How Golf Teaches Discipline

The sport of traditional golf requires discipline. From the youngest of amateurs to the highest level pros, a lack of discipline will cause players to fall apart on any course. Discipline separates genuinely great golfers from the has-been’s, and at Indian River Golf Foundation, we teach that discipline in our cadets.

Through golf, we can give our cadets many life lessons, and discipline will learn naturally. Golf is, in its very nature, a patient game. An impatient player may rush their shots or attempt to make plays that are impossible for their skill level, and that lack of discipline will lead to failure. These players can apply this discipline to their daily lives.

At work, we need the discipline to push through a tough assignment or stay on task with a chore. Through golf, we hope that these lessons will lead to greater discipline in every aspect of their lives.

With Indian River Golf Foundation, our cadets will learn the values of discipline through:

• Learning How To Play Golf
• Training With Fellow Cadets
• Leading Other Cadets In Exercises
• Showing Responsibility

The lessons these young golfers will learn through golf will carry them for the rest of their lives. We offer them an outlet and an opportunity to learn in a safe environment. One, they can be themselves, have fun, and learn some golf all at once.

How Does Golf Teach Discipline?

It may seem confusing how a sport can teach a child discipline, but it has to be thought-about to look at the sport from a different angle. The players are doing more than just walking up, hitting a ball, and sending it towards the green. They’re always trying to learn ways they can improve their skills.

Improvement is where a large majority of the discipline comes from, and the only way to get better at golf is to practice. That means going out every day and banging balls with a purpose. Anyone can go to the range, hit them hard, and call it a day. Players who want to improve will go out there and work on the game parts that have told them to need to be improved.

Continually seeking out ways to improve and then acting on them is discipline. We hope that players who experience success from this discipline will hold on to that feeling and let it help them in every aspect of their life.

If a cadet is in school and knows they need to be better in a particular subject, we want them to take these lessons from golf and utilize them. Go out and improve on that subject with practice just as one would on the driving range. That’s using discipline from golf in life.

Test A Cadet’s Discipline Through Golf

Our cadets are free to use our lessons however they want. If they’re going to play some golf after school and have a fun time, then they’re free to do that. That’s not enough for every cadet, though. Some cadets need an outlet. One that they can test their discipline in and see if their hard work is paying off.

Discipline is one of the reasons that Indian River Golf offers tournaments and competitions. Cadets can enter these competitions, grouped by age, to test themselves. Players may compete against each other, but in reality, it’s a test against themself which is in many ways another form of discipline.

When out on a course, there’s no way to check how other players are performing. They’re isolated and forced to focus on themselves. Staying focused in that kind of situation and not letting the mind wander requires an incredible amount of discipline. The cadet is truly tested in this scenario. 

At the end of the tournament, the result should be less about how the cadet performed against their fellow competitors and more about how they performed against themselves. Did they go in with a goal? Was that goal met? What other areas of their game do they need to continue practicing?

These are some of the questions that cadets should ask themselves to seek ways to improve their golf skills and discipline. A disciplined player focuses on improving themselves. The rest will come later.

Let Indian River Golf Foundation Teach Discipline

At Indian River Golf Foundation, we believe in creating the next generation of leaders through golf, and every great leader has had great discipline. With life lessons like that, there is nothing our cadets can’t accomplish.

We want to assist them in becoming incredible and disciplined leaders. To learn how, contact us at (772) 713-9593, or send an email to rogervandykeirgf@gmail.com. Need to see it with your eyes? Come to the course and play a round! Ask us about our cadet program and learn more directly from us! We’ll gladly tell you more. 

These young cadets are the next generation. Let’s make sure they have the right lessons to accompany them.

The purpose of the Indian River Golf Foundation (IRGF) is to promote interest and awareness of local golfing opportunities and encourage participation in programs that will lead to high levels of knowledge, player development, and service in golf. The Foundation builds upon the game’s traditions supporting current programs conducted by area PGA and LPGA golf professionals and establishing beginnings in a wide-range of new golf experiences, including education and employment opportunities. Through the IRGF Players Club, programs are designed for golfers of all ages, including juniors assisted by parents, coaches, mentors, and volunteers.