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Building Confidence in Your Golf Game

KellyBo

KellyBo

Golf, Have Fun or Quit!
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I've just started reading Bob Rotella's book, "The 15th Club" which is pretty much a sequel to his other book "Golf is not a Game of Perfect". It looks like it's going to be a good read.

A couple things I have read so far talks about keeping a diary and writing down all the good shots from a round and forgetting about the bad. He also talks about writing affirmations when you are not playing to keep the positive things going, i.e. "I putt well when I am under pressure." He suggests we focus so much on our bad shots that we are ruining our confidence.

What things have you done to help build your confidence? I need help BIG time in this area. My smack talk is all a front!
 
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Interesting post KellyBo, I was thinking of rereading "Golf is not a Game of Perfect" as I feel I play pretty well most times, but seem to really loose concentration at the 1st sign of anything going south. I think I am relaxed and having fun, but I guess I still try to put too much pressure on myself. I agree that the focus of most of us is on the bad shots and we don't stay as positive as we should. Let me know how you like the sequel.
 
I've read similar tips here and there. One thing I try to do when I sense the doubt creeping in is to find something that's going well in the round. For example: "I'm putting really well today." or "my short game is really helping me out." or the far less often used "wow, I'm driving the heck out of the ball today". I definitely agree with the thought of focusing on the positive as opposed to the negative. I also try to just remember that I'm out playing golf, and that ain't bad, so I might as well enjoy it.
 
Excellent Book and a great read -- I think its called "Your 15th CLUB" though ... isn't it ? going from memory here at work....
 
OldeAtlanta said:
Excellent Book and a great read -- I think its called "Your 15th CLUB" though ... isn't it ? going from memory here at work....
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Yep. That would be correct and it really is an interesting read!
 
Is there a chapter on 'when my whole game isn't working?'
 
OldeAtlanta said:
Excellent Book and a great read -- I think its called "Your 15th CLUB" though ... isn't it ? going from memory here at work....
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Yep, I fixed it! LOL
 
There are a lot of good ideas to be taken from that book. I have read it once but will prolly read it again soon. A good suggested read.
 
dominos?
 
DawgDaddy said:
What am I to do? I gave up bowling to take up golf!
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I'll shoot trap for awhile. I'm less disappointed with a bad line of trap than I am with a bad round of golf.
 
I build confidence when I am not playing that will with a good short game session at the range. Seeing a shot and then hitting that shot builds a lot of confidence for me so a good chipping and pitching session really helps me out.
 
tnc200 said:
I'll shoot trap for awhile. I'm less disappointed with a bad line of trap than I am with a bad round of golf.
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LOL , I was going to suggest Shooting sporting clays :)
I have a four thousand dollar 20g Browning Citori with 32" ported barrels that has not been out of its case for 3 years :(
I just picked the game back up so my confidence is Nill !
 
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SprayTech said:
LOL , I was going to suggest Shooting sporting clays :)
I have a four thousand 20g Browning Citori with 32" ported barrels that has not been out of its case for 3 years :(
I just picked the game back up so my confidence is Nill !
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How about shooting birdies on the golf course to build your confidence. We all will have to take a shot of confidence playing the Champions course again :golf2:.
 
One thing I did not do this offseason was read a golf book. I usually do, but was just too busy this time. However, what I do to keep my confidence up is just keep thinking positive thoughts. I usually start off with saying that since my mortgage is not tied to my golf game its going to ok and I am going to just enjoy the day. That gets me in the right frame of mind and I go out and try to concentrate on making the best shot I can each time. Even with the bad shots, I try to see what was positive with it. IF it made good contact I focus on that; if I hit the ball in the direction I was aiming, but the contact wasnt pure, I focus on the great direction. To me, most shots have positives and negatives, so why not concentrate on the positives, it better to repeat them. I am like most golfers; striving to get better, but that is for the range. To me the round is for the enjoyment of the game; the friendships and experiences out there.

