There are definite stages that people go through when coping with difficult and challenging experiences in their lives. This is a process through which the human brain enables us to adjust to situations that might otherwise be too traumatizing. The use of this complex mechanism for coping was first observed by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in her work with terminally ill patients. Given time to transition through all of the stages, the pattern was clear: the patients …showed first 75 words of 2225 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2225 total…in the denial stage! There is nothing you can do to change how a person progresses through the stages of coping. Nor should you try. This is a natural process that must proceed at a pace dictated by the needs of the mediocre golfers themselves. However, if we are sensitive and understanding as their journey unfolds, perhaps we can assist them in accepting their mediocrity with all of the most positive connotations of the word.