Cameron here. In my last email I discussed the problems of traditional golf. How we’ve been brainwashed into thinking too much about our technique and not truly playing/learning how we’re designed.

I also introduced you to the Golf Performance Matrix which leads to better golf without all the BS. It’s ultimately how you can play consistent golf.

I’ve used these ideas to play my best golf and I’ve helped thousands of golfers from all over the world, from tour professionals, to weekend warriors see the light.

Today’s email is going to go deeper and I’m going to share with you the absolute best strategy I’ve found in relation to golf performance. This is so powerful that I now look at the world differently and I’m not sure I’ve come up with anything better.

Let’s get into it.

Back in 2010 I had a real job. I was working with a mate of mine as his marketing man. And the business was going well...

... we took things from a kitchen table into a multi-million dollar enterprise in months, not years. We could do no wrong and we thought we were rockstars.

As a bonus I got a trip to the USA. For tax purposes, I signed up to attend a marketing seminar but I was really hoping to avoid work - instead the goal was to play a little golf and catch up with friends. The marketing seminar however would change my life. Here’s the story ...

The seminar wasn’t really doing it for me because most speakers were obsessing about the latest fads in Internet technology and focusing on tricking Google into making a fast buck.

It was all too familiar to the golf industry. People looking for quick-fixes and hope. I was bored with it all and looking forward to getting to the bar for a cold one.

One speaker changed all that. Perry Marshall knocked my socks off and helped me see golf learning and performance (plus lots of other stuff) more clearly.

Perry Marshall was a once self-proclaimed boring engineering geek. He was struggling financially and unsatisfied with his job. He became a salesman and left behind the world of engineering. He hasn’t looked back.

He has since became the world authority on Google Adwords (those little ads that pop up on Google when you’re searching for certain topics) and has gone extremely deep on the subject. He can teach you how to set up an Adwords account, but he can also show you how to create a complete marketing system based on those ads - how to connect with your customer, how to get into their head, how to get them to like you and ultimately buy from you. It’s all fascinating.

Perry’s talk this day was not on Adwords. It really wasn’t about business at all but on something that at first seemed from left field.

He spoke about the Pareto Principle. The little taught subject that’s referred to as the 80/20 Rule. Here’s what it’s about:

For many events, about 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. It was first discovered by Vilfredo Pareto who found that 20% of Italians owned 80% of the wealth. But the principle repeats itself in all things - nature, business and yes, even golf.

And Perry Marshall had taken it further - he had gone deep. He even found that the 80/20 Rule is fractal, that there’s an 80/20 inside the 80/20. The example he used was that if 20% of your customers bring in 80% of your income, then 4% (20% of 20%) will bring in 64% of your income.

Perry was amazing and encouraged everyone to focus more on the 20% of customers (or the 20% of the 20%) rather than everyone.

It was at this point I started getting excited. As always, I was trying to think how this lesson could tie in with golf and coaching/learning. Thanks to my involvement in a biomechanical study, I was familiar with what a mechanical advantage was and the 80/20 rule seemed like a form of mechanical advantage.

One example: The scientists and I found that if a golfer softened his lead arm at the top of the backswing he could get a power advantage on the way down. You get more power with less effort because you’re able to start the club down more quickly when the arm is "soft". It’s also easier to do so it’s completely win-win.

And right away I could see along my journey how much golf success had respected 80/20.

You don’t need to focus on 100 things to play great golf. You don’t even need to think about 10. Five is probably too many. But if you put your trust in the few really important "causes" your learning system doesn’t just kick into gear, it thrives.

You get better performance with the least amount of effort. You can move the biggest door with the smallest hinge. And this is what makes golf easier, more fun and ultimately leads to success.

The 80/20 Rule thinking comes from the business world. A world where success and performance are paramount. The business world wouldn’t accept getting worse before you get better.

It wouldn’t accept mediocrity.
It certainly wouldn’t accept years of effort, blood, sweat and tears without significant improvement.
And it despises constant failure.

But why do we accept mediocrity with our golf game? Why do we blame ourselves? Why do we struggle to get better, despite the effort?

Traditional golf instruction is stuck. There is an easier way. And for the most part none of this is your fault because the golf world has been too focused on the wrong thing. We’ve been brainwashed into thinking and playing golf one way when there’s a better and more effective approach right in front of us.

Perry Marshall finished his presentation by showing a visual representation. Below, you’ll see my version, changed to apply to golf.

Simply, there are a vital few things that give you the greatest bang for your buck. Learn to focus on these, and forget about all else, and I promise that your golf will never be the same again.

Most golfers will struggle to do this because they’re conditioned to think about lots of things. Sadly, most of these "other things" weigh you down and they just don’t help. And as I’ve discussed, the more of these things you add, the worse you’ll play.

In my next email I'm going to show you just one way I've applied this thinking to golf and share a little case study with you. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled, it's coming tomorrow.

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