Here in the northeast US, the official summer season has ended. Fall made its debut on Sunday with the days and nights equal at 12 hours each. The leaves on the trees are turning yellow and beginning to fall. The cool nights and warm days make for pleasurable rounds of golf.
Now is the time to reassess your mental golf game and how well it worked for you this summer. The way you played the game is reflected by your state of mind, your behavior, your conduct on the course and of course, your scores.
Attitude is a habit of thought
The more you repeat a thought you create an attitude that you put into your subconscious mind. Attitudes produce energy which effects your emotional level. You can always change your attitude by reframing your way of thinking.
If you have developed an emotion of anxiety over missing four-six foot putts, it is time to change your attitude. You have a choice to see the putt as a wonderful opportunity to score, or feel the self-deprecating emotion of failure if you miss it. Repeating to yourself that it is an opportunity instead of an intimating stroke will eventually change your attitude and your feeling about putting.
The putting stroke is one of the simplest skills in all of sport. Golfers can make it the most difficult. Don’t take the fun out of putting by creating a fear thought of the outcome. Let go of the thoughts of having to make it for a birdie, or to win the hole, or to make up for a 3-putt. These are all thoughts that will change your emotional state.
Prepare your mind for success
Know that you don’t have complete control over the outcome of making the putt go in the hole. But you do have control over your attitude. Change the thought that you might miss the putt by preparing your mind for what you want to accomplish. Then you can move from the need to not make a mistake to the free expression of your ability.
When your putts go in, you judge that you are doing it right. When they don’t you think you are doing something wrong and try to fix it. Let go of this judgment.
The purpose of putting is to roll the ball well enough to give it the best possible chance to go in the hole. You gain confidence by accomplishing your purpose. Trust that you can do this. Once you have made up your mind, trust that what you have decided is right. Be decisive and don’t second guess.
Golf gives us many opportunities to feel good about ourselves.
Good putters don’t spend time thinking about missing putts. They remember the good putts they made. Choose to change your putting attitude by visualizing and thinking only about your good putts. Give your putts the best possible opportunity to go into the hole by using your preset routine, trusting your decision and breathing deeply to relax and focus.
Improve your putting attitude by listening in the privacy of your own home to the PMI self-hypnosis CD, “Confident Putting for Lower Scores.” You can order today at http://www.pmi4.com/cart
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