You know that your Mental Game is really important to your ability to play golf. But how do you develop it? Most players have no clue. Neither do most coaches and swing gurus.
Before we begin, if you’re looking for specific tips for improving your game, check out this helpful article.
When it comes to golf training, the coaches and swing gurus will tell you that you have to develop really good focus to play your golf shots and do good course management to avoid mistakes. Then they will advise that a consistent mental pre-shot routine is the key to playing good shots consistently. They will tell you to play one shot at a time and to control your emotions.
These recommendations lead to you focusing on doing your mental pre-shot routine carefully and deliberately, making sure that you check you for alignment and always make sure you do the same number of waggles and same number of looks at the target, etc.
Unfortunately this makes you more left brained over the ball and encourages you to try to control everything about your swing. Using this part of your brain actually reduces your athletic ability and rhythm. It will make you less consistent and hurt your ball striking.
They give out focus exercises like hitting 100 short putts before you can leave practice. Sorry this does not do anything other than make you really good at that particular short putt on that green. It does not prepare you to play golf well or even improve your focus abilities. In fact focus may drift during this exercise while you are still making the putts. Are you doing it with your head phones on?
Proper mental golf training requires two steps. First you must identify the parts of your Mental Game that need work. Then you need to learn and practice the mental techniques that will strengthen these skills. This is the Training part.
GolfPsych’s unique, state-of-the-art mental golf training system is available online.
We use our Mental Skills Assessment and Personality Assessment with Comparison to the 8 Champion Traits to start. After you complete them you will have a set of recommendations appropriate for you. If you have a Certified GolfPsych Instructor involved, then you will also discuss how your golf has been going with them. These recommendations will be adjusted as needed by the Instructor and a plan created for you to work on your mental skills.
Then the Training begins. You will learn what an effective Mental Routine is and what it accomplishes. You will work to develop yours to accomplish the principles of athletic ball striking with full commitment and focus. Your Routine will be customized to work well for you.
You will learn about Thought Control techniques and how to use them. Again these techniques will be customized to work well for you. They will enable you to think like a Champion and to manage your emotions on the golf course.
You will learn what optimum arousal for short game and optimum arousal for your long game feel like using our Mind Meter. You will know if you are at the wrong level based on how you feel, your tempo and performance of the routine.
You will learn how to prepare for your competitive rounds starting the day and night before through your warm-up at the course. Most players are doing all the wrong things and so start their rounds poorly.
You will learn how to operate effectively on the golf course to focus well and conserve energy between shots. Do you finish your rounds tired and beat up mentally? This means you have not been doing good mental.
You will learn how to journal your rounds and make adjustments for the next round, to learn from your rounds.
There are principles to be achieved in all of these areas. As with learning anything, this will take some time.
You will use these techniques in practice and then you will take them on the course. Playing with them for score, in competition, is critical to your development. You will need multiple competitions and adjustments to achieve really strong mental skills in all areas. Our Online Coaching System is designed to help you do this and to keep your GolfPsych Instructor up to speed with your training and development.
This is true Mental Game Training. No subconscious stuff or mantras, no hypnotism, no magic fixes, no audio tapes or NLP. You need to work on your Mental Game just as hard as you work on your physical game. Using our system and methods, you will know how to do it, how well they are working and what to do to improve. If things do not go well, you will be able to identify why and what to do about it so you can play better the next round or the next hole. You will learn the most from your mistakes and progress faster.
Oh, and your physical skills will improve faster when your mental game is good.
Our Mental Game Builder Schools are a great way to kick off your training and get started really fast with explanation of the principles, customization for you and several times using them on the course with post round review and learning. Use our system with us and push your development forward really fast.
