There are a million articles on how to improve your swing, and some of them are very good, but your golf swing is only part of your game. Golf is a game of mental control. The more you can preserve the right frame of mind, the more you will repeat your successful actions.
Randomness is the enemy of your game, and it is why courses make every hole different. So, golfers have to struggle to repeat whatever worked on the last hole. All those options play havoc with your mental game. But there are methods for keeping your mind clear and your confidence high.
- Golf Cart: The older or less fit you are, the more critical it is to use a cart. Especially when it is hot, fatigue sneaks up on you and begins to steal your sharpness. Playing golf tired is a slog, and you are less likely to hit consistently when you are feeling drained. It is best to consider renting a personal golf cart so that you can add one more piece of consistency to your routine. And if you are retired, You can consider your car to be your new company car.
- Consistency: Consistency is a great way to clear the mind of distractions. Because golf is mainly played in the mind, it is critical to avoid confusion or indecision. Most people have 14 clubs in their bag, and they are the master of none. You should pick your favourite clubs and use them whenever it is possible. It is so much better to address the ball with a club you have confidence in than to wonder, what will happen this time? But you can be consistent in other ways too. Wear the same gloves, the same type of clothes, golf at the same course as much as possible. And develop a routine for your walk-up that you can repeat over and over. Do everything as a ritual; this gives your muscle memory more opportunity to lock on to successful motions, and your head will be clear for visualization.
- Short Game: People worry about their drive, but the critical part of the game is played near the green. Get yourself to a par three course and focus on getting close to the pin. Learn how to run the ball whenever possible. Practice putting from huge distances and how to run the ball over rough fringe with a three-iron. Master this, and your short game becomes routine.
- Be Conservative: Stop taking chances. We lose our cool in golf because of failed risks. How clear is your mind after you just went OB? Defensive golf rarely ruins your peace of mind, and taking no penalties is the same result as sinking a few birds for most people.
All of these things are done to protect your mental game. You don’t have uncertainty, regret, fatigue, or anything else to enter the inner sanctum of the mind. You want to have all the power of visualization and none of the yips. Protecting your mind is how you find your happy place. And it is how you can train yourself to the mechanics that work, and then your scores will improve automatically.
