The mental golf game is played in many different forms. The answers always amaze me that I receive when I ask a simple mental golf game question. "On the first tee in front of 100 people, would you rather hit a perfect drive and proceed to play one of your worst rounds of golf OR would you rather top your first shot on the first tee and go on to shoot your career round?"
I find it hard to believe that people have to think about the answer as long as they do! Most golfers are more worried about what others think or perceive than what actually happens on the golf course.
Remind me, the goal is to go as low as you can go right? As far as I know, there are no style points or a remarks column on a scorecard. HAHA Not to go "Dr. Phil" on you but, you can not control what others think so control what YOU can control with your mental golf game. This would include your breathing, being your own best caddy and how you evaluate a golf shot.
No matter what the situation is on the first tee or eighteenth green, your mental golf game must be able to control your breathing. When we are in stressful situations, it is important to monitor your breathing. It is pretty simple, in order to perform at peak levels, your body needs oxygen.
When we find ourselves in tense situations, our breathing tends to become shallow. This does not give our bodies the oxygen levels to perform at our highest level. To feel relaxed, focused and energetic you must make a conscious effort to control your breathing.
While on the golf course, your mental golf game must include being your own best caddy. You know what I am talking about however, may not have thought about it this way before. That little voice in your head can be a positive or negative influence on your mental golf game.
The amazing part is that you get to decide if it is going to help you or hurt you! Here is your chance to have that positive caddy from the PGA or LPGA tour with you! How would they help you?
You would now confidently gather the information about your next golf shot and trust it because of its source. What would your caddy tell you after a good shot? More importantly, what would they tell you after a not so good shot?
A professional caddy would look at the situation as a challenge and in a very matter of fact way attempt to find the best way to get the ball into the hole from the position the ball is currently. I promise you they would not use some of the words that you do to talk about yourself.
In the mental golf game book, The Greatest Player Who Never Lived, Michael Veron wrote on this very topic of being your own best caddy. The Greatest Player Who Never Lived is a fun, entertaining and easy read.
With your mental golf game, you have the ability to control how you evaluate a golf shot once it is over. From a balanced finish, evaluate what went well and what could have been a "do-better." You can control that.
In conjunction with your instructor, come up with a couple of points that you can evaluate at the end of your golf swing. For example, are you in balance and what level was your tension through impact? These evaluation points are endless and need to be tailored to what you are currently working to improve your game. The evaluation points do not need to change every other golf swing.
Improving your mental golf game is up to you and controlling what you can control. To improve your mental golf game, monitor your breathing, be your own best caddy and then calmly evaluate what went right and what could be a do-better. These three simple suggestions that you can control will improve your mental golf game sooner rather than later and lower your scores.
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