Why is Golf on my Ikigai?

When I reflect on my Ikigai, I see the clear overlap between my passions for individual performance, coaching, and sport - especially golf. In this article I explore this overlap and offer an insight on how to be a better coach.

Now, imagine a typical golf lesson. You might hear the coach say things like:

“Ah, you lifted your head… keep it down.”

“Try again, but this time, hold it this way.”

“Good shot! You got it right that time!”

These kinds of instructions, though well-intentioned, often leave the golfer more confused than before. Depending on the outcome, they either feel puzzled as to why it suddenly seems so easy, or frustrated because they can’t replicate what’s being asked of them.

Conversely, you will rarely hear the average coach ask questions like:

“What are you trying to achieve?”

“What does this movement feel like?”

“What have you already tried?”

In my experience, the first approach to golf coaching approach doesn’t work for the average Joe and Jane.

Proper coaching, in sports or otherwise, needs to have much more for the client:

Agency – Development of ownership of the solution

Empowering clients to own the solutions they create, gives them control of their own development. This fosters independence and builds confidence in their decision-making process, ensuring they don’t just follow advice but actively shape their progress.

Golfer: "I can fix this, and I am taking steps to get better."

Learning – Testing and bringing your own ideas

Allowing the client to experiment with their ideas, allows them to see what works in practice and what doesn’t. It's about creating a safe space where they can learn from failures and challenge existing beliefs that may be holding them back.

Golfer: "I know why that shot sliced."

Understanding – Building resilience and your ability to react to errors

Helping clients understand why things unfolded the way they did leads to resilience. They learn how to navigate mistakes, respond to setbacks, and correct their course without becoming discouraged.

Golfer: "I know that I have a tendency to slice, but if I try to feel this, it will correct it"

Strategy – Understanding probabilities and expectations

Equipping clients to think strategically, helping them grasp the likely outcomes of various approaches helps them learn to assess which mistakes are most costly and which strategies are worth pursuing, based on probabilities and expected results.

Golfer: "I know I tend to slice occasionally, but not every time, and I know that on this hole its ok over there."

Mental Performance – Developing mental awareness and controlling the controllables

Helping clients enhance their mental awareness allows them to recognising patterns in their behaviour and thought processes. They learn to focus on what they can control, building emotional resilience and mental clarity in high-pressure situations.

Golfer: "When I make a mistake I must resist the urge to "get one back", because it often causes me to double my error."

Skill – Identifying and addressing your skill gaps

Helping identify a client's skill gaps and come up with ways to work around physical or cognitive limitations allows them to tailor their approach based on their strengths and weaknesses, and continually refine their abilities.

Golfer: "My neck is stiff, I need to stretch each morning, to help me make the right move."

Intellectual Understanding – Modelling the perfect

Lastly, fostering an intellectual grasp of how things work is done often through comparisons to models or established frameworks. Clients develop a deeper understanding by learning specific techniques and comparing actions to internal models or concepts they can visualise.

Golfer: "My wrist has to be in this position, on the way down, to stop slicing."

All of these need to be present and attended to make the coaching beneficial. Unfortunately, it’s often Intellectual Understanding that gets the most focus from the common coach.

And as my Ikigai suggests, this applies to far more than just golf coaching.?

The parallels with the Agile coaching community are hard to miss. Too often, solutions are delivered from a lofty, theoretical perspective—projected from a high soapbox. But simply discussing features, scrums, or ceremonies doesn’t truly help people improve or solve real-world challenges.

At Agilitie, we provide coaching that facilitates meaningful growth in teams and their leaders . Reach out today, not for golf lessons, but to find out how we can help you drive real, sustainable change in your teams.