Golf Mind Play: Overcoming Negative Influences

How do the obstacles that present themselves on the golf course affect your mind game?

The game of golf involves changing variables that directly influence how a player approaches the game. Although you have control over which equipment you choose to play with or what days you will play, there are so many factors that are beyond your control which will affect the way you perform, as well as your attitude towards the game. Things such as weather, speed of the greens, length of the rough, slope of the fairway, your playing partner and players ahead of you are common variables over which you have no control. These are among the many factors that will affect how you perceive your game for that day, yet are out of your personal control. Variables on the golf course often cause distress in players who do not know how to manage obstacles that are introduced during the game.

What is your mental strategy?

The best way to overcome the pressure attached to situations that are out of your control, on the golf course is to first accept that obstacles are part of the game. You can then adjust your mental strategy to deal with any particular situation that may arise. By accepting variables as part of the challenge, you can remove the negativity attached to less than ideal conditions. For instance, when faced with an intimidating water hazard, your first instinct is to fear your ball will end up in the water. Instead of dwelling on your negative past experiences with water on the course, try to view the hazard as a challenge rather than an annoyance. When you can manage to look past the hazard rather than devoting your complete attention to it, you will enhance your ability to focus exclusively on your target. When you learn to control your thoughts, you have a far better chance of controlling the outcome. If your playing partner is having a bad game, the way they react to their poor performance can sometimes affect your game in a negative way. Although you cannot control what kind of game your partner is having, you do have control over how you deal with the situation in your own head so it doesn’t affect your game. Every obstacle on the golf course will have a detrimental affect on your score if you let it get to you. Unfortunately, you don’t have the ability to control external influences, but you do have complete authority over how you perceive these circumstances in your own head. Changing how you perceive challenges will not only lower your score, it will enable you to relax and enjoy your game no matter what is going on around you.

Tips

1. Accept that there are variables on the golf course that are beyond your control.

2. Playing through variable conditions not only keeps the game challenging, it will improver your skills by introducing you to new situations on the course.

3. Understand that obstacles are part of the game. Remove the negativity attached to difficult situations and adjust your mental strategy to overcome various circumstances that arise throughout your game.