A great golf mind plays with total freedomPlaying with absolute freedom is key for developing a great golf mind. Pressure in the mind and tension in the body, will make it impossible to play your best golf.Let’s look at some of the biggest reasons why golfers struggle to play with freedom, as well as ways to overcome these struggles: 1. Playing with fearToo many amateurs play with a ‘fear of outcome’ mindset. It’s as if they expect to hit a poor shot and are completely surprised when hitting a great shot! Playing with fear, will never allow you to reach your full potential as a golfer.Tips:Allow yourself to change your mindset for your next round (or even for your next session on the range). Here’s the challenge:- During your next round or practice session, focus only on enjoying each and every shot, no matter what the result. - When trying this technique for the first time, you will probably find yourself slipping back into a ‘fear of outcome’ mindset – it’s ok, just try and go back to enjoying each shot. - You will be pleasantly surprised to find that you are swinging with a new freedom. 2. Too focussed on resultsTo step onto the course and only focus on the final score you want to achieve, is a sure way to add all sorts of pressures into your game.Tips:During your next round, try the following:- Focus on each shot individually, forgetting about the one you’ve just hit and not thinking about the shot to come. - When you have finished playing a hole, simply write you score down, put the scorecard away, and focus on your next shot. - Don’t add up your scores before you have sunk your last putt on the 18th hole. 3. Worried about what others may thinkCaring too much about what others may think about your game, will only take your focus away and steal your enjoyment.Tips:- Most rounds of golf take at least 4 hours - you may as well enjoy the day out and stop worrying about the opinions of others.- If you really think about it, golf is one of the few games you are actually playing against yourself (don’t be too hard on yourself!). 4. PerfectionismGolf is definitely not for perfectionists – many professionals can testify to this and Bob Rotella agrees, in his book “Golf is not a game of perfect”.Tips:- Before each round, understand and accept that you probably will make a few mistakes out there.- The best players accept the odd mistake and put it behind them. - Tiger Woods once said that he allows himself to be upset for 10 seconds, but then he erases the mistake from his memory bank – there’s a challenge for you! 5. A negative attitudeMost golfers who go into a round with a negative attitude, really become their own worst enemies. Saying things like “I never get any lucky bounces” or “My short putts never drop”, will not help you build a strong golf mind.Tips:- Before you step onto the course, make a conscious decision to accept the challenges on the day.- If it is windy, accept it and play your best – remember, it is windy for the other players as well! - If you start with a double-bogey, accept it and move on – there is no point in spoiling the rest of your round. 6. Thinking about everything apart from golfSome golfers really struggle to ‘switch off’ from the worries of life, when stepping onto the course – this mindset makes it almost impossible to play well or get any enjoyment from your round.Tips:- Allow yourself the luxury of enjoying every minute out on the golf course.- Life off the course has enough worries – there is no point dwelling on all sorts of things you can’t do anything about while playing.
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