The mental side of golf is very important and improving this aspect of your game can have just as big an impact on your play as the physical side of things.
As a golfer, you are often alone with your thoughts on the golf course and how you deal with this goes a long way in determining how well you play. Just one bad shot can be enough for a golfer to lose concentration, become anxious or lose patience.
The importance of patience in golf cannot be underestimated.
We are not talking how you deal with slow players, although this can have an impact on your round if you lose your cool with a group in-front of you. What we are talking about is having patience with your own play.
Again, this does not mean playing slow golf, it means not rushing your shots.
Becoming impatient can completely change your approach to golf and lead you to making poor decisions and rushing your routine. If you have a good routine in place, changing the pace of that routine is only going to cause problems, especially during tournament play.
So, how can you remain patient having played a poor shot or becoming anxious on the golf course?
Making a bad shot or having a poor hole will not define your round and it is vital to remember there are 17 other holes on the course where you could score well. Playing golf is a long process and while each shot is important, individual shots will not define your round so do not worry if you make a mistake somewhere.
The key to remaining patient on the golf course is to understand the triggers which make you lose your cool and test your patience. What riles you more than anything else? It could be a three-putt or getting a shot wrong which you spent time practicing on the range recently.
Whatever it is, become aware of these triggers as once you know what they are, it becomes easier to think about them clearly in your mind before losing your patience.
Having isolated the type of incident which leads to a loss of patience in your game, try putting it behind you immediately. This means focusing on the next shot or hole. Walk straight to your bag and get out the next club you need or if this is not an option try focusing on your breathing.
Then, as you approach the ball to play your next shot, concentrate 100% on your routine and maintain the same pace you normally would for the upcoming shot.
Clearly this is not as easy as it seems and nobody would ever lose their patience on the golf course it was straight forward but the importance of patience on the golf course is huge.
So, next time you complete a round of golf, please ask yourself the following questions.
How many shots did you give away by impatience? How many shots were you not clear and committed in your decision making?
Answering these questions will give you some idea as to how important keeping patience is to your golf game.
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