Step 6: The Post Shot Routine
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” – Victor Frankl, Nazi death camp survivor and psychotherapist
In the final phase of the Shot Routine, we need to choose the best way to respond to any outcome that might have occurred, end the shot and move on. Good shots are easy to move on from, but less desirable outcomes can leave us feeling frustrated, angry, and disappointed. Letting those emotions take hold can affect how well we play the next shot. For this reason, we need to be aware of our emotions and take the necessary action to move forward and return to the present, so we can bring the best version of ourselves to the upcoming shot.
As I’ve said before, the greatest value of the game of golf is not the trophies and scores, but what it teaches us about ourselves to become better human beings. One of these times we get to practice a key life skill is after a shot. Short game guru James Sieckmann calls the time after a bad shot “the most important 5 seconds in golf”. How well you are able to deal with setbacks on the golf course, is a reflection of how you are able to deal with them in your life. Let’s take a look at how we can get better at it and use those experiences to grow as a player and as a person.
Accepting “bad” shots
Golf is a difficult game. If it wasn’t, you probably wouldn’t enjoy it as much. Undesirable outcomes and what we call “bad” shots are an inevitable part of every round for all levels of player. That said, I recommend that you don’t call them “bad” – they are simply a part of the game that every golfer has to deal with. Good golf is not about hitting every shot perfectly. Ben Hogan famously said that he only hit 5-6 perfect shots in any round, the rest were good misses. Of course, the intention is always to hit good shots, but accepting that you will probably miss-hit some is important in controlling your responses to them. Accept your misses before you go out to play.
Remind yourself of the importance of having a growth mindset. Mistakes and failure are not to be feared or thought of as wrong, they are to be accepted and seen as an integral part of getting better. That is how we create the freedom to play well and the mental toughness to work our way through challenges.
Choosing A Response Instead of Reacting
“Champions respond to what happens, losers react”
However you feel after a shot, it is acceptable. You can’t control your primary emotional response to any outcome or situation – it is what it is. That said, you do have control over what happens immediately after it and whether you allow it to affect your mood and the rest of the round.
E.g. If you miss a short putt or hit your drive OB, you can expect to feel disappointed or frustrated. This is perfectly normal. The key is to notice it and accept it. Once you do that, you get the control to decide what to do next.
But without awareness of how you are feeling and thinking, that primary emotion can trigger negative self-talk and secondary emotions such as anger, shame and fear. Your whole mood and outlook can change for the worse.
Instead of reacting with swearing or beating yourself up, try simply observing how you feel. Fred Shoemaker, the author of “Extraordinary Golf” says that “the few seconds after a shot is when you need to be the most aware of your emotions.”
Being able to notice thoughts and emotions and then pause before choosing how to respond is something that takes practice.
Storing memories of shots
As we discussed earlier in the program, the brain has an innate “negative” bias. For our ancient brain, it’s more important to remember where threats to our survival are and to predict upcoming danger than to think about the rewards.
For this reason, it stores negative events as memories more deeply than it does positive ones. These memories can then trigger negative emotions in the future. E.g., if you have lots of bad memories of missing 3ft putts, then more “negative” emotions are going to be triggered when you have 3ft putts in the future.
For the most part, the brain’s negative bias is not helpful to us. In fact, we need to do our best to reverse it as much as possible and give more weight to positive events. By doing so, more positive emotions will be triggered in association with different situations in your game, instead of negative ones.
After a good shot, anchor it and hold onto that feeling of the swing and the emotion you feel for as long as possible. By doing so you’ll store the memory of it. Your anchor could be an action, like a fist pump or a word that you say to yourself. We also do this reinforcing of positives in the Post Round Review (which we’ll get to later).
Conversely, undesirable outcomes/shots need to be let go of quickly, so they are not stored in our memory. Try the following techniques to help you do it.
Be your best friend and best coach
What would you want your coach to say after you hit a shot that leaves you feeling disappointed? They would undoubtedly offer words of encouragement and optimism, not criticism and pessimism. Be self-compassionate in those moments when you feel emotional pain, don’t make it worse with negative self-talk. Your coach would say something like: “It’s gone, nothing can be done about it now. Be strong and get ready for the next shot”. You might find it better to recover from a poor shot by being firmer with yourself. Players such as Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods can sometimes have a firmer approach by telling themselves that what they just did it not acceptable and they can do better. Experiment, reflect and think of what approach or language would be best for you.
Take a positive from every shot
This is a tough challenge after some shots, but it will help you keep a positive mindset and train you to be more optimistic. After each shot ask yourself: “What did I do well and what was good about that shot?
Count to 10
Putting 10 seconds of time between the way the shot made you feel, and your next move will allow you to respond positively. Tiger Woods has a “ten pace rule”, where after he hits a disappointing shot, he allows himself 10 paces to vent and process it, before he puts it behind him.
Use Humor
“Realizing bad shots happen is the best way to deal with them. Take the drama out of the shank or top. Use humor or laughter to make it go away, and then move on.” – Zach Johnson
As we will discuss in the next module, using facial expressions such as smiling can trick your brain into producing feel good chemicals which can give you a lift after a disappointing shot.
Use A Post Shot Trigger
Do something that ends the shot and puts it behind you such as the action of putting the club back in the bag or taking off your glove.
Evaluate the shot
The first thing to ask yourself when reviewing a shot is: “did I achieve my process goals?”
If the answer is “no”, then highlighting which of them you missed and making it a priority for the next shot is important.
Were you committed? How good was your tempo? Did you pick a good target? Noticing these things will only help.
As we discussed previously, if there’s a pattern to your misses, (and you know you’re swing well enough), you can make the necessary adjustments to change the pattern.
Use your imagination and replay the shot in the way you would have liked and then quickly move on.
Experiment with these different ways to move on from a missed shot, so you can reset and bring your best to the next one.
