8 Tips to Improve Your Mental Game
by Bradley Turner Keiser University College of Golf Director of Online Golf Instruction – MBA, PGA
Golf is all mental. This is a phrase I have heard many times from amateur golfers to seasoned professionals. I differ in my opinion on that statement as there is so much to the game of golf. I will accept the fact that motor skill learning as well as performing in golf tournaments requires a functioning brain, but golf is not all mental. However, I believe every golfer can choose to either train their brain or allow the challenges of the game to confuse and frustrate them. If you want to perform to your potential, read through these eight tips on improving your mental game.
Manage Expectations
Golf is not all mental, but it does play a significant role in performing up to your potential. Your potential as a golfer is always difficult to quantify, but your USGA handicap index is a good measurement of your golf skill. Skill is different than fundamentals. Improving skills takes hard work, and there really is no substitute. PGA Tour players are highly skilled primarily because they have hit millions of golf balls, literally millions. Good fundamentals combined with hours upon hours of practice will get many people to a point of scratch golf. It is unrealistic for most golfers to put in the necessary hours to be exceptional at the game. Consequently, it is vital that you are pragmatic about your game and mitigate your expectations. How much time and effort have you committed to improving? Have you aligned with a good golf coach to help you navigate the challenges of the game? The more WORK you put in, the more you can expect from your performance. For most amateurs, there is not enough time in the day to practice, train, and play the game and expect outstanding results. My suggestion is to manage your expectations as you will most likely hit some good shots, a fair share of bad shots, and hopefully, expect to have a good time with your playing partners.
Pre-Round Routine
Develop your own pre-round warm-up routine. The first priority should be to get a very good feel for the speed of the greens. Once you have the speed down, go ahead and warm up your golf swing on the range. Jack Nicklaus believed you should warm-up prior to the round, NOT practice before the round. If you are searching for a band-aid to your swing on the range, you will most likely find more confusion than the secret move you were hoping for. Establish a warm-up routine and stick to it. I like to arrive at least one hour prior to my tee time; begin by putting and then go to the range to warm up and then finally back to the short game area for some chipping and putting. Whatever you choose to do, do it for every round.
Physical Pre-Shot Routine
The physical routine is something that all of your playing partners observe while you are preparing to hit a golf shot. Some of your friends take longer to prepare than others. Some waggle the club two times and then swing. Others may waggle, waggle, waggle, and then finally take the club back! Do you know your own physical pre-shot routine? Could you write it down on a piece of paper and perform it consistently? A really good physical routine is consistent, as the word routine implies. Tom Watson developed a pre-shot routine that included two waggles and a swing. Tom did this on the practice tee, during fun rounds with friends, and in the heat of competing for a major championship. If you don’t know your own physical pre-shot routine, write down what you think you do. Then go to the practice tee and perform what you have written down. Make some adjustments if needed, but decide to commit to a consistent and reliable physical pre-shot routine.
Mental Pre-Shot Routine
The physical pre-shot routine is designed to trigger the brain to go through the mental pre-shot routine. The goal with the mental routine is to get you committed to the shot you are about to play and then execute the shot with confidence and trust. Ask yourself this question. When playing golf, does your mind think in a consistent and predictable manner prior to hitting every shot? For most golfers, the answer is not even close. The mind should strive for shot commitment and then trust the swing. Commit comes before trust. We see world-class players working together with their caddy to commit to the shot at hand. You can often hear a caddy remind their player, “trust it.” Commit and trust, commit and trust, commit and trust.
Self-Talk
Have you ever reflected on the thoughts that go through your mind while playing golf? What do you say to yourself? Now imagine the person inside your head as your personal caddy on the links. Do you like your caddy? Is the caddy supportive and encouraging? Does your caddy help you think through the shot and help get commitment? Positive self-talk is one of the most important attributes of high-performing athletes in any sport. The ability to be a positive “caddy” to yourself is only a decision away. Golf is simply too difficult to talk poorly to yourself. It is normal to get upset at poor shots and call yourself an idiot now and again. But be careful with getting down on yourself and replace negative self-talk with positive self-talk. You are always talking to yourself on the golf course, so you might as well bring a positive “you” to make the round enjoyable.
Control Your Emotional State
This begins by controlling your physiology or the common phrase of body language. What does your body language tell others about how you are playing? Ideally, your body language is the same, no matter how well or how poorly you are playing. This takes real discipline to do this. My college roommate had breakfast with Gary Player one morning prior to the World Series of Golf held at Firestone Country Club. Mr. Player explained that he had already imagined how he would walk from the first green to the second tee, regardless of if it was a birdie or a double bogey! He wanted to control his physiology because he knew how important it was to his performance.
Breathing
When you are under some pressure, and the nervous energy begins to build, a great tool to calm yourself is to use diaphragmatic breathing techniques. These techniques have been around for hundreds of years and are used by athletes, performers, and business professionals. Proper breathing can help reduce the anxiety of a free throw in basketball, a speech at the business convention, or a short putt on the last hole. A few deep breaths can really help you execute a golf shot to your potential.
Golf Gods Are Real
I write this in jest. They do have a tendency to keep golfers in check, so most experienced golfers know better than to test the golf gods as they will surely put you in your place. We rarely see boastful behavior on professional tours as these golfers understand how fickle the game can be. I recently played in a tournament when a fellow competitor found himself in big trouble in the trees next to a cart path. He eventually dropped his ball from the path and managed to hack an iron up toward the green. I hit a perfect drive and my best 5-iron shot to about 12 feet above the hole. I felt so good about my two shots on a very difficult hole. My fellow competitor hits an amazing pitch shot to about six feet. I hit my downhill putt a bit too hard, and the ball caught the edge of the cup and rolled about five feet past the cup. The fellow competitor made his putt for a great par save, while I missed my putt for an unexpected and frustrating bogey. I had played the hole almost perfectly and walked away with a maddening bogey. It won’t be the last time that I will make that mistake on the golf course; I know to expect that in the future. Managing expectations is something the golf gods will eventually teach you if you play the game long enough.
If you’d like to study with Bradley Turner and other PGA Master Professionals, contact the College of Golf today.
