The Mental Game

The Ability to Play Without Thinking About it 

True confidence comes from knowledge and experience. Think of something you do very well, basketball, snow skiing, tennis, playing the piano, using a computer, anything. You have confidence in your ability because you know what you’re doing, and you’ve had lots of experience! You can achieve the same thing with your golf swing.

You’re getting the knowledge right now, and practice will give you the experience. Quality practice will give you confidence out on the course, and it doesn’t require “hard” practice. It’s working smart, not hard, that counts in your practice time. Quality practice means:

  • Practice on the driving range, not out on the course.
  • Always take a practice swing, even if it’s a half one, before your full swing.
  • After your practice swing, walk up to the ball and hit it. Don’t think about what you’re doing during the actual swing. Thinking is what you do in the practice swing.
  • After your swing, evaluate the shot. Were you pleased with what your body was doing? Don’t worry about where the ball went. Focus on the aspect of the swing you’re working on.
  • Try to relax, make sure you’re breathing regularly.
  • If you get frustrated, take a break. If you keep working while you’re tired and frustrated, you’ll loose focus and be building bad habits.

Golf needs to be something you enjoy. Five or ten minutes of quality time is much more valuable than an hour of poor practice!

On the practice tee, you should be working on the fundamentals, focusing on one thing at a time. You can’t work on several things and have any success. Pick one aspect, and focus on it until it’s right.

Working on the fundamentals is done on the range, not on the course.

The range is where you work on your golf swing; the course is where you play golf. Many times, I’ll see people on the range, and I’ll ask them what they’re thinking about, and they’ll say “Nothing, I’m just trying to groove my swing.”

That’s a vague answer, which means they’re just whacking balls. The range is very forgiving. It’s a wide open area that doesn’t penalize your shots. As a result, that’s where a lot of people “play” golf.

Then, out on the course, I’ll ask what they’re thinking about, and they’ll say, “I’m thinking about staying in my posture,” or “I’m thinking about keeping my left arm straight,” or a number of different answers. They’re working on their swing because the ball went in the rough, or missed the green, or something else unpleasant.

If you work on the fundamentals on the range, you won’t have to out on the course. Practice on the driving range. Play on the golf course.

Out on the course, all you have to think about is getting the ball in the hole, being mentally tough. Placing it on the tee and getting it in the cup with as few strokes as possible. That’s all.

Link to the next chapter, Putting: the Short Game.