Long Term ImprovementLong Term Improvement or continuous improvement is what's needed for any golf game. Kaizen Philosophy The Japanese call this kaizen. This term became prominent in Japanese industrial development and recognized in the west, especially in regard to their competitiveness in the auto industry. The kaizen concept as applied to corporations, looks for uninterrupted, ongoing incremental change in manufacturing processes, in management and in workers alike -- a comprehensive, continuous change in an effort to become better. Sounds perfect for golf, doesn't it? Kaizen for Golf Well, let's take this analogy with kaizen a little further. In practice, kaizen is applied to Japanese manufacturing by improving every aspect of the business process. Step-by-step, gradual, incremental improvements are identified (often by consensus) and applied throughout the business. Improved technologies, better employee training, enhanced marketing practices, administrative skills, increased employee involvement in the business -- all of these aspects are part of a comprehensive application of the kaizen concept. The key principles to the implementation of kaizen are:
Sounds good to me. Seems like a pretty down to earth philosophy. The proof seems pretty apparent too, especially if you look at the Japanese versus the North American auto industries. I'm old enough to remember the first few autos that entered the Canadian market from Japan in the 1970s. They were awful rust buckets by comparison to Ford, Chrysler and GM products. Well, that's not so much the case any more. Toyota and Honda pretty much ate the North American auto industry for lunch since. Their long term improvement has taken a generation, so far. So how does kaizen apply to the golf game? No, you are not a car, and you don't manufacture a golf game. You can build one gradually however, one golfer at a time. I think the kaizen philosophy can work for all of us. First, kaizen applies to you as being the primary point of evolution in your golf game. Your general fitness and mental outlook are foremost in getting better. Your mental and physical conditioning, your attitude toward improvement are the most critical factors in game development. Second, kaizen would encourage you to be patient and take a long term view to your improvement. No sudden magical fixes; don't go out and buy a game with new gizmos or equipment. Those things should complement your game, not dominate it. There are going to be ups and downs in your progress, the overall trend should be gradual progress. Third, long term improvement should be based on what works for you and your game. Measure your changes to determine whether you are in fact getting better. Set benchmarks and meet them before you move to the next goal. Bit by bit you'll get better. Commit yourself to getting better and the changes you make will make the improvements sustainable. Tiger Woods' Development You will get out what you put in. No revelation there. Why should you or I be any different than Tiger Woods? It's no accident that the number one in the world is probably the hardest working golfer on the planet. Tiger didn't wake up one day as a great golfer. Earl Woods documents his son's development in his book, Training a Tiger (Harper Collins, 1997). Tiger held his first golf club five days before his first birthday. At eighteen months old, he couldn't count to five, but he knew how to keep score while out on the golf course with his father. He was at the driving range practicing with his dad at age two years and seven months. He began playing local children's tournament golf when he was four. Tiger beat his dad (who was playing to a 1-handicap at the time) for the first time at age eleven. He went on to win three consecutive US National Junior Golf titles, followed by three consecutive US National Amateur golf titles. In 1997, at age 21, Tiger became the youngest Masters champion in the first major championship he ever played. A nice, gradual progression, you might say. Well, for a guy who had been playing golf for 20 years you could say that all that practice was finally paying off. Earl Woods' genius at the gradual, continuous development of his son is definitely worth considering if your goal is to be the world's best at anything. Or maybe even the world's best ever. Tiger is now (2008) 32 years old and the consensus is that he is still improving. For you and me, gradual long term improvement to being the best golfers we can be is worthy of the effort. If we emulate Tiger Woods (or any other known pro)in the process, so much the better.
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