need enough information/statistics to have an understanding of what their average round looks like. Once that is understood, they can make achievable goals, and even orient their practice to help achieve those successfully,” said Spahl.

Referencing his own game, Spahl said, “I tend to only have two goals. Regardless of the score, if I accomplish these two goals, I’ll be happy: No three putts, no double-bogeys.”

​By setting realistic goals, rather than having a score in mind, Spahl admitted, “When there is no score in mind, and the goals are accomplished, I do tend to score better. I find it’s hard to score poorly when those goals are accomplished, and at the very least, I avoid having a very poor round. For amateur players, I can see them get very stressed about a score relative to par. If you take that away and orient your thoughts to simple goals, the game can become more enjoyable at a simple level. Players of all calibers have rounds where they swing it well and don’t shoot a great score, it’s okay to do that.”