One of the phrases you will often hear a top caddie say to his pro is 'Commit to the shot' It's a good reminder for the club golfer in particular as whatever shot you face, whether it's using the driver or the putter or any of the 12 clubs in-between, it is important to hit it as if you mean it.
How many times have you hesitated between two clubs, not sure whether a cut down 6 iron is better than a full blooded 7 for example. Too often you carry that uncertainty with you into the process of the shot. If you are uncertain about the outcome, that often translates into a less than rhythmical swing, perhaps a deceleration of the club, a poor contact and the ball missing it's target.
Whichever club you choose, take a couple of seconds to visualise the shot you are going to play, and make part of your pre-shot routine a full committed stroke. Be confident in the club that you have selected and let it go. Don't, whatever you do, practice a half swing.
Now is the time to believe in your ability. Having practiced the shot, now believe in your ability to hit the target. Set up to the ball, swing and really commit to the shot. A good key to this is imagining your belt buckle pointing straight down the fairway after the shot is finished, meaning that you have made a full turn.
When you do this you are much more likely to see the ball fly to the intended target and to see it finish on the green with a chance of a birdie putt.
Wednesday, 18 February 2015
Wednesday, 11 February 2015
The Winning Mentality
I was playing golf yesterday at my home course in a medal social competition. Not much was riding on it, and our fourball was having a mixed day. One of our group was playing very well and was in contention.It was interesting to note that, the one showing the most anxiety was the guy playing the best. He said to me, with three holes to go that he needed to play bogey golf over the last four holes to be in with a chance of winning. (Bogey golf is one over par for each hole)
He was getting ahead of himself, thinking about his winning few words in the clubhouse. Over the next three holes, his game started to deteriorate. On the first three holes his previously reliable drive started to desert him. Through conservative play, he managed to make his bogey. He simply did this by reducing his expectations of a par and settling for one over and playing accordingly. A sensible approach.
Now we get to the last hole, a par 5. It's not very long, but the drive is rather testing with a large pond to catch a wayward drive on the right and a ditch running along the left hand side to catch a pull or a hook.
Our friend now has two thoughts going through his mind. Firstly the competition in which he is still on target for a competitive score. Secondly, this is a hole which has given him a lot of difficulty in the past. His handicap doesn't allow him a shot, and he has had bad experiences of messing up the hole in trying to secure a par, getting him two points. That devil is perching on his shoulder and whispering in his ear. It goes something like this:-
' If you mess this drive up, you will throw away your chance of winning'
'Remember the last two times you played the hole, you ended up in the ditch down the left'
'You've just stuffed up the last few drives pulling all of them left'
He sets up for his tee shot. He executes the worst swing of the whole round, drags the ball short and left, which by some mercy just jumps a ditch and is above ground with a poor but just playable lie. Shot 2 . He takes a rescue club, makes good contact but again a low running hook ends up in trouble, this time in the water. He's still 250 yards from the green, playing shot 4 after a penalty drop. Now our man is in full flow. He's telling all of us about how this hole always causes him grief. He's mad with himself at apparently throwing away his chances. His rhythm and his head have gone. The rest of the hole carries on much in the same fashion. He leaves his approach wedge short, chips on to the green and 3 putts from not very far out mean that he is scoring a 9 and 2 over par for his round. It turns out that he misses out on the prize by 2 shots, so even a 7 would have been enough to be joint top, before countback.
Our man stomps off home in a bad temper, his negative perceptions of his game and ability to stand up under pressure are reinforced. How will he deal with this if he finds himself in the same position again? Remember this was an unimportant social. What if it were the club championship?
These are my top tips:-
Create a memory store of your best drives on each hole of your home course. Experience the full range of feelings that you had on the day, the sunshine, the breeze, the company, the fantastic sound of club meeting ball, and the sight of the ball heading down the fairway, long and straight. Re-live that moment as realistically as you can whilst you stand behind the ball. Create a personal log in which you record these very best drives. Go back to this log frequently to remind yourself.
Don't see the hazards to right and left. Concentrate on the large expanse of grass that constitutes the fairway. That's not to say you shouldn't be aware of the hazards, of course it may be helpful to know how far it is to water, or to a fairway bunker. But once you have registered this information, give all your attention to where the ball is going to land, not where you don't want it to land.
Go through your normal pre-shot routine. Visualise the shot. Take a practice swing, if you wish, but if you do so, make it the full rehearsal, as if it really matters. Don't just make a half-hearted swish.
As you take your stance, you may wish to give yourself one swing thought. It could be slow backswing and transition. It could be hit with rhythm. It might be make a full turn. It might be to concentrate on the feeling of a clubface that is square on to the ball at the moment of impact. Don't clutter up your mind with technical instructions of how to swing.
None of us can prevent unwanted thoughts from creeping into our mind. So if they turn up, just acknowledge the thought, even welcome it. Then counter it with a positive image of your own. Don't try actively to banish the thought but just pretend it is a cloud and imagine it disperse and blow away in the gentle breeze.
The last thought is about course management. Our friend took his driver off the tee. His very best drive would not have put him within range of the green, but it did give him the chance of going in the water. Had he taken a 5 wood, he could still have reached the green with three shots, and ended up with his favourite distance of 100 yards with his approach. So his choice of his driver gave him every chance of messing up the hole, with no upside. A good caddie would have handed him the 5 wood and given him the best chance.
Disaster on the course happens to all of us. We can't win every time, nor can we play our best on every outing. But we can improve our chances and our overall standard of play by learning to think in a different way. Whatever your standard of golf, this can shave a number of shots off your score. You will never be able to prove the shots you have saved, but you will feel more confident on the course and off it, and confidence, as Bob Rotella says is the 15th club in your bag. Use it!
