Playing golf is not just about the way you swing the golf club. Yes, the mechanics of your swing and your technique have a huge role to play in how successful you are on the golf course but so does your mind.
If you are distracted mentally because you are thinking about the next holiday you have booked or something which is happening in work, it can have a negative impact on your round of golf.
There are many techniques which look at ways to remain focused when playing golf but just as important as staying focused when on the 18th hole, is the mindset in which you start your round.
If you do not begin your round of golf in the right mood to produce your best performance, chances are you are going to play below your best. The question is, how do you get in the best mood for playing golf?
If you watch professional golf tournaments on television or any other sport for that matter, you will hear the commentators talk about how one player/team looks really fired up and the other player/team look very cool and relaxed.
Whichever player/team comes out on top, is said to have had the correct attitude but the reality is that different people find a specific mood will work for them but not for others. So, if the best player at your club is always really fired up and animated before playing a round of golf, forget copying it because it will not necessarily work for you.
The best thing to do is to think about everyday situations in which you perform at your best and at your worst.
For example, you may produce great work when you have a close deadline but when you have plenty of time to think about what you need to do before you complete it, the work is not of the same quality.
Therefore, you perform better when under pressure than when there is nothing pushing you to succeed.
Now, the next time you come off the golf course think about how you performed. Also consider how you felt before the round and during the round. Did your mood change as the round progressed? If so, what happened which triggered the change in mood and how did it impact on the quality of your golf?
If you do this after every round, you will notice a pattern. If you have noticed you tend to drop shots when you are too relaxed on the course, think about something to fire you up a bit. If you play better when the pressure is on, why not start the round by saying the winner has his/her meal purchased by the rest of the group?
Once you recognise your best mood for golf, do what you can to get into that mood before you start your round.
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