Condition Your Golfing Mind For Success
Everything we do in life is 80% Psychology and 20% Mechanics
. In golf terms this means getting your mind right is 80% of the battle and the actual mechanics of the swing are only 20%. I don't care if you're an 18 handicapper trying to consistently break 90 or you're a professional golfer trying to win major tournaments, the same rules apply.
Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus are the greatest plays to have played the game, not purely because they have better swings or they're in better shape than the competition. The reason they're consistently better than their opponents is down to their mental strength. When Tiger walks onto the first tee of any tournament he plays, he believes wholeheartedly that he can win the tournament. Even if he reaches the last round and he's ten strokes off the lead, he still believes he can win.
All the great golfers, male or female have great mental strategies that they perform before, during and after they play. These strategies give them the confidence to perform at their Peak under any conditions.
Gary Player used to practice while people distracted him and made huge amounts of noise. He did this to condition his mind for any pressure situation where there may be loud noise and distractions. If you've ever met Gary Player he'll be the first to tell you that his mental strength was the edge he had over most of his competitors. Gary had so many great victories coming from behind, by being mentally strong. All those hours of practicing and conditioning his mind for success paid off throughout his long career.
Take a look at all the great players; they all have a pre-shot routine that is almost identical for every shot they play. They choose a club and visualize the shot they want to hit. When they feel 100% confident they pull the trigger and hit the ball. If anything distracts them, they take a step back and start their pre-shot routine again. The last thoughts they want in their mind before the hit the ball, are of extreme confidence.
I bet you've had that feeling. When you're playing great golf, you don't think, you just know the ball is going to go where you want it to go. When you're not playing well you start getting mechanical and you start thinking too much. This is all too much for you mind to take it and that in-decision causes you to hit poor shot after poor shot. You need to have a solid pre-shot routine you can repeat for every shot. This will give you the confidence to hit the ball where you want more consistently.
Pre- shot routine
Before you take any shot, choose the club you want to use and be 100% committed to the shot you want to hit. Any doubt or lack of decision will result in a poor shot. Once you've chosen the club you want, think of the best shot you've ever hit with that club. Visualize that shot and when you're totally confident, stand behind the ball so all you see is the ball and the target.
Focus on the target and nothing else. Take two deep breathes in and notice your breathing slowing down. Your mind is like a heat seeking missile as soon as you focus on what you want, it will find a way to get there. If you focus on what you don't want, like hitting into a bunker or the water, you'll confuse your mind. Your mind will see too many targets and not be sure which one to go for. So lock onto the target, while your body relaxes. You may be aiming at a portion of the fairway or green, whatever it is make that you're only focus. Drown everything else out; it's just you, the ball and the target.
Now visualize the shot you want to hit. Visualize it flying exactly the way you want it to fly and see it landing exactly where you want it to land. While you do this you may want to take one or two practice swings. When you're 100% comfortable and committed, walk up to the ball, trust your swing and pull the trigger!
When you use this pre-shot routine with every shot you hit, you'll find yourself playing more consistently better golf. When you hit a bad shot (and you will), shrug it off and maintain this pre-shot routine without fail! This is a successful pre-shot routine used by some of the best players in the world. The key is to repeat in over and over until it becomes conditioned into your mind. When you do this it will become an automatic unconscious behaviour, like brushing your teeth or tying your shoelace, you won't have to think about it, it just happens!
by: Ross Chouler
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