mental attitude

What To Expect Next In Your Golf Game

/ The Grateful Golfer / 3 Comments

On any given day, our golf game could be a grind or a smooth day of excitement. Most of the time, amateurs wait for the shoe to drop if they are having a great round and then proclaim it was what they expected. This self fulfilling prophecy is the bane of most golf games. I know that in my younger days, I had this black cloud hanging over my head if I was creating a great round of golf. It seemed as if I was hoping for failure in order to fell the sensation of being correct. What a foolish way to approach my golf game! As my game matured, I found that my mental focus on success was better suited for my game and the gloom and doom focus diminished into nothingness. To be fair, from time to time, I still hit the pothole of negativity, but it is usually short and easily reversible. Because of this mental change, my game strengthened and became more consistent. All because I changed the activity within the six inches of real estate between my ears.

I have mentioned before that I believe in the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction is explained like this: It is a philosophy that suggests that positive thoughts and feelings attract positive outcomes, while negative thoughts and feelings attract negative outcomes. It’s based on the idea that “like attracts like”. I have found that is approach to my life works on and off the golf course. I now try to use this philosophy everyday as I approach the daily activities.

On the golf course, it is a matter of choosing my target and positively focusing on hitting the shot. I do not allow negative thoughts to enter my shot processes and it works very well for my game. For me, it is a matter of thinking about what I want to happen all the time.

If you are a golfer, regardless of your skill level, it is important to frame your golf shot around the results and not about what bad could happen. This approach to shot making is how I improved my game…..drastically. I cannot stress enough about thinking positively regardless of the results. We all hit poor shots, the trick is to keep a positive mental attitude as your baseline in order to improve our golf game over the long haul.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Advice From Tiger Woods

/ The Grateful Golfer / 1 Comment

I talk about golf everyday. Whether I am writing, playing or chatting about golf, I feel that my game improves. I do not consider myself an expert by any means, but I understand the fundamentals enough to share my knowledge with other players. Today, I was searching for something about the mental aspect of golf because of the hickory stick tournament next week. I like to reinforce my idea about how to be competitive without over analyzing my game. I came across this video by Golf Digest where Tiger Woods talks about the mental side of golf. It really struck home and will help me next week.

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Winning In Golf Is A Matter Of Inches

/ The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

The smallest margins have a tremendous impact on our golf results. That certain par can turn into a quick double through a missed putt that causes us to mentally break down. That sudden appearance of a shank instantly makes us worry about our next shot. Hitting something on the fairway that shoots our ball into the rough or worse is not uncommon. Hitting the top of a cart post in front of the green and finishing 25 feet from the pin with a putt for eagle happens. The above examples of how inches make a difference in our score are some of the many real life scenarios I experience on the links over the years. It is crazy how such small margins, good or bad, can happen at anytime. I have often wondered if their is a way to prevent the unknowns from having an influence in my game…..have you?

Image from: http://www.hititlonger.com/blog/article/powerful-mental-images/
Golf is a mental game!

Golf is considered a game of inches including the six inches of real estate between our ears. Regardless of what is happening on the course, the thoughts generated while on the links is by far the most important aspect of our game that we need to control. Everyone experiences a good or poor bounce from time to time. It is how we react that makes the greatest impact on our score.

After experiencing many highs and lows while chasing a little white ball for a few hours, I can say without hesitation that how I mentally react to each shot is important. I do allow myself to be relish the good shots longer than poor ones, but that is one of my keys to success. I try to build on a great shot or lucky bounce in order to sustain a positive attitude. A poor shot or bounce receives a different response.

I try very hard to immediately forget a poor bounce or shot. I find that when the inches are against me, I need to focus on playing well and the next shot. I try to forget (notice I said the word try 😉 ) the poor result and work on how I can change my fortune. Most of the time I hit a solid next shot and carry on. I try not to let my past performance affect my future results. It really is a mental challenge sometimes, but one that all good golfers face while on the links.

Good golf is as much a mental exercise as physical. Over the years, many experiences (on and off the links) have shaped my mental approach to golf. I feel that I am mentally strong when playing and very few things affect how I think. This does not mean that I do not experience frustration from time to time, but it rarely stays in my mind for long. This approach is a learned thing, but it all starts with a decision to not let my mind be bogged down with negative thoughts. Golf really is a game of inches.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Playing “Never Quit” Golf

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If you ever play competitive golf the emotional ups and downs wears on our golf psyche. It is mentally tough remain focused during a 4 or 5 hour round when you are trying not to make mistakes that add to your score. I have found that over the many years of competition, how I align my thoughts determined the results recorded on my scorecard. Finding my mental strength on the links led to winning tournaments. After understanding the power of a positive, focused mindset, I now face all aspects of my game with a never give up attitude and you can too!

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Unfinished Business On The Golf Course!

/ The Grateful Golfer / 4 Comments

I have never played a round of golf where I did not think I had unfinished business on the golf course. Yup, even breaking par I thought that I could have shot a lower score. As my friend Kevin reads this article, I know he feels the same way….most of the time. 😉 Although I think I can always do better I wonder if this is really true. Each round of golf is a unique experience because I have never hit the same 75 strokes from the same position ever! After thousands for rounds, every round played out differently and needed to be navigated like it was my first round. This is the fun of golf and I hope that the feeling of unfinished business never changes.

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