When you head out for a round of golf, what tee do you use? For our newer players let me say that there are usually three tee off areas on any given tee. This isn't always true, but it is more often than not. The three tees are the front, the middle, and the back. The front tee is the one closest to the green and the back tee is the farthest from the green. The middle tee, of course, is in between those two areas.

Many players (especially the men!) feel they have to tee off from the back tee or they have somehow lost their masculinity. That is usually a bad decision. Yes, in many tournaments that's where you are required to tee off, but on an average day, in an average round of golf, is it mandatory? No, of course it is not. In fact, you can do yourself a huge favor by teeing off one of the closer tees. How?

Simple. Do what Jack Nicklaus did. Many years ago, Jack wanted to lower his overall score and he reasoned that by doing that (lowering his overall score) he could also boost his confidence. So, with that in mind, he began playing the front tees. He played them from one hole to the next, over and over again, and his score did indeed drop. And as his score dropped, he became more confident in his golf game and in his own abilities. You can do the same.

Once he had the front tees nailed, he moved back to the middle tees and repeated the process. Again, his scores continued to improve and his confidence increased. Then it was to the back tees, and the rest is history.

If your confidence is waning or your score seems to be going up and you can't really put a finger on why, try what Jack did. If we master a simpler task and then use that to build on toward a more difficult task we can advance much more quickly than if we simply "hold our ground" and try to duke it out.