One of the crucial aspects of playing golf that many overlook, is the mental game. Bobby Jones once remarked: “Golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course… the space between your ears.” Golf is an individual challenge and if things go south, there’s nobody to help you on the course. If you spend your off days in golf clubs like Merion Golf Club and would like to become better at this sport, here are some of the things you can do right now that will make a difference in the way you play:
1. The night before your golf match,
You should see to it that the key elements needed for your game are all set. This may seem trivial but you’ll actually wake up more relaxed and off to a good start.
2. Listen to some music.
Listening to motivational or inspiring music before sporting activities puts you in a positive state/mood and this in turn can improve overall performance. Create a playlist that corresponds to the length of your drive to the golf club.
3. Arrive early.
Allow yourself to get an extra 30 minutes before your game starts so you can prepare at the club and even practice a bit instead of rushing to get there because you got stuck in traffic.
4. Give yourself 30 minutes of warm up / practice time when you get to the course.
You can do some simple stretch exercises, hit some shots and work on your putting. It takes a golfer about 5 holes to warm-up. Try to imagine how many shots you could lose without a warm-up and then think about how many shots you’ll gain when you have properly warmed up.
5. Stay in the moment.
Don’t think ahead and instead, focus on the immediate task at hand. Concentrate on your shot, chip or putt right now, not on what will happen 20 minutes from now, or worse, 20 minutes ago.
6. Don’t dwell on the bad shots.
Once it’s been hit, there is absolutely nothing you or anyone else can do about it. Tiger Woods employs the 10-yard rule, wherein he vents his frustration (internally) up to 10 yards from where the poor shot was made. After you cross this imaginary line, you need to move on and completely forget about it.
7. Focus on the positive.
If you’re having one of those days, don’t blame your bad fortune on the greens. If you chose a line and start on that line, you’re putting ok and you simply just need to read the green better. Next time, you’ll get the line right and the putt will drop.
8. Play with different shots.
Try different shots and be creative. Golf is supposed to be a fun and exciting game so try out various shots like high draws, bump-and-runs, huge cuts, and knock down shots.
9. Set a goal every time you practice.
Ask yourself: What do I want to achieve for this practice? Make your goals progressive, meaning, set the bar a little higher with every practice. This way you work on your mental toughness.
10. Stay competitive.
We need to be in pressure situations to get better at our game. When we have an understanding of our emotions during practice, we can prepare our mind better on game day.
11. Reflect on your game and document it.
The 19th hole is usually our way of reflecting how well or how poorly we played. Reflection should be a process of evaluating what went wrong and what we did well, and we should use it to analyze how we can improve. By documenting your round you in turn increase your self-awareness and allow yourself to better understand your game and the areas that need improvement.