Mental Golf Tips – Damage Control

Is one bad shot ruining your entire game?

A good game can quickly be transformed into a bad game simply by hitting one bad shot. You may have a pleasant attitude and high expectations before arriving at the first tee, but messing up your first shot can change your entire mind-set. If you don’t immediately step back and accept what happened and move on, you may as well turn around and head back to the clubhouse. Instead, if you can make the decision to isolate that shot and move on to focus on the next one, you may find that you will have a terrific game from that point forward. The same goes with three or four putting a hole, or taking a few strokes to get out of a bunker. It is important to isolate these incidents and focus your attention on your next shot. See each shot as a new game in itself and avoid dwelling on negative incidents, as your overall attitude has a direct correlation with your physical performance.

Are you letting anger control your performance?

Anger is an emotion that hinders dexterity and flow. How many times have you seen a person losing their temper while trying to do something with their hands? They end up fumbling objects and throwing them, or even breaking them in frustration. This is why it is very important to exercise damage control before overreacting into a fit of rage when placed in frustrating situations on the golf course. The sooner you recover emotionally, the sooner you can rebuild your self-esteem and convert a bad situation into a good one. Not only will you improve your likelihood to shoot a lower score, you’ll improve your likeability among other players. Misery may love company, but company does not love misery!

Tips

1. When anger surfaces after hitting a poor shot, let go of the emotion quickly so it will not affect the remainder of your game.

2. Minimize the importance of your mistakes. Dwelling on past shots will only drag your misfortune through to the next hole.