Mental Tips To Help You On The Course

If you have ever played golf, you know how difficult and unfair the game can be. When you consider what you’re essentially attempting to do in golf, it can sound absurd when said out loud. You stand over 400 yards away from a hole that is just 4.25 inches wide, trying to hit a small white ball in the fewest number of strokes. While mastering the game requires tremendous physical skill and repetition, many may not realize that the mental aspect is equally if not more important. As Jack Nicklaus famously said, golf is 90% mental and 10% skill, and the more you play, the more true this becomes. Having played for nearly two decades, I’m always experimenting with various mental techniques to improve my game. Here are a few mental tips that you should try during your next round. Enjoy!

Stay Positive

Above all else, it’s crucial to maintain a positive and optimistic mindset when playing golf – I cannot emphasize this enough. In my opinion, this is the most crucial tip to keep in mind. Once negative thoughts infiltrate your mind, your game is effectively over. Negative swing thoughts and negative pre-shot thoughts can be detrimental to your golf game. When standing over the ball and faced with a water hazard, for example, you should think to yourself, “I’ll hit it over the water,” or eliminate the water from your thoughts all together, rather than, “Don’t hit the ball into the water.” Speaking positively to yourself on the course, even when things aren’t going well, can help you improve your scores. Remember, a bad day on the golf course is still better than a day at work!

Stay Present

Staying present is essential. You cannot allow your mind to dwell on past missed shots or future holes and shots that you’ll need to make. The only thing you can control in the moment is the shot you’re taking, so it’s crucial to remain focused on it. It’s impossible to hit good golf shots and achieve low scores if you’re preoccupied with things that haven’t happened yet or things that can’t be changed. Don’t get ahead of yourself on the course; instead, concentrate on the shot at hand, and you’ll notice a significant improvement in your game.

Have The Mind Of A Goldfish

Building upon the previous point, it’s crucial to let go of the past. Adopting a “mind like a goldfish” mentality is essential, which means forgetting everything that occurred more than 10 seconds ago since it’s finished and unchangeable. The next time you’re on the course, try implementing Tiger Woods’ 10-yard rule. According to Tiger’s rule, if you hit a bad shot, you’re only permitted to be upset about it for the first ten yards you walk from the spot where you hit the shot. Once you’ve surpassed the ten-yard mark, forget about it and move on. Focus on the shot at hand, leave the past in the past, and you’ll undoubtedly achieve lower scores.

Have Good Thoughts On The Greens

To improve your putting, it’s crucial to alter your mindset while on the greens. Rather than thinking, “I can’t leave this putt short” or “I can’t hit this past the hole,” change your internal dialogue to “this ball is going into the hole” or “I am going to make this putt.” Having a solid short game and good putting skills is the fastest way to lower your scores and help you when other aspects of your game are not up to par. The key is to stay confident and make assertive strokes while putting. This is especially critical on days when it seems like the putts aren’t dropping. Stay optimistic, say positive affirmations out loud or to yourself before addressing the ball, and witness your putts begin to drop!

Never Give Up

Golf is a challenging and emotionally draining game that can test you throughout the day. However, it’s important to maintain your composure and persevere when battling the course and yourself. If you’re struggling on the front nine, remember that you have a full back nine to turn things around. Don’t let a few bad tee shots out of bounds derail your game; instead, focus on your next shot. In golf, the most crucial shot is always the next one. If you can stay strong and not give up when things aren’t going your way, you’ll emerge stronger on the other side.

The next time you’re on the golf course, give these tips a try and see how they can help lower your scores. As a bonus, here’s one more tip that I swear by: try to think as little as possible. If you’ve been playing golf for a while, you know how to hit the shots you need to shoot good scores. Overthinking and focusing on little details can actually hurt your game. Instead, stay in the moment and focus on the shot at hand. Leave the past behind and save any big swing thoughts for the driving range. Golf is a game that demands your full attention, so stay present and you’ll find success!