It’s OKAY! No need to stomp, toss a club, use certain language or threaten to quit the game. We are going to hit bad shots; accept them, learn how to deal with them and then get over them.
I will tell you now that it is not the quality of your good shots that make you a good golfer, it’s in the quality of your misses that make you a great golfer. Think about it . . . have you ever recorded an 8 on a scorecard with 8 good shots? Use the mental approach that the hole is going to end and use a mental challenge to stay in the game, maybe focusing 100% on you pre-shot routine for example. We need to develop a strategy for dealing with the many adversities that the game presents and learn how to recover from any situation and “finish.”
The reason I chose this topic is because too much time is spent practicing the perfect shot and the driver. How many times have you heard Tiger say he did not have his ‘A’ game? Now granted his other games are good anyway. That’s not the point. The point is that developing a golfing mind that creates a mindset to handle the emotions from errant shots or unfortunate situations, will allow the flow of the round to stay positive. Now I know some of you are thinking, ‘I don’t get mad’ or ‘I am out for fun so it really doesn’t matter’, if you are reading these blogs then somewhere in your mind you want to improve something in your game. Here is a great starting place, dealing with emotions on the course and improving your misses.
Now you can’t expect to go out your next round and be able to let everything go, so you have to practice this mental strategy. When your hitting shots whether on the range, chipping area or putting green, you need to let go of the result and value the importance of your pre-shot routine. The pre-shot routine is just that, a routine you do every time before you hit a shot. It is a routine that will be unique to yourself and something that should create a calm confidence in the mind for the shot you are preparing to make. A routine should consist of some pertinent steps. First of all you should always assess the lie of the ball, the intended line of play then choose the club that will best present the result desired. When you make your decision you must believe 100% that you have made the correct decision, If it is not the correct decision, at least you will perform a well hit shot, maybe not getting the exact result you want but at least you have created positive data for your golfing mind. This information will be stored and the mind will begin to recognize the situations where that shot is necessary allowing you to make the correct decision more often. This is true for what ever level of golf you are currently playing and will not change no matter how well you begin to play. After you have chosen the club you believe will get the job done begin the in-swing routine. The in-swing routine comprises of several steps that are not limited to or necessarily all the following but use these as a template. Place your grip on the club and stand behind the ball looking directly down the intended direction you want the ball to go. While positioned here make a few practice swings for rhythm not perfection. With the practice swing simply focus on how you want to finish the swing. Next address the ball with both hands on the club and place the clubhead behind the ball perpendicular to the intended line of play. Keeping your hands on the club nestle yourself into a comfortable posture consisting of balance and stability. Now glance a few times or so at the target, you may want to incorporate a waggle of some sort here either with your club or your body. Which ever ‘waggle’ you choose, choose something that will keep your body moving and your mind off of focusing on the result, then look at the ball and perform your swing. Let your golfing mind take over the moment and see what happens. Then let the result go, good or bad it is over and we are moving on to the next opportunity.
When practicing, practice the pre-shot routine you have developed for yourself then commit to that routine, completely, for a period of time during practice or when playing. When playing make a challenge to yourself that you will record data on how many times you focused on your routine and how many times you forget. Each time try to increase the percentage of times you commit to the routine. When your practicing, allot a certain amount of time to focus on your routine, 5, 10, 15 minutes or whatever you can do successfully, then hit shots for that amount of time committing to the routine. Increase this amount of time each time you achieve your success.
The quality of your misses will undoubtedly get better. Your patience will be tried but that is the game itself. Now, set up a golfing program with goals and a strategy for your development. There isn’t any short cuts to getting better but there are fun journey’s you can take and fast improvements you can see happening.
There are so many levels to playing good golf that creating achievable goals are so important in developing your game and getting better. The beauty of golf is that it can be an easy game to play and play for a long time, so learn to free your mind so you can free your game.
I hope you have already created your personalized program and strategies with me in The Golf Swing Rx program and are reaping the benefits of getting better. If you have not joined the Rx family then take a moment to join the journey to better golf . . .
Golf Your Way!
JB