Mental game??

Course management to me is thinking what the best way is to get from point "A" to point "B", and sometimes even a point "C"  ("D"???) based on what my last shot, and the course conditions are throwing at me. My last shot gives me a new starting point, and tells me how well/bad I am swinging my clubs to that point. I view course conditions as what the lay out of the course, turf conditions, and the weather conditions are..

I am lucky in the respect that other golfers don't bother me (mentally) in the least. I make what ever metal decisions I can before it's my turn to hit. Once it's my turn to hit, my pre/post shot routines take over, and I just swing through the ball. The ball always goes where I hit it, which is not always where I aimed to hit it.  Anything else happening on the course, that I can't control, is just relaxing entertainment. Some things are more entertaining than others.

It means they don't have a clue what they should be doing.

+1

If I say it, that is probably what it means, LOL.

Said seriously and sincerely, I think it means simply, the parts of the game separate from the physical, and complicated, the many facets of the mental game.  Bobby Jones said the most difficult course is the 6 inch one between your ears.

One part of the mental game is course strategy; applying the shots you are capable of to get around the course. This involves evaluation, discipline.

Examples are playing shots that you have a high percentage of executing most of the time, and sometimes playing shots you are capable of executing but have a lower percentage of success, and knowing in which situations to apply which strategy.

Another aspect of the mental game is sepatation of the mind from the body and letting you body do the things it can do without second guessing yourself. Freddie Couples once said, "I take it back and I hit it and that is as good as it gets." Most of us have a swing key or two to focus on, but passed that letting your mind get out of your body's way.

Mental game isn't something you can "work" on really. To me it's about consciousness and attitude. If you are constantly beating yourself up over bad shots, STOP. If you are always telling yourself that you suck, STOP. And so on...

Can't say I've ever heard anyone claim to be working on their mental game. But I have read some books about it and most are about developing a routine. The people are know that are the most even on the course don't break from routine and have a solid understanding of their golf. What helps me is routine and stats. For example if I make a double rather than getting heated up about it I know that I only make double or worse at just 14% so it's not going to happen often.

I have a note in my own golf book. It's a semi quote from a guy I had a conversation with a few decades ago. We were discussing the mental part of the golf game. He said something to the effect that anything that requires a mental understanding, requires a brain. The brain allows for a thinking process. The more you think about something, the better you understand it. When you truly understand the task you were thinking about, the less you have to think about it.

Pretty sure this could used in more things than in just golf.

I definitely think its the last one - it means different things to different people.

I agree with this.  It's not something that needs working on, just something that needs to be done right.  People who hit one into the trees and then decide to try and feather one towards the green through a 6" wide opening don't need to "work on" not doing that ... they just need to not do that.

For me, the mental game is just to remind myself to stay focused.  It's easy to "give up" after one blow up hole early on, only to find out afterwards that you weren't actually out of it yet.  If you would have put that shot behind you and stayed focused, then you could have still won.

Also, it's easy for me to try a little less hard to read 6' putts that are for double bogey than putts for par.  It's also easier for me to be tentative with putts for birdie than with putts for par.

It's also easy to lose focus near the end of the round, especially if you know it's not one of your best.

Stay focused for 18 holes, minimize easily avoidable mistakes, and your "mental game" should be fine.

Wait... you aren't supposed to do that? Crap! I better go work on my mental game.

Some of my best rounds started out with a few crappy holes. That's the weird thing about golf. Years ago, I would have forfeited the round in my mind, but now I just keep chugging along.

Controlling the emotions. Being able to react accordingly under pressure. Knowing that there is a flow to the game, ups and downs and how to handle the extremes.

I usually do that if I know I am playing horrible. I'll just don't give a damn and try something stupid. A lot of times I end up pulling off a stupid shot that make me hate this game even more.

Oh, me too.  And I'll get a little (too) daring occasionally as well.  But when I do it, I'm at least using the "mental game" to weigh my options.  If it doesn't work, I laugh it off and go "yup, I had a feeling that might happen."

I know too many people who try something daring like that (ironically, people who have absolutely no business even attempting it) and then they get all pissed off and angry when it fails.

"So, let me get this straight; you are a 26 handicap (and that's being really generous) who just aimed their shot to miss the tree 30 yards ahead by 8", and you hit the ball solid and hit the tree, and you're surprised and angry about it?  Well, as long as you remember to slam the club back into the bag as loudly as possible while forgetting that anybody else might be hitting their shots, and scream a bunch of rhetorical questions to nobody in particular, then I think you'll be fine."

That's what it means to me. Playing the shot at hand and staying in the game.

What gets me made is when I make great contact and the ball comes out at the trajectory I want it hits this damn single branch that extends towards the green that you can't see. You just stand there wondering WTF just happened and, then you are going off to get a chainsaw.

Yea, I love watching people use the old ball flight laws to go around a tree. Then they get pissed at why it hit the tree. I am just thinking, "Well DUH you aimed right at it!"

People need to know their abilities. I can understand getting frustrated at not improving. Getting frustrate because you are not consistent and your handicap is bogey golf or worse. I mean come one, seriously.

Well, at least you're made.

Yeah, that is unusual.  The movies always make it seem like you have to off a rival gang member or something of that nature.

I disagree with most of what has been posted here. About a year and a half ago, I made a specific effort to focus on improving my mental game. I agree that the term is generic - but what it meant for me specifically was that I was playing worse golf in my  pressure rounds than I was in my casual rounds. With a similar index to what I hold now, it was not uncommon for me to shoot anywhere from a net 78 to a net 85 in tournament rounds. I could literally feel more tension in my swing during my "T" rounds.

As such, I went the library and checked out books on the mental side of golf. I read all that I could from Gio Valente and Bob Rotella. I made a concerted effort to work on positive thinking and visualization before my most important rounds, etc.

I can't say with certainty that there was a direct correlation between the two, but what I can say is that in the past year, I have played my best tournament golf by far , with no changes or improvments to my practice habits. If anything I've probably practiced less than I did before due to the birth of my son. My handicap index hasn't dropped, but my pressure performance has gotten worlds better.