If you’ve ever played golf, or attempted to play golf, you know that it can be a very frustrating sport. Hitting the ball soundly and squarely on the groves of the club – the small face of the club – can be difficult; some beginners and even experienced golfers would say its difficult if you want the ball to fly to its intended destination and exact spot in the fairway or on the green.

Golfers continue to tweak this and that – body parts that need to move effortlessly and simultaneously to produce the prefect swing. Add to that the different clubs – driver, woods, irons, hybrids, wedges and even putters, and it can make your mind spin (no pun intended).

Those low handicap golfers whom I have met tell me to eliminate “swing thoughts” from the game – you don’t want to be thinking about all of the little things about what you need to do in your head moments before you swing. Muscle memory should command.

But the little things definitely impact the results of your swing – don’t swing too hard, keep your head down and don’t look up, follow through, etc. – all of which can be the difference between hitting it down the middle or on the green, or slicing or hooking it into the next fairway or worse.

Your health plan follows the same trajectory as your golf game. You can hit it down the middle or out of bounds if your approach to the game is off. Little things add up to BIG things and BIG results. For example:

  • You continue to hook or slice the ball but don’t know why, and try to overcompensate by aiming in a different direction. The ball flight isn’t going to change unless you make the correct swing adjustments – much like your health plan costs.
  • Your putts continue to go left or right because you’re not properly aligned at the cup or the break in the green. Don’t continue to do the same thing over and over and expect different results – just like your health plan costs.
  • Your health plan costs continue to go up – much like your golf score – and you expect the next shot to be great even though you’ve done nothing to change your swing. Your costs aren’t going to change unless you change your swing.

What you need to do is have a professional look and examine your swing. Don’t try to do it yourself – it’s just the same thing, different day. A professional can tell you what you are doing right and doing wrong – and recommend changes – not necessarily wholesale changes (well… maybe perhaps), but little things that can improve your game and score.

This is exactly what you need to do with your health plan too. If you haven’t done anything recently to change the PERFORMANCE of your plan (lowering your costs) and hope that your cost (and golf score) is going to go down, you’re dreaming. You need a new professional to identify and assess what you’re doing right and wrong, and the things you can do to improve or change it.

If you want to have a high performing health plan (much like your golf score) then think about having a “golf lesson” and have a real professional analyze it and give you recommendations. Your current professional isn’t doing their job if you keep hitting it out of bounds.

You can reach me at 970.349.7707 or [email protected]. Play well – hit it long and straight!