Golf - It’s a Mind Game

With enough practice, just about anyone can master the physical aspects of golf by engaging the help of a qualified professional golf instructor and making a commitment to play the game frequently. It does not take very long to get the physical skills necessary to play a competent game. That is the easy part. The more difficult part of the golf game is training the mind to maintain a sense of high concentration, while at the same time being relaxed about the game. Golfers go for years having mental blocks to the improvement of their game. Most of the time they do not even realize they are putting these blocks up themselves.

Inner Dialogue Every person has a constant flow of inner dialogue. Often this dialogue is a jumbled mess, which sounds like a bunch of people talking at the same time in the mind’s imagination. Most likely, this conversation is self-defeating. Typically, when a golfer makes a bad shot, the inner dialogue rises up to attack. It seems like someone is screaming, “What an idiot!” inside the head, especially when playing at corporate events the Twin Cities as partner with the boss. The problem with this nonsense is, not only is this distracting, it is very likely to set up a self-reinforcing state of mind, making more bad shots just to prove how big an idiot the golfer really is.

Great golfers learn how to quell this negative inner dialogue and approach each shot as if it is the first shot of the day. Every shot is a new slate and a chance to make the best shot ever, not the continuation of a string of goof-ups. The secret to this more balanced state of mind, without the inner dialogue, is to practice staying in the moment. What is past has passed and what is coming up has not yet happened. Four Foundations Psychologist Joseph Parent wrote the book entitled “Zen Golf.” In addition to balance, he identifies the three other key elements necessary to become a great mental player as strength, flexibility, and stamina.

To develop strength he recommends never to use “gimmes” and always play the full game out, even the short putts. In this way, making a short putt is easy when necessary. For flexibility, he suggests widening the range of shots capable with any club and developing the ability to play any shot with all clubs. This technique keeps the mind from forming rigid patterns and becoming stuck in a rut. Regarding stamina, when a golfer is halfway through the round of golf, the temptation is to start playing in a risky way to make up for a poor score on the first nine holes, or to become so nervous about maintaining a good score that a golfer begins to “choke” and make bad shots. His suggestion is to continue to play exactly according to a normal playing pattern and resist any temptation to adjust the style of play. Maintaining balance, having mental strength, flexibility, and stamina are all important to playing the mental game of golf.