The mental aspect in the game of Golf is very interesting and often misunderstood. Once you know how your mind works, you can figure out what went wrong in the past and adjust your thinking for the future.
I'm sure that this seems obvious, but is it?
Confidence is how you think about the way you play golf. When you're playing, what are your predominant thoughts? Do you concentrate on hitting good shots, or does your mind wander and think about the worst that can happen (e.g. knock it in the lake)?
Does having confidence guarantee that you will shoot lower scores?
No, but, it sure increases the odds in your favour. So, the question becomes, "how do you get confidence and eliminate negative, destructive thoughts?"
The answer is to concentrate only on the ball going to the target.
The target must be a small point of reference in the distance, but not on the
ground. For example:
- a tree branch
- the chimney on a house
- a tower on the green, and so on.
Your mind will work at its best if you focus on a specific spot from the tee and on your second shot to the green. What you're aiming at can also be the pin, as long as you are not forced to hit a shot over a huge bunker or other hazard. How often have you heard a T.V. commentator like Ken Venturi, Johnny Miller or Curtis Strange say that a P.G.A. pro is aiming directly at the middle of a T.V. tower, or some other small object in the distance?
This is no coincidence.
This is what the World's best golfers do all the time.
They concentrate on what they need to do (hit the ball at a target) and not on
negatives such as hitting the ball in the water).
Here's a Revelation for you :
Whatever thought goes through your mind just before you strike the ball is
what you are telling your brain to do. And the mysterious thing here is that your
subconscious does not understand the words, "do not".
So, if just before you hit a shot, you say to yourself, "don't hit in the water,"
you are actually programming yourself to "hit it in the water!"
How many times do negative thoughts like "don't hit it in the water," "don't hit it in the trees," or, "don't hit it out of bounds" sneak into your mind just before you swing? And what percentage of the time does your prediction come true? Probably close to 100%. You now know that negative thinking does work, but not to your benefit. Could thinking the opposite way work – positive thinking? The answer is, "Yes, it does work", but, only if you focus and put destructive thoughts out of your head. It is your choice how you wish to think, believe it or not. It took me many years to figure this out, but success followed when I did. The same will happen to you. It isn't complicated either.
Just do three things on a regular basis:
- Aim at a specific target on every shot
- Think about what you want to do with a shot, NOT on what you don't
want to do
- Believe that you are an excellent golfer. Always think about driving the
ball well, hitting wedge shots right beside the pin, getting up and down
from the bunker easily and one putting all the time. Think these thoughts
at the driving range, at home, during a game, or whenever and wherever
else you can.
Furthermore, when you're not on the course, think of specific scores that you want to shoot. For example, if you want to shoot a 72 next Saturday, see yourself at the end of the game looking at the scorecard and feeling elated that you were able to do this with seemingly no problem at all. Be realistic though. If the best score you have ever shot is a 90, don't expect to shoot 72 in a week's time. Practice these principles when you play with your friends. The more consistently you do these things, the faster you'll improve. And when that starts to happen, you'll find that negative, unfriendly thoughts disappear on their own.
Soon you'll be saying what a "revelation" this really was and how much more fun the game is suddenly becoming!
