The Mental Side of Golf

[DucatiGirl]

When playing poorly, my mental game goes to crap and takes the actual game with it.

I try to stay positive, and give myself good feedback, but it is hard for me.

ItÂ’s one of the most difficult things for a lot of people. I have some difficulties with it in life for various reasons. ItÂ’s a great life skill to have.

ItÂ’s a trite word these days but being mindful of it helps - and I donÂ’t mean you need to get the Clickgear incense burner accessory for your cart, but I mean recognizing when you slide into the negative spiral on the golf course. Recognizing is key. Once you can recognize, you can start to correct!

And I can’t recommend “golf is not a game of perfect” enough. Also Mastery by George Leonard (thanks Grins !)

 

[Hamfist]

Three R's: Remove bottle of booze from bag. Relax mind while slugging down booze, Replace bottle in bag.

On a ore serious note, I allow myself "Five Seconds Of Fury", I get as mad as I want for five seconds, then move on. Keeps the frustration from building.

 

[McRock]

Remember, tour pros aren't hitting perfect shot after perfect shot. PGA Tour live, which follows a couple of groups around, lets you see that not every shot is magic.

After the round, write down the best shots you had. At least 3.

By doing this, you'll be able to draw on the positive energy during the round. So if you hit a poor shot, shake it off, the next one may be amazing. A par is a par, or a bogey is a bogey, its a number on the card. There are no points awarded for how you achieved any given score, the score is all there is.

As I have started telling my oldest son (who is 7), there is always another shot. We actually had a brief argument (he reminded me of my hole in one earlier this year, and said there was not another shot after that. I told him I still had 8 more holes to play in my league round after that, so there was, in fact, another shot. We agreed to disagree).

~Rock

 

[5150]

I find staying positive about my round helps my score. Focus helps a lot too. But I notice a lot of people struggle with finding the good during and after a round.

What are your strategies mid round to right the mental ship? What about after a round?

Well, it sounds a bit like a cliche, but during the round I try hard to stay in the moment and just play one shot at a time. Hit the ball, watch it land, accept it, and move on to the next one.

If it's just one of those days that's not going my way then I try to focus on the positive things around me and in my life in general.

I had a lousy round in league a couple weeks back and my partner had the round of his life. He's a 16 handicap in a 9 hole league and he shot a 40. He'd never broken 50 in league before that night. So... I focused on encouraging him and sharing in his joy at the great round he was having.

 

[bigskyirish]

It sounds cliche, but for me, it's really reminding myself to take it one shot/swing at a time. If I start thinking too far ahead, I stop hitting good shots in a hurry.

 

[potbunker]

I’m reading “golf is not a game of perfect” by Bob Rotella and this is something that I’m really working on. Every shot will be good, hit to a target, and move on. Easier said than done, but I like your way of looking at it, too.

Golf is not a Game of Perfect +100

Personally: Hole by Hole
Keep it in play
Take your lumps
Not to use the word "don't"
Know where to miss / play the percentages
Short game says it all: To get up and down it takes either two average shots or 1 good one, taking the pressure off the chip

 

[Molten]

I’ve tried so much to keep myself in a good mental space when the wheels fall off. I listen to all the advice and read all the books. I know I’m ok with those bad shots and bad days but my competitive side never lets me be ok with that.

 

[DucatiGirl]

I’ve tried so much to keep myself in a good mental space when the wheels fall off. I listen to all the advice and read all the books. I know I’m ok with those bad shots and bad days but my competitive side never lets me be ok with that.

Finding a way to use the competitive fire is tricky. Recovery from a bad shot is where it’s dicey. It’s okay to give yourself a few moments but golf, as in life, you need to square your shoulders and keep looking forward.

As I always say from BJJ - you win or you learn. And I’m definitely always learning!!

 

[Hamfist]

forget where I heard it: "Never follow a bad shot with a dumb shot."

 

[DucatiGirl]

forget where I heard it: "Never follow a bad shot with a dumb shot."

Unsure but I know I read that in Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect. It’s a good idea but...sometimes it’s fun to try the hero shot. As you know from me saying “I can do it” with the ball in thick rough and 150 yards to the green holding my hybrid...

 

[Hamfist]

I’ve tried so much to keep myself in a good mental space when the wheels fall off. I listen to all the advice and read all the books. I know I’m ok with those bad shots and bad days but my competitive side never lets me be ok with that.

It’s taken me a good long while to mentally train myself to let bad shots go. A good long while. And it hasn’t been easy. But it has made the game enjoyable again.

 

[Danimal]

forget where I heard it: "Never follow a bad shot with a dumb shot."

I usually do the inverse of this, so I should be alright.

 

[DG_1234]

Good thread topic, thank you.
A friend of mine is an excellent player, a senior player who has literally won hundreds of tournaments , awards etc... and he recommends two mental factors:

1) pre shot routine , which may take as little as 5 seconds, but do it the same for every shot.
2) focus

 

[Mr Moke]

The flip side of letting go of bad shots is not dwelling on good shots. Friday evening my round at the executive started rough, couple of pars but a string of doubles and triples through 8. At the 9th my brain backed off and shot 8 pars in a row. I stood on the 17th tee box and thought...... yep I don’t know what changed but my brain wouldn't’ let me hit the ball. After that cluster the darn brain shifts gears again and I made a last par.

