The Mental Game

It has often been said that golf is 90% mental and 10% physical. I don’t fully agree with those percentages. There is no doubt that you must be able to think your way around the golf course. There are times on the golf course when you need to focus on one thing and times when you must assess many different variables. PGA Tour players benefit from having a caddie. Caddie’s take away much of the tough thinking for the player and allow them to be in a comfortable situation with a basic task in front of them. Imagine walking up to your approach shot and having someone tell you exactly where to land the ball, how far that landing spot is, where you should miss and which way the wind is blowing. That would sure make things easier. The reality is that very few of us “normal” golfers have the benefit of a caddie. We must do all the thinking on our own and then try to reduce all of those considerations into one positive swing thought.

Get the ball to the hole. Whether it is an approach shot, a chip or a putt, you need to train yourself to get the ball to the hole. Most golf professionals would agree the most common mistake of amateurs is leaving the ball short of the green or hole. Club selection is very important. Don’t pick a club that you have to hit at full power and make perfect contact to get it to the hole. Always pick a club that if you hit perfect would end up at the back of the green. This should help you make a more controlled and relaxed golf swing and at minimum get the ball to the green. I often ask my students this question in regards to putting: “How many putts out of 100 go in the hole when left short?” The answer is obviously zero. When practicing and playing, always make an effort to hit putts with enough speed to end up one foot past the hole.

Focus on what you want to accomplish, not what you want to avoid. How many times have you or someone you are playing with make a statement such as “I don’t want to hit it into the water” and then do exactly that. That comment produces images of water in the brain. Those images then become the unconscious target. Imagine being a pitcher in baseball and trying to throw to the catcher’s mitt while focusing on a beautiful woman in the crowd. Chances are you will not be throwing a strike. Mental imagery is a very powerful tool that can both hurt and help a golfer. Try focusing on specifically where you would like the ball to go. The more exact the target, the better. Once you have selected that target, try to imagine it in your head and imagine your ball flying directly at
it.

Playing it safe is a smart way to play golf. The word “fairway” does explain why it is so important to keep the ball in the short grass. Like the tortoise to the hare, in golf often the guy who can hit it straight down the middle ends up with the lowest score. There are rarely trees, hazards, bunkers or bad lies when you hit it down the middle. Not many people can play “Bomb and Gouge” like the big guys on the tour do.

Filed under all posts, pro tips.
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