When I put one in the drink, I think oh well, I get to use a new ball. Just kidding....that does piss me off. haha

To summarize me: I believe positive thoughts generate positive results. Heck, if you are not an optimist, you should not be playing golf.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Ole Gray said:
How about shooting birdies on the golf course to build your confidence. We all will have to take a shot of confidence playing the Champions course again :golf2:.
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The reason I don't have confidence anymore is because the driver used to be my confidence builder , I don't ( never have ) hit it long but I never missed a fairway ,now that sucker is all over the place , nothing builds confidence faster then jacking one 40 yards hard right off the Tee ........ LOL
SO I will need to work long and hard before the THP outing comes around or leave the Driver in the closet !
 
Visualization. Try playing a scratch round in your head maybe the night before or over coffee in the morning. While playing I'll try to only think of breathing, like yoga style as I walk to each shot, it's harder than it sounds, for me anyway.
 
tnc200 said:
Visualization. Try playing a scratch round in your head maybe the night before or over coffee in the morning. While playing I'll try to only think of breathing, like yoga style as I walk to each shot, it's harder than it sounds, for me anyway.
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I like the breathing tip. I'll have to give that a shot.

I have listened to the Rotella books in audio format several times. I try to re-listen every few months as there are a lot of good mind tricks for me in them. Plus I can listen to them while I work. One of the most important things I took from them was celebrating my good shots. We all get angry with a bad shot, but few of us really revel in a good one! To paraphrase from the book '... A great golf shot is a small miracle, celebrate it!"
 
SeeMoreGuy said:
One thing I did not do this offseason was read a golf book. I usually do, but was just too busy this time. However, what I do to keep my confidence up is just keep thinking positive thoughts. I usually start off with saying that since my mortgage is not tied to my golf game its going to ok and I am going to just enjoy the day. That gets me in the right frame of mind and I go out and try to concentrate on making the best shot I can each time. Even with the bad shots, I try to see what was positive with it. IF it made good contact I focus on that; if I hit the ball in the direction I was aiming, but the contact wasnt pure, I focus on the great direction. To me, most shots have positives and negatives, so why not concentrate on the positives, it better to repeat them. I am like most golfers; striving to get better, but that is for the range. To me the round is for the enjoyment of the game; the friendships and experiences out there.

When I put one in the drink, I think oh well, I get to use a new ball. Just kidding....that does piss me off. haha

To summarize me: I believe positive thoughts generate positive results. Heck, if you are not an optimist, you should not be playing golf.

Just my 2 cents.
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mdbuschsr said:
I like the breathing tip. I'll have to give that a shot.

I have listened to the Rotella books in audio format several times. I try to re-listen every few months as there are a lot of good mind tricks for me in them. Plus I can listen to them while I work. One of the most important things I took from them was celebrating my good shots. We all get angry with a bad shot, but few of us really revel in a good one! To paraphrase from the book '... A great golf shot is a small miracle, celebrate it!"
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You guys hit it right on the head about what Bob Rotella's book ,The 15th Club is all about!
 
Thanks for your advice guys. I'm about finished reading the book "The 15th Club" and thought I would share Dr. Rotella's advice. I've really enjoyed this book and I can definitely see the areas I need to improve, especially with the negative self-talk that is strongly affecting my confidence.

• Understand that you own your attitude
• Take pride in your confidence, just as you take pride in the strongest part of your game.
• Monitor your thoughts about golf and stop lying to yourself in the negative
• Stop seeking perfection
• Reinforce your memory of good shots either by keeping a journal or replaying them in your mind's eye
• Let go of the memory of your bad shots
• Visualize the things you want to happen
• Write affirmations that stress positive aspects about your attitude toward golf and belief in yourself
• Perceive your golf experiences honestly
• Be a cheerleader for yourself
• Give the proper priority to your short game. It is essential to your confidence.
 
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