Golf Pyschology

Alex_narey

Alex_narey

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Jan 12, 2009
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Afternoon all,

Many of you will be aware that in the magazine every month we feature a pyschology column penned by Gary Leboff. Gary has worked with some of the UK's best athletes to enforce mental strength, and has also been a huge success in the world of business.

Going forward we would like to get the readers a bit more involved in this page, and we are starting by giving you guys the opportunity to voice any issues you have in this important field of game-improvement.

So, in short, feel free to discuss on this forum now – or write in to Golf Monthly at the address you all know, or send an email to golfmonthly@ipcmedia.com – any mental problems you have with your game. We'll put one each month to Gary, and I'll pop up with a reminder for you all as and when. There will be no straight fix (or maybe there will), but rather pointers on what you can do to counter any problems.

I'll get the ball rolling: If I hit a good shot, I am already worrying about the next, be it flying the green or firing into a green-side trap. How do I overcome this?

Ok, over to you lot...
 
If I play really well, say 6 under handicap, I don't feel that I want to play again for a while, as I know how ever good the next round might be, it will probably feel rubbish in comparision. This kind of makes a self fulfilling prophesy, where next time out I can't hit a barn door with a banjo.
 
Dont go in the bunker
Dont go in the bunker
Dont go in the bunker
Dont go in the bunker
I see golfers who are 10 yards from the green and chip on lovely.
Put a bunker in the way and the negative thoughts appear and 9 out of 10 duff it straight in the bunker.
Confidence in your ability has got to be something to strive for.
 
Im surprised after hitting a GOOD SHOT you are already thinking of the pitfalls of the next shot you are about to play,surely it should be the other way round,you should be thinking posotive about the next shot as your confidence should be high.It may be that you are not visualising the shot you are about to play,and you are looking at the shot you shouldnt be playing.Try visualising the shot you want to play and focus more on the spot you want the ball to land on,and not all the negative areas arond the green.
 
Its a negative thought process your going through,what you need to be thinking is What I need to do to achive my goal.

If it go's wrong then analyse after the event.
 
Good Lord - where do I start??

1st tee - bag of nerves - very worried about the round. I want to play well (obviously) but various little voices tell me that I'm going to mess it up. One of two things then happen - if I start well then the nerves build up hole after hole until the inevitable blow up occurs. If I start badly then I relax and start playing some decent golf. By then it's too late of course!! As an example, my last round I started with a six on our opening par 4. My mind tells me that I've messed up so I relax. I then played well - I was four over standing on the 15th tee. Rather than relax and enjoy what is a good card, I'm all anxious - worrying that my good round will quickly become a bad round. As a result, I hook my drive out of bounds resulting in a card wrecking 9!! Once again, I relax and play the last three holes well.

Another of my issues (!) is picturing the shot. If I hit a good shot, rather than picturing the shot I know I can hit, I picture a severe hook/slice or fat/thin shot. I do try and block this out but when the pressure's on it's all I can think about.

I also have enormous mental issues with putting. Last year I lost count of the three putts I had and I'm trying to forget the four stabs!! If I'm on in two and the pressure's on then a three putt is the favourite. If I was on particularly undulating greens then I'd be OK but most of them are fairly flat!!

I'm a competant golfer, I hit a good ball - my last official handicap was 11 but I feel that if I can sort out the 'head' issues then there's definitely a single figures (maybe even cat 1) player in there somewhere. I feel that I'm beaten before I've even hit the first shot!! As a result, I never take part in matchplay - the last time was in the early 90s and I got beat 10&8!!

Perhaps I should give up..
 
2 issues for me (that I'm aware of anyway) -

1. I find it hard to stay in the present, always thinking ahead no matter what the score - if I get a 4 here and 3 there I can shoot a 74 etc etc.

2. Can also get defensive when scoring well, say around the 13th mind starts to 'play safe' and end up steering shots rather than committing fully to them in order to protect a score. Daft as some of our easier holes are towards the end of the round.
 
Bringing a good round home is way harder than it should be. If I am 6 over at the turn, I can par in. If I am 2 over at the turn, I might as well tear it up and walk in. somewhere along the line I will get defensive, and then mess it up.
 
Is golf pyschology really for us mere mortals?? Can we really get any benefit from "mind exercises" when we only do it half arsed once a week??

If the best players in the world need their "mind guy" by their side during a tournament, how the hell are we going to benefit from reading a short article in a magazine??

I'm healthy, I'm out in the fresh air, lovely scenery and what will be will be, whether that is 68 or 98 there are a lot worse things to be doing. No need to over analyse that. :D
 
Is golf pyschology really for us mere mortals?? Can we really get any benefit from "mind exercises" when we only do it half arsed once a week??

If the best players in the world need their "mind guy" by their side during a tournament, how the hell are we going to benefit from reading a short article in a magazine??

I'm healthy, I'm out in the fresh air, lovely scenery and what will be will be, whether that is 68 or 98 there are a lot worse things to be doing. No need to over analyse that. :D
Click to expand...





Thats a great atitude to have,unfortunatly not everybody has it.
 
Is golf pyschology really for us mere mortals?? Can we really get any benefit from "mind exercises" when we only do it half arsed once a week??

If the best players in the world need their "mind guy" by their side during a tournament, how the hell are we going to benefit from reading a short article in a magazine??

I'm healthy, I'm out in the fresh air, lovely scenery and what will be will be, whether that is 68 or 98 there are a lot worse things to be doing. No need to over analyse that. :D
Click to expand...

For me an attiude like that can only make you play better.

As Robobum says what will be will be!!!
 
Fine. Some of us are nervous wrecks, and need all the help we can get.

If that is your attitiude to sports pschology, that you only do it once a week in a half arsed way, surely the same can be said for golf lessons and practice.

Now for me, (and alot of others I would guess), the problem stopping me from getting cut may not be a technical issue, but the idiot swinging the stick. I could have all the lessons I want, a text book swing, a perfect short game, a hot putter, but if I melt, then the best score is not possible.
 
I agree Murph. Like most on here I work (fairly) hard 5 days a week and I also have a young family that I love to be with in the evenings. The weekend is virtually the only time I get at the golf club so any lesson program or pratice regime would be half arsed in my case.

That's why when i'm out there it is so important to just enjoy it. Hit it, find it and hit it again until it eventually disappears. The fact that i haven't shot a great score isn't going to make my world collapse.
 
Actually I think many 'mere mortals' have got more chance of lowering their handicaps 'overnight' by improving the way they think around the course than the way they strike the ball - especially if you start overlapping the worlds of psychology and common sense/logical thinking.
 
I am very competitive and have an atitude that when things go bad, i beat myself up for that one shot. As soon as i am at the next then re-address and thats a new shot a new thought, nothing to do with the last one! If i blob an hole i then look at par on the next and so on. its only after the round when you analise your round that i then want to throw my clubs in the nearest river and never play again!!!!!!! :mad: :mad:
Went out on Sunday shot a 72 lowest round ever (on temps though) :) :) but will forget that and go again Saturday just hoping to play well. Who knows what will happen :D :D :D :D
 
3 guys playing a par 3 180 yds all over water.
1st guy thinks....
I played here yesterday and duffed 2 in the water, walked off with an 8
2nd guy thinks.....
I just hit a perfect 4 iron on the last hole. All I have to do is do the same swing and I should be ok.
3rd guys thinks....
If I land the ball just to the right of the flag, the slope should bring the ball down to the hole side.
Who's going to hit the green?
 
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