THE TEE BOX | YOUR PRO THOUGHTS
JOHN E MORGAN
VISUALISE HAPPINESS
I see so many golfers on the course nowadays looking
miserable, cursing themselves after a missed putt, getting
angry over a pulled shot and why? Because they don’t
have the right mind-set when they get on the course. Are
you playing golf for serious money, is it your living, does
your live depend on it? No…
Most people can swing a club to some degree, they can
practice on the range and have lessons with the club pro
to improve their game but unless every player approaches
the game with the correct mind frame the negative
thoughts can ruin your round before it’s even started.
They sound like very simple and obvious things to state
but being in a happy and positive frame of mind will make
you play better golf. Torture yourself before you arrive,
after a bad shot or even whilst you’re over the ball and you
can add 4/5 shots on to your round.
THE PRO’S DON’T
DO THIS, THEY ARE
HAPPY POSITIVE
AND FOCUSSED
BUT IN THE RIGHT
QUANTITIES
You arrive at the golf course and hit a few easy practice
swings. You head to the first tee and get a feel for the
conditions around you. You strike the first tee shot and off
you go.
A Pro on any tour has this capability, they obviously have the
talent to be there but to win and move their career forward
the mental aspect of the game needs to be on form. You
can’t be tuned in for 4 hours constantly, your brain would
melt and you’d end up mentally exhausted, the key to good
mental golf and enjoying it is switching the focus on and off.
Wandering down the fairway, talking to your caddy, you are
asking about the birds and the bees, asking where we are
going to go out for dinner tonight and how the family are, but
at twenty yards from the ball, twenty yards from your next
strike you start your visualisations.
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You see the shot
you have to play.
You get a feel for
it; is it going to be
left to right, right
to left, into wind or
downwind? You have
studied the course and you
can visualise where the pin is on the green. No matter
what shot awaits you, the pro stays positive. They don’t
dwell on things or think things are bad, too tough or how
they ended up there.
If the shot is a difficult one they still stay positive,
thinking about the best outcome, they may have to take
their medicine, play sensible golf and lay up, but it’s about
moving forward, making that shot and getting on to
the next.
By the time they get to the final hole and sign their card,
four hours have passed and it feels like they have been
out there for 20 minutes. They have had a nice chat, a
little stroll and have focussed for only 3-4 minutes on
every hole. All of a sudden they’ve gone round and made
a 67, they’ve removed the bad shots from their game,
focussed again on the positives and look forward to their
next game.
The Pro’s get a feel for ball fight and visualisation of their
shot ,they have practiced for hours and they are confident
then can execute what they are thinking, it is easy to paint
the picture. That’s not so easy for the amateur but taking
a leaf out of their books can improve your game. Learn to
focus at the key points in order to avoid mental fatigue,
visualising your shots will increase the chances of you
executing them, study what’s in front of you and the best
way to play the hole.
Be precise when you are going to focus, don’t be lazy, be
thorough, you’re only concentrating for a short amount
of time so you can pull on the brain matter, decide what’s
best, pull the trigger and say halleluiah.
When you’re not over the ball, relax. If you hit a bad shot,
forget it, it’s done, in the past and can’t be changed. Take
control of what’s ahead and look upon it positively, after
all your out on the course playing the game you love, what
more could you really ask for?