Mental Golf & Golf Confidence
The best golfers in the world have learned to sustain emotional balance on the course and channel their thoughts effectively. Research reveals that anger, anxiety, embarrassment, and fear of failure contribute to players struggling to perform at their best on the golf course. Learn how to play a more confident golf game.
Often on the golf course a single poor shot can put you off your golf game. Negative conversation with yourself is a bad habit that you can alter. You start first by paying attention to what you are telling yourself, and then look to reframe your thoughts to project a more positive outlook.
The saying that “over-analysis leads to paralysis” is very true in golf. There are many times during a golf game where you have plenty of time to think. Use that time wisely – don’t over-think your golf shots, try not to go through a mental checklist each time you stand over the ball. Define a technique for reading greens, but don’t over-read!
The mind is a very powerful thing! Golfers often struggle with comfort zones where for the first couple of holes they can be shooting way under their handicap and then, just before they get to the clubhouse, it all falls apart. This has to do with your ‘comfort zone’, where a golfer’s mental game lets them down and they lose confidence and drop shots to match their handicap.
Doing less and gaining more in golf sounds like an unrealistic expectation. But many top golfers will encourage golfers to get out on the course and play! Practising golf is an important part of the game, but it can often lead to increased frustration, which has a negative impact on your golf game. Instead, try to enjoy the game – the more relaxed you are, the more likely you are to hit your golf shots cleanly.