As an avid golfer you’re always looking for ways to get better. That could be through swing analysis, lessons new equipment or something else.
I want to bring your attention to the mental game just for a few moments here. There are 3 key things we can influence quickly to improve our mental game.
The first thing is to be aware of our body language.
What happens when we hit that bad shot, and it doesn’t turn out how we wanted it to?
The shoulders drop, the head drops, and the chest drops.
We start to breathe more shallowly, and we become stressed. My invitation to you is before EVERY shot and throughout the round, be aware of where your body is. Have your shoulders back, chest up head up and breathe deeply. Watch what happens to your scores.
Number two is the pictures that we create in our mind. It’s easy to visualise what we DON’T want. It’s easy to stand on that tee and picture the ball going in the water out of bounds. Here’s what to do instead: Visualise exactly how you want the shot to be executed. See the flight, see the bounce…see the whole shot. Will it be perfect? Of course not but it will increase your odds of hitting a great shot.
Number 3 is our self-talk. Sometimes we’ve got a couple of voices in our head on the golf course. One voice might say: “you can do this, you can execute the shot, you’ve got this shot!” and the other voice will say, “Don’t you dare don’t go in the woods and you’re gonna put in the water you always go in the water on holes like this”.
Listen to the voice that tells you: “you can!”. Listen to the voice with a positive intention.
You can ask questions that brings this voice up. Ask yourself something like: “how have I hit great shots like this in the past?” “What amazing shots have I hit, just like this one?” As you do this and ignore the other voice it will fade away, and you’ll focus on your desired intention.
Take control of those three things, your body language, the images, and the voices in your head, and let more consistent golf follow.
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