Golf Tips: Be Confident

We would all do ourselves some good to remember that golf is a fun game and we’re all going to hit bad shots.  As soon as you accept a bad shot is a possibility, the sooner you can relax and take control with confidence and get fully committed.  Too often we get caught up in the pressures of any given situation and tighten up in fear of not hitting the right shot.  Nobody is perfect and even pro’s hit bad shots. Most pro’s would say they don’t hit perfect shots; they always have ideas of how the shot should have been better in their mind.  However, the shot they hit was with confidence usually turns out pretty darn good.  Sure, more often than not (unfortunately) for us amateurs, our degrees of error are usually much larger but that is why most of us aren’t making money with our golf games.  This is one of those great life lessons, don’t be afraid of failure, but accept it as a possibility and then assess the situation and give it our best effort with confidence. Example #1 You have an uphill putt.  You want to leave the ball below the hole for an easy two putt.  Evaluate the consequences should you hit the ball two feet past the hole versus two feet short.  A pretty good player once told me, “Have the confidence you’ll make it coming back.”  Do you believe you wouldn’t make a short downhill putt coming back?  There are plenty of situations that this may not be the right answer, but I think you get the point.  Chances are you may still leave it short but just not as short as it could have been if you fear the putt. Example #2 You have a downhill sixty yard wedge shot with a well-protected green with a large bunker in front and a steep hill on the back side of the green.  The only good spot to hit it is onto the green.  As soon as you accept that you may not hit the right shot, the quicker you can start focusing on hitting the best shot you can….with confidence!  Too often, we get caught up in the moment and worry about what will happen if we hit it in the bunker or over the green.  Yes, this just may happen but those aren’t the thoughts that should plague your mind right before you swing.  Just accept you aren’t perfect, take some confident smooth strokes with acceleration through impact and you’ll likely have better success.  If you don’t, at least you were relaxed, loose, gave it a good run, and were enjoying the challenge instead of fearing the worst. Example #3 You haven’t hit the ball well all day.  Guess what, you may not hit it well on the next shot (we’ve all had those days).  However, rather than letting all those negative past shots enter your mind, you have a fresh new chance to take a good swing off the tee.  Let it all go, it may not be your day, just focus on the shot best suited for you (see Tuesday Tip #1) and swing within yourself. Final comments to remember Embrace the fun challenges of golf: golf is a game that should be both fun and challenging.  If golf wasn’t challenging, we would all be doing something else, but we love it for what it is, embrace it! No Fear, Be Confident: This doesn’t mean to try and hit shots you aren’t capable of, but to be confident in taking shots within yourself. Nobody is Perfect:  Just like in life, a failure is only one if we do not learn from it or let it stop us.  We have to keep picking ourselves back up, learn from our mistakes, accept them and take our best shot again and again. Accept the situation and risks, decide on the best shot, and go for it! What helps you best overcome the mental game?  We’d love to hear about it!