Cheat Codes Are Boring

Here's something I've learned after two decades of coaching: there are cheat codes in plain sight in golf. Actual shortcuts. Proven methods that genuinely work. Approaches that would dramatically improve your game if you committed to them.

But they usually look boring.

So golfers routinely ignore things that already work for the hope of finding a slightly easier path. They search for the exciting shortcut while ignoring the obvious one. They want the cheat code that sounds impressive, not the one that requires tedious repetition.

And here's the uncomfortable truth: the cheat code is almost always the work you're avoiding.

The golfer who can't putt well enough to break 80 will spend hours analyzing their swing plane while refusing to spend twenty minutes a day on putting drills.

The player who loses strokes to poor course management will buy new clubs instead of learning to play within their capabilities.

The student who struggles with consistency will seek out new swing methods instead of committing to the pre-shot alignment routine that would fix 80% of their problems.

The work that would actually transform their game is right there, visible and proven. But it's boring, so they keep searching.

What the Boring Cheat Codes Look Like

Let me be specific about what these boring-but-effective cheat codes actually are in golf:

Cheat Code #1: Alignment Checks

Before you hit a ball on the range spend five minutes checking your grip, posture, and alignment to prevent inconsistent ball-striking. It's boring. It's repetitive. It’s darn important!

Golfers skip this and then wonder why their swing feels "off" so often.

Cheat Code #2: Short Game Volume

Spending 60% of practice time within 100 yards would drop most recreational handicaps by 3-5 strokes in three months. The data on this is overwhelming. It's not debatable.

Golfers spend 80% of their practice time hitting driver instead because it feels more like "real" practice.

Cheat Code #3: Statistical Self-Awareness

Tracking three simple stats (balls lost or found in un-playable situations, three putts, and duffed chips that don’t leave you with a putt) for ten rounds would reveal exactly where you're losing strokes. You'd know precisely what to work on.

Golfers guess at their weaknesses instead because tracking feels like homework.

Cheat Code #4: Consistent Pre-Shot Routine

A repeatable pre-shot routine, executed identically on every shot for an entire season, would eliminate most mental errors and improve commitment. Tour players know this. They all do it.

Recreational golfers "feel it out" on every shot because routines feel mechanical.

Cheat Code #5: Playing Your Miss

Understanding your natural shot shape and aiming accordingly (aiming right if you naturally draw it, left if you fade it) would keep you in play on 90% of holes. It's the most basic course management principle.

Golfers aim at targets and hope their swing cooperates that day.

Cheat Code #6: Lag Putting Practice

Twenty minutes a day rolling long putts to a three-foot circle—not trying to make them, just controlling distance—would eliminate three-putts within weeks. The improvement is nearly automatic.

Golfers practice three-footers instead because making putts feels like progress.

Cheat Code #7: Lessons Before Equipment

Lessons with a coach who knows your swing would produce more improvement than any equipment change. The ROI isn't even close.

Golfers buy new clubs every year and see a coach once every three years.

Every single one of these is a proven cheat code. Every one would produce measurable improvement. Every one is boring enough that most golfers ignore it.

Why We Avoid the Boring Cheat Codes

I've spent a lot of time thinking about why golfers ignore proven methods in favor of searching for new ones. I think it comes down to three psychological factors:

1. Boring Doesn't Feel Like Progress

Hitting the same chip shot for the hundredth time doesn't create the dopamine hit that comes from trying a new swing thought or buying new equipment. Even though repetition is what actually creates improvement, it feels like you're not making progress because nothing is novel.

2. Easy Work Feels Less Valuable

There's something about human psychology that makes us distrust simple solutions. If the cheat code is just "check your alignment," it feels too easy to be the real answer. We're drawn to complex solutions because complexity signals importance.

3. Commitment Feels Risky

Committing fully to a boring cheat code means you can't blame the method if it doesn't work immediately. If you're constantly trying new things, you never have to face the possibility that the real problem is inconsistent execution, not the method itself.

