Do You Play Better When You Are Angry?

There are a lot of different ways of getting angry and there are some that are unacceptable on the golf course, and I do not condone in any way club throwing, slamming clubs into the ground or any similar acts of pure disrespect.

However, there is a reason why I believe that getting angry can be a good thing for golfers.

And there are ways to do it, which will not affect your playing partners or other players on the course.

But why is a golf professional telling you that it is OK to get angry on the golf course?

It is because you need to be able to let go of the negative emotions that are accompanied by a poor shot or decision, it is this release that can allow you to move on and continue with your game in the best possible frame of mind.

Anger is not a purely negative emotion; it is an emotion that shows you care about how you are playing. Without it, there is very little else to motivate you to get better and improve.

So, showing anger is a positive release of pressure and negativity.

But once your show of anger is over, then you need to have a post-shot routine which indicates when it is time to start thinking about your upcoming shot.

A pre-shot routine has long been considered a vital part of golf. Getting yourself prepared, zoned in and ready to play your shot, and I agree a sound pre-shot routine is vital, but so is a post-shot routine that gives you time to consider, reflect and move on from the last shot played.

One of the most successful post-shot routines, which signals the end of the shot is this:

After you have played your shot, good, bad or ugly your post-shot routine must stay the same.

So after your shot, react in a respectful way.

If you want to analyze your shot, analyze it, although this is something I discourage.

Now, this is where the post-shot routine comes into its own.

Take your towel, wipe away the memory of the previous shot and store your club back in your bag.

As soon as you let go of the club you have returned to your bag, the short-term memory of your shot has been stored away until you remove it for post-round analysis.

The reason that I like this post-shot routine is the physical element of it. This physicality reinforces the emotional detachment from the shot.

Getting angry in the right way is a good thing.

Bottling everything up inside will only make things worse, building and building until an explosion of emotions.

So go ahead show some emotion on the course, but remember to build a post-shot routine into your game.