Mental game mistake one is putting way too much emphasis on the outcome of a shot or round.
The optimal state of mind to play golf, would be if you were to play each shot as if you were going to play no more shots in the future, and you’d played no shots in the past. You’re 100% in the present and there are no consequences to each shot. This is why your swing is so fluid and in sync on the driving range.
On the golf course however, we’re always thinking about what’s going to happen next. What will happen if I miss and how will I look. When you’re doing this, you’re focusing on uncertainty. No one can predict the future, but golfer are trying to do it all the time during their rounds.
When we focus on uncertainty, it causes stress and performance anxiety. There’s tension in the muscles and confusion in the brain.
To change this, we need to focus on what we can control aka a shot Process. Your Process is the things you’ve identified as giving your the best chance of hitting a good shot. If you accomplish these, then you’ve done all you could.
This could be Visualization, Physical rehearsal, Alignment, Tempo, Commitment, a deep breath before you swing, whatever it is you need to set these as goals for each shot and measure the success not by where the ball went, but instead whether you achieved your Process goals.
Setting goals for a shot that are within your control is immediately going to lower expectations and tension and help you hit better shots.
In my next video, I’m going to show you why you lose so many shots each round by what you’re thinking about in between shots.
Speak to you soon!
David
