RSS FeedWhatever you want it call it, it is a very important part of this game that not many players realize. I am a firm believer in positive thinking not only on the course but in real life. I won’t start talking about the Laws of Attraction but I will talk about how positive thinking helps us make better swings on the course which will result in lower scores!
Two years ago I had a chance to take some members of the club I worked at on a tour to Portugal. This was the first Jenahura Golf Experience Tour and if you haven’t checked out what they are all about I suggest you click on that link to learn more about how amazing they are! Anyways, during the Portugal trip I had a rough time on the course shooting very high scores. My problem was the golf mental game.
As it turns out I lost confidence in my swing and started to think about negative outcomes for each shot. Instead of stepping up to the tee and looking at the fairway where I wanted my shot to end up, I was looking at the rough, bunkers, water and trees. Essentially I was looking at all the places I didn’t want to hit it and by doing so ended up hitting my shots there.
It was pretty embarrassing to be playing with all the members from my club and hitting such bad shots because I was their instructor. They were all great and encouraged me that it wasn’t a big deal. Since then I have learned to never be embarrassed on the course. If you hit a bad shot, no big deal because everyone does and no one will judge you just because you hit a few bad shots during the round.
Once I got home I read a great book on golf psychology called Fearless Golf by Gio Valiante and I highly suggest reading it or Bob Rotella’s Golf is a Game of Confidence. After reading Gio’s book my mental golf game improved heavily and I was back playing the golf I had played before Portugal.
During many of my lessons I ask my students what they think about before hitting a shot. Most of the replies I receive are negative thoughts about the types of shots they don’t want to hit or places they don’t want their ball to go. My first point is mention how positive thoughts can help us on the golf course and I always refer to how we drive. They’re cars are coming at us from the opposite direction and if we were to swerve off into that lane we could possibly die but do we think about doing that? NO!!!! Then why do we think about hitting a shot offline?
Start thinking more positively on the course and do look into purchasing the two books I recommended if you are really struggling with positive thinking!
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