He was getting ahead of himself, thinking about his winning few words in the clubhouse. Over the next three holes, his game started to deteriorate. On the first three holes his previously reliable drive started to desert him. Through conservative play, he managed to make his bogey. He simply did this by reducing his expectations of a par and settling for one over and playing accordingly. A sensible approach.
Now we get to the last hole, a par 5. It's not very long, but the drive is rather testing with a large pond to catch a wayward drive on the right and a ditch running along the left hand side to catch a pull or a hook.
Our friend now has two thoughts going through his mind. Firstly the competition in which he is still on target for a competitive score. Secondly, this is a hole which has given him a lot of difficulty in the past. His handicap doesn't allow him a shot, and he has had bad experiences of messing up the hole in trying to secure a par, getting him two points. That devil is perching on his shoulder and whispering in his ear. It goes something like this:-
' If you mess this drive up, you will throw away your chance of winning'
'Remember the last two times you played the hole, you ended up in the ditch down the left'
'You've just stuffed up the last few drives pulling all of them left'
He sets up for his tee shot. He executes the worst swing of the whole round, drags the ball short and left, which by some mercy just jumps a ditch and is above ground with a poor but just playable lie. Shot 2 . He takes a rescue club, makes good contact but again a low running hook ends up in trouble, this time in the water. He's still 250 yards from the green, playing shot 4 after a penalty drop. Now our man is in full flow. He's telling all of us about how this hole always causes him grief. He's mad with himself at apparently throwing away his chances. His rhythm and his head have gone. The rest of the hole carries on much in the same fashion. He leaves his approach wedge short, chips on to the green and 3 putts from not very far out mean that he is scoring a 9 and 2 over par for his round. It turns out that he misses out on the prize by 2 shots, so even a 7 would have been enough to be joint top, before countback.
Our man stomps off home in a bad temper, his negative perceptions of his game and ability to stand up under pressure are reinforced. How will he deal with this if he finds himself in the same position again? Remember this was an unimportant social. What if it were the club championship?
These are my top tips:-
Create a memory store of your best drives on each hole of your home course. Experience the full range of feelings that you had on the day, the sunshine, the breeze, the company, the fantastic sound of club meeting ball, and the sight of the ball heading down the fairway, long and straight. Re-live that moment as realistically as you can whilst you stand behind the ball. Create a personal log in which you record these very best drives. Go back to this log frequently to remind yourself.
Don't see the hazards to right and left. Concentrate on the large expanse of grass that constitutes the fairway. That's not to say you shouldn't be aware of the hazards, of course it may be helpful to know how far it is to water, or to a fairway bunker. But once you have registered this information, give all your attention to where the ball is going to land, not where you don't want it to land.
Go through your normal pre-shot routine. Visualise the shot. Take a practice swing, if you wish, but if you do so, make it the full rehearsal, as if it really matters. Don't just make a half-hearted swish.
As you take your stance, you may wish to give yourself one swing thought. It could be slow backswing and transition. It could be hit with rhythm. It might be make a full turn. It might be to concentrate on the feeling of a clubface that is square on to the ball at the moment of impact. Don't clutter up your mind with technical instructions of how to swing.
None of us can prevent unwanted thoughts from creeping into our mind. So if they turn up, just acknowledge the thought, even welcome it. Then counter it with a positive image of your own. Don't try actively to banish the thought but just pretend it is a cloud and imagine it disperse and blow away in the gentle breeze.
The last thought is about course management. Our friend took his driver off the tee. His very best drive would not have put him within range of the green, but it did give him the chance of going in the water. Had he taken a 5 wood, he could still have reached the green with three shots, and ended up with his favourite distance of 100 yards with his approach. So his choice of his driver gave him every chance of messing up the hole, with no upside. A good caddie would have handed him the 5 wood and given him the best chance.
Disaster on the course happens to all of us. We can't win every time, nor can we play our best on every outing. But we can improve our chances and our overall standard of play by learning to think in a different way. Whatever your standard of golf, this can shave a number of shots off your score. You will never be able to prove the shots you have saved, but you will feel more confident on the course and off it, and confidence, as Bob Rotella says is the 15th club in your bag. Use it!
Sunday, 8 February 2015
How to think
The way that you think on the golf course can have a dramatic effect on your performance. Anyone with even a passing interest in the game will have seen countless examples of professional golfers with an apparently unassailable lead coming down the stretch, finding ways to inexplicably come back to the chasing pack. I'm talking about Jean van der Velde at Carnoustie, about Rory Mcilroy at The Masters, Adam Scott at The Open, Greg Norman at the Masters. More recently Martin Kaymer in Qatar. A few minutes thought and I'm sure you will be able to add to the list.
These are golfers who have come through the ranks and are or were at the top of their game, amongst the very best in the world. How many times will they have stood over vital 4 foot putts and drained them? Or in the case of Kaymer, for example holed one of the most pressure filled putts ever seen, to cap the amazing comeback of the European team at Medinah to win the Ryder Cup.
It's not just about winning tournaments, the way that you approach this wonderful sport in your Sunday morning four ball is just as important as it is for the top pros in their tournaments. If you can bring your best game to the course, find ways to get it round ugly, to accept your bad shots and to celebrate your good shots, you can find your way to develop an inner confidence in your game that can only help your performance on and off the course. And yes, you absolutely can practice your mental game away from the course.
I'm a professional life and business coach, an industry that owes it's origins to sports mind coach, Tim Galllwey, author of The Inner Game. Much of business and life coaching is concerned with what is going on in our heads. As a keen reader of the golfing thought gurus I enjoy the mental side of the game as much as the physical side of the game. This has helped me to bring down my handicap by three shots over the last couple of years.
I'd like to share some of these ideas with you.
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