 

[JonMA1]

I struggle in the middle when a good round starts to go south. It's almost better to get it over with on the first hole or two. I can handle a blow-up hole and my game can overcome one of those. But when I get two or more, it's over.

When I'm not keeping score, the bad shots don't matter - as long as it doesn't get to the point where I'm hitting several in a row. I may or may not play better golf when there's no score to think about, but it's definitely more enjoyable.

My last instructor tried to help me with this. He said my swing is ok for the level of golf I'd like to play- but he said the negative thoughts can be damaging. I don't know how much of this is true. It's kind of an egg or chicken thing. Are the negative thoughts causing the bad play or is it the other way around?

Like others have said, thinking too much about a good shot can take away from your focus as well. As most high cappers do, I hit good shots throughout a round. It's easier for me to enjoy the moment of a good shot and then quickly move on than it is to forget the damaging mistakes.

It's a work in progress.

 

[thommo.sx]

Yesterday's round was a real test to not allow one aspect to get in my head - I was playing really quite well tee to green, but the green undulations and especially pin placement were vicious yesterday. It's quite a short course, so the greens and the pin placements are there to stop it being taken apart. Sometimes you just have to accept that the course will get you somehow, and then roll with - and enjoy - the challenge.

 

[DucatiGirl]

Getting into the mental habit of “it’s just a shot” can be tough for amateurs, because for some of us (like me), we might hit a pure shot once every 2-3 times. So you kinda want to enjoy it!

I think it’s a post shot routine too - we all know the importance of pre shot routine, the think box and play box, and routine of your particular pre shot. But maybe we ought to have a post shot routine too - take 5 seconds to admire, or cuss, your shot, then what did you do right, what did you do wrong, what are you going to correct on the next shot, and take a deep breath to focus on the next shot. Just like your preshot routine, this will become automatic after awhile.

 

[DucatiGirl]

Yesterday's round was a real test to not allow one aspect to get in my head - I was playing really quite well tee to green, but the green undulations and especially pin placement were vicious yesterday. It's quite a short course, so the greens and the pin placements are there to stop it being taken apart. Sometimes you just have to accept that the course will get you somehow, and then roll with - and enjoy - the challenge.

And sometimes knowing you’re having a great round but the course is fighting back is annoying but there’s not much amateurs can do with crazy greens except enjoy the day!

 

[uitar99]

forget where I heard it: "Never follow a bad shot with a dumb shot."

This usually saves me two strokes per bad shot. My wife on the other hand always plays the hero shot and usually blows up

And...no expectations. At my HCP, I can't expect to shoot 72, ever.

 

[thommo.sx]

And sometimes knowing you’re having a great round but the course is fighting back is annoying but there’s not much amateurs can do with crazy greens except enjoy the day!

Exactly. :good:

However - the 6 x 3 hole matches I play against the course in a round to keep me more focused on the short term really helped me out by making it all a little bit more focused on the next 12 or so shots, so I wasn't off wondering what that last putt was doing to the overall score.

 

[PowerThrust]

Exactly. :good:

However - the 6 x 3 hole matches I play against the course in a round to keep me more focused on the short term really helped me out by making it all a little bit more focused on the next 12 or so shots, so I wasn't off wondering what that last putt was doing to the overall score.

That sounds like a really good perspective to take.

My issue is definitely one of remaining positive and tempering expectation. Prime example is last week I had to take it easy because I was nursing an injury. Didn't expect too much. Shot 73. Yesterday, shot an 84, injury wasn't bothering me so I was a "full go". EXPECTED to play better. Wrong.

 

[YouSeenMyWedge?]

I just moved out of a big city (Toronto) into a naturally beautiful spot in West Coast Canada so for me it's just thinking about how happy I should be just to be out there playing a round of golf, regardless of how I shoot.

Some times it works more effectively than others.

 

[Bernoulli]

There is nothing mental after the round for me. Once that last putt drops, the round is over. As far as during the round I'm a grinder and a competitor (competing mostly against myself these days), so I treat each hole as a new beginning. I try not to allow anything from the prior holes to affect my play on the hole that I'm playing.

 

[5150]

forget where I heard it: "Never follow a bad shot with a dumb shot."

I stink at this...

After the bad shot, while I'm still emotional about it, I'll hurry up to the ball, skip the pre-shot routine and hack away at one. There's really no excuse for that but I do it ALL.THE. TIME. Gotta quit that.

 

[Hamfist]

I stink at this...

After the bad shot, while I'm still emotional about it, I'll hurry up to the ball, skip the pre-shot routine and hack away at one. There's really no excuse for that but I do it ALL.THE. TIME. Gotta quit that.

I've done that as well. Maybe make yourself count to "10" before pulling the club for the next shot?