A Few Words about Golf’s Mental Game
The physical side of playing golf is hard enough. There are many different fundamentals and techniques to learn, and you will have to practice regularly if you want to make much progress with your game. Many golfers never even get to the point where they are reasonably happy with the state of their physical game. Of course, if you are fortunate enough to get to that point, you will have another obstacle standing in the way of your scoring goals – the mental game. Golf is actually as much mental as it is physical, and you need to understand how to control the way you think on the course if you want to find success.
Following are a few points regarding the mental game to keep in mind for your next round –
- Golf requires focus. You can’t just walk out onto the golf course and let your swing do all the work. If you want to post good scores, you have to think your way around the course. Positioning your ball correctly means picking smart targets and then executing solid swings at those targets. Of course you want to have fun while you are out on the course, but you need to focus as well in order to succeed.
- Trying too hard doesn’t help. On the other end of the spectrum, if you put too much effort and focus into the game, you could actually start to hurt your performance. There is a ‘sweet spot’ where you are trying just hard enough to play well, but not so hard that you get in your own way. It isn’t easy to find that spot at first, so work on getting to a point where you are comfortable on the course and can let your talent and preparation shine through.
- Everyone hits bad shots. If there is one piece of mental game advice that should stand out above all the rest, it is that you need to accept bad shots as being part of the game. No matter who you are or how good you might be, bad shots are inevitable. Instead of dwelling on them, the proper response is to learn from your mistake and move on to doing better on the next shot. With a positive attitude and the right outlook on your mistakes, you can get over them quickly and keep your round on track.