Golf Psychology Tips: The Secret to Your Success

At last, it’s here, the real secret behind how to play your best golf. You’ve read, listened, watched, uncovered and tried out all the other “secrets”, but why didn’t they work?

Golf Psychology Tips: The Secret to Your Success

So here’s the article you’ve been waiting for – I’m finally going to tell you the secret golf psychology tips you’ve been looking for all this time…

Actually, no, sorry, I’m not.

It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just I’m not the expert you need.

You see, I don’t know how you like to learn best or prepare for your best rounds.

I don’t know how you like to play your best golf.

I don’t know what makes you happy or confident or focused.

I don’t know how you experience riding your “zone”, churning out great shots.

I don’t know what you do to get there either.

I don’t know how decide on your shots and to them through the shot.

I don’t know how you picture shots, the clarity or content of those pictures.

I don’t know how you speak to yourself or in what tone of voice when you’re on top of your game.

I don’t know where in your body, the size, temperature, or anything else about the feelings you get when you’re “on it”.

I don’t know how you best or recover from frustratingly poor shots. In fact, I don’t know much about your success at all!

I could end the article there, but fear you might simply carry on looking in the wrong places in search of other experts to tell you the real “secret”! But then, would they know how you do success any better? Be patient though – there is one expert I recommend you get in touch with.

Fortunately as a coach I can use some good generalizations about success that are common for everyone. For example, focusing on your target is more effective than focusing on your swing. Feeling confident is much more effective than feeling afraid. Slower breathing is more effective than quick breathing for helping your body be calm. Using upbeat language or no language at all is much more effective than talking yourself out of shots. Moving on from poor shots rather than carrying them with you helps you be present to your next shot. Looking up in between shots helps your energy and state more than looking down. Focusing on your shot routine and process is more effective than focusing on your score. Staying in the Playing State will help you connect best with targets. Etc etc.

There’s only one expert on HOW you do success

All this is sound advice, but these tips only give you half the story. They tell you WHAT to do, but don’t tell you HOW to do it. Like many books, they tell you enough to want to buy the next book, but not enough to make a real difference. The truth is, there’s only one expert on HOW you do success. This particular expert’s knowledge is often overlooked, swamped by the dazzling array of other “experts” out there all wanting to prove that their method is the only right way to do it. I wonder if the one expert I’m referring to knows just how much valuable insight they have to offer, as they’re so used to deferring to everyone else’s “knowledge”. Not many people, even coaches, promote this expert, as this person doesn’t always stand up for what they know – which is a real shame.

The best book on golf psychology is yet to be written

If you were prepared to talk to this expert, they’d be able to tell you everything you need to know about your success. They’d be able to tell you all of the things above about your success which I don’t know. They’d probably tell you to re-read this article and consider how you do all of the successful pictures, feelings, thoughts and processes when you’re at your best. But it’s not my place to suggest this, as I’m not the expert.

When you do ask, enjoy writing down your expert’s mental golf tips on success and then go and practice them. The best book on your golf psychology is yet to be written – it’s just a case of remembering who the best author is.

This post is by Adam Spracking

Photo by Ed

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