My wife always makes sure to remind me to wear sunscreen whenever I go out golfing. I have to tell her not to worry because I spend most of my round in the shade as I tend to hit a lot of trees.
This past summer, I found myself deep in the bush searching for my ball.
I like to, as they say, “go for it,” which in other words means to attempt a very low percentage shot because if it does pan out, man will it be a beauty.
So when I see an opportunity to hit my ball out of the bush through a narrow opening in the trees, I’ll usually go for it. But I’ll inevitably miss that shot most of the time. This leads to a lot of bogeys and the dreaded double bogey.
When searching for my ball in the bush, I realized that golf was a lot like investing.
When it comes to scoring well in golf, it’s about how many bad shots you can avoid, rather than how many good shots you can hit.
If you can stay out of trouble and play the “smart” shot, you’ll likely score a lot better. It’s the same when it comes to investing.
If you have a retirement plan that says you need to average 4% per year to achieve your retirement goals, there’s no sense in taking huge risks with your portfolio to earn that 4%.
If you hear of a hot junior mining stock tip from a co-worker, is it really worth moving out of your portfolio to try to make it big on this stock?
If it works out, then great.
But, if it ends up being a clunker, you’ve just scored a double bogey with your portfolio.
Now you’re behind on your retirement goals, and you’re in catch-up mode, which means “going for it” a lot more. This can produce more misses, which could put you even further off track.
If you’d like to review how your investment portfolio matches up with your golf game, then feel free to book a complimentary consultation below.
As for my golf game, before my next round, I decided to leave my big driver at home and only bring my 7 iron, my wedge, and my putter.
I kept things “simple” and “smart” and had the best round of my life.