The Slightly Easier Path That's Actually Harder

Here's the irony: by searching for a slightly easier path than the boring cheat codes, golfers end up taking a much harder path.

The golfer who won't commit to twenty minutes of daily putting practice will spend the next five years frustrated with their short game, trying different putters and reading about putting mechanics. The cumulative time wasted searching exceeds the time required to just do the boring work.

The player who won't track statistics will spend years working on the wrong things, and wondering why practice doesn't translate to better scores. The time invested in misdirected practice far exceeds the time required to simply track three numbers.

The student who won't stick with one coach and one method will spend a decade sampling different approaches, never mastering any of them, never building the consistency that comes from sustained commitment. The accumulated confusion and wasted effort dwarf the commitment required to trust one boring approach.

By avoiding the boring cheat codes that work, we commit ourselves to an endless search that guarantees we never actually improve.

The Meta Cheat Code

There's actually a cheat code that sits above all the others, and it's the most boring one of all:

Do the obvious thing consistently for an uncommonly long time.

That's it. That's the ultimate cheat code. Find what obviously works, not what's exciting or novel, but what clearly produces results, and do it without deviation for far longer than feels reasonable.

This meta cheat code unlocks everything else. Because all the specific cheat codes I mentioned (short game practice, stat tracking, alignment checks, etc.) only work if you apply the meta cheat code: consistency over time.

But consistency over time is so boring that most golfers will try anything to avoid it.

The Question You Need to Answer

So here's what I want you to sit with: What's the boring work you're avoiding?

Not "What should I be working on?" You probably already know what you should be working on. The question is: what proven approach are you ignoring because it's too boring, too repetitive, too obvious, or too simple?

Is it:

• Short game practice you know you need but find tedious?

• Statistics tracking you know would help but feels like homework?

• Alignment checks you know are important but seem too basic?

• A consistent routine you know works but feels mechanical?

• Playing within your capabilities even when it's less exciting?

• Committing to one coach/method even when new approaches seem interesting?

Whatever it is, that's your cheat code. That's the work that would actually transform your game if you'd just commit to doing it consistently.

But it's boring, so you're probably going to keep searching for something more interesting.

Your Assignment

Here's what I want you to do: Identify one boring cheat code that you've been avoiding. Just one. Not five different things. One specific practice or habit that you know would help but that you've been resisting because it's tedious.

Then commit to that one boring thing for three months. Not as an experiment to see if it works (you already know it works). As a commitment to actually executing something proven instead of continuing to search.

Mark it on your calendar. Create accountability. Remove the option to quit when it gets boring (it will get boring—that's the point).

In three months, come back and evaluate. Not "Did this produce dramatic results?" but "Did this produce measurable improvement compared to the exciting approaches I usually chase?"

I'm willing to bet the boring cheat code will have outperformed every exciting shortcut you've tried in the past year.

The Uncomfortable Reality

After two decades of coaching, I can tell you definitively: the cheat codes aren't hidden. They're not secret. They're not complicated. They're not expensive.

They're boring.

And that's exactly why most golfers will never use them. They'll keep searching for the exciting shortcut, the novel approach, the cutting-edge method and all while ignoring the proven cheat code sitting right in front of them.

The golfers who actually improve are the ones willing to be bored. They're the ones who can commit to doing obviously effective things even when those things lack novelty. They're the ones who understand that the exciting path and the effective path are usually different paths.

The cheat code is the work you're avoiding. It's been there the whole time. It will continue to be there, waiting, while you search for something more interesting.

Start using the boring cheat codes you already know about. The shortcut you're looking for is the obvious work you're not doing.

Think About This

What proven, boring method have you been ignoring in your golf game because you're hoping to find something more exciting? And how much time have you wasted searching for alternatives when you could have just committed to the obvious thing?

Until next time, less swing thoughts, more great shots!

Owen.