I’ll want to dive WAY deeper into this topic, and probably multiple times, but I want to give some basic thoughts into the mental side of golf which I have found to be not only helpful, but also imperative to playing good golf.
My introduction into sports psychology started much like a lot of people. I read a few books from Bob Rotella and Gio Vialante. My college team had a session with Dr. Bob Winters. I have also learned a lot from non-golf books like Toughness by Jay Bilas and Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins. I have heard podcasts with golf psychologists as well which greatly improved my understanding of things. At the end of the day, however, it wasn’t until I truly committed to paying attention to how I thought that I was able to take the next step in my game.
In 2019, I was playing really solidly on the Canadian Tour. I had a few good finishes and felt like my game was in a great place. Then, midway through the season, I was on a three week stretch, and I missed the first two cuts in a row. I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t scoring well because all parts of my game felt like they were in good form.
I had listened to a podcast during my travels with a sports psychologist that really interested me, so on Saturday night after the second missed cut, I decided to look up his website and email him. He responded to me the next day, and we set up a call on the Wednesday before the third event. That Friday, I had a two shot lead after two days. Then Saturday, with really tough conditions, I increased my lead to three heading into the final round. I did all of this without making any changes to my physical game, and the results spoke for themselves. I ended up not winning on Sunday, but I’d like to believe that the 30mph winds contributed to a lot of my struggles on Sunday (haha).
If we fast forward to now (2023), I have been struggling with my scoring all season. I feel like my game is good, and I’ve learned so much over the last 10 years playing professional golf that I should be in a good position to compete consistently. I have been making a lot of birdies, but also making a lot of bogeys. What I have learned from keeping my stats, is that I have been struggling mostly with my par saving putts. I came to the conclusion that the only reason for this is my mental state because I am really solid with my birdie putts from equal distance.
I have been reading through my notes from the last decade, and recommitted myself to the mental game as an equally important part of my golf game. By paying attention to the way I’m thinking and feeling, I have started to see some better results in my last few events, with a runner-up finish in my most recent two day event this past week.
I’m not sure I have all the secrets, but I will get into some of the details another time. For now I am solely suggesting that you pay attention to the thoughts that are happening and how they make you feel. If you can start to be aware of your thoughts, realize that they don’t control you, and make free swings despite them, you will start to be able to take the next step in your game.
I’m looking forward to writing more about this soon because I truly believe this is one of the most important parts to shooting lower scores.
Until next time,
B
Kommentare