What do the pros do when they shoot a round in the 80’s in a tournament? This means, of course, that they have “shot themselves in the foot” and are out of the tournament.
Pros understand that golf is an unpredictable game. The attitude for dealing with this kind of failure is different for each player. Here are some of the ways pros think about mentally recovering from uncharacteristically high rounds.
- It happens. I laugh at myself.
- I just forget about it and go out and play the next round.
- If it happens on Friday and I miss the cut I can get away from the golf course.
- I remember the good holes that kept the score from being even higher.
The mental game of golf is about developing your mindset before you get to the golf course. If you don’t have a positive attitude, your emotions will take over and you will press to make up for your mistakes. It will then be harder to become mentally and physically balanced.
Adopt an attitude of acceptance
- Decide that you don’t have to hit every shot perfectly to score low.
- Accept that you will make mistakes and forgive yourself.
- Let go of miss-hits to stay in the present.
- Focus only on the positive thoughts of what you want.
- Practice patience for things to turn around.
- Know you can persevere by using your best mental tools.
- Know that failure is life’s greatest teacher.
Play “In the Zone” With Joan
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Log on to the PMI website for more mental golf tips and eight guided imagery CDs for improving your golf game.
Since we are all part of the golfing community and want to improve, I would like to hear from you. Let me know what your concerns are, the parts of your mental game that you need help with, what excites you, and what you love about the game.
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