The Complete Mental Game Thread

[sonicblue]

I'm finding that, after a certain point, this game is almost entirely mental. Moreover, I discovered that I really had NO mental game. I thought having a positive attitude was the equivalent, but it's not. It's a thought process, it's keeping your goals in mind, it's being able to isolate each shot, not think about what missing this shot may mean to your score.... I can honestly say that, this season, I have done less with my physical swing than ever, yet I've made the biggest strides in the quality of shots I make in a given day

I realize that "mental tips" could be even more confusing and paralyzing than swing tips if you try to process everything you hear, so my little PSA is, please sift through prudently. In the end, I hope everyone finds something useful. I'll start with two big things that have helped me.

1) Putting: Imagine your view of the hole is blocked, but someone grabbed you by your shoulders and aligned you properly. They say, "ok, you're perfectly aligned, hit the putt." What could you do? NOTHING! Absent anything else, you'd have to believe them, and all you could then do is use the proper speed. Well, that "person" is the pre-shot you. You've read your putt, you addressed the ball, and you're ready to hit. You can't change the line. You shouldn't re-read it while you're standing sideways to it. All you can do is believe that you're properly aligned (yes, even if you're not!) and simply stroke the ball with the proper speed. This may sound obvious, and I don't mean to imply doing this is easy, but I bet lots of people suffer (me included, though I'm getting better) from lack of this committment, which is a sheer mental exercise.

2) Pre-shot selection: A lot is made of a "pre-shot routine," but most of what I see is people mentioning inane little cues that "signal" us to get ready. But what of the actual pre-shot preparation? I'll share this process that I came up with that helped me play one of the most solid, focused rounds the other day (all done from behind the ball as I'm ready to hit).

First, I envision a target and ball flight; e.g. the other day I stood on the tee and envisioned my drive going toward a set of bunkers (way out of reach) with a slight cut. I continue to look out at that target until I can really see that shot. I think it's important to mention, you should envision a ball flight that you can achieve. For me, I never envision big draws because I just can't hit one consistently; I usually picture straight/slight fades. To me, this step is easy to rush through, because there's plenty of tee shots where you're just going to say, "um, straight ahead, rip it." I think it's still important to take that extra second and actually picture it.

Second, I then envision myself making that swing. The other day, I had to punch out a 4-iron under a branch on a par 5. I saw the ball flight over and over, but then I switched to a vision of the swing. Nothing too technical, just the keys to the shot: flat takeaway, good balance, low follow-through, e.g. On other shots, I may incorporate an actual physical swing tip. For instance, my driver takeaway tends to get very high/outside, so I'll be sure to make a backswing on plane part of my swing picture.

After those two things, I would step up and hit the shot. The round I used this in, I hit more shots as planned than I ever had (probably because I never really had a "plan" before, even though I thought I did!).

I'll admit one other part I used that is probably psycho-hocus-pocus that "sounded neat" to me, but maybe it actually has merit, who knows? OK, so for step one, while I'm picturing the shot, I held the club just in my right hand. Reason: right hand -> engages left-brain, which is responsible for logic, analysis, and looks at parts. The shot type is selected based on, simply, what's the smart play? The best risk/reward? What are my abilities? All rational, logical. I believe people who think golfers have "imagination" are misstating. Good golfers have the ability to envision, but it's not imagination.

Once I've pictured the shot, I switched the club to my left hand, which is right-brained. The right-brain is subjective, looks at the whole. This is the part where I just want to see/feel the swing. While I may make sure I see one particular thing (e.g., proper plane takeaway), I don't want to get hung up on it. I want to see that thing in the context of the whole.

Like I said, hocus-pocus maybe, but that's the mental game for ya'! The brain is powerful, who knows what fuels it. The above made sense to me, and led to some solid golf for me, personally. Maybe someone else finds similar success with it. Anyone else?

[Tomboys]

I agree with the statement that after a certain point, the game is almost entirely mental.

Just look at David Duval. How can a guy go from a former #1 and shooting a 59 to struggling just to make the cut? Or a guy like Johnny Miller sitting in a booth for all those years when he should have been competing in the Senior / Champions Tour? Rumor has it that Ben Hogan stopped competing for the same reason Johnny doesn't play anymore; the "yips" with the putter.

The reason why I cited these guys is because if the mental game is off, the rest of the game follows. And it affects everybody, pros and hacks--like me--equally. We become so consumed by the results that we don't concentrate on the process. It's at that point our minds screw up our bodies.

Case in point. I didn't take up golf until I was 32 (you know the story; career and starting a family when I was young). I'm 44 now. I've always had a great-looking swing, so it was very difficult to diagnose why I was so inconsistent. When I took lessons, almost all my instuctors said my swing was great and only needed a minor tweak here or there. I even had one instructor tell me that with my swing, I should be a 5 handicap. Still, once I got on the course, hello 90's or at best, high 80's. So, I started pressing and trying to will the ball into the hole desperately trying to score where I "should be" scoring. Once that didn't work, I tried forcing the ball to the hole by swinging harder and harder. Eventually, the more I tried, the worse I got.

I tried taking lessons. I tried changing instructors. I tried practicing a lot. I tried not practicing at all. I tried playing a lot. I tried not playing at all. Nothing worked. This continued until one day, I went to get fitted for a new set of irons ( I have great friends, they bought me a new set of irons for my 40th birthday).

As I was warming up on the range, I was hitting the ball well, but just a tad "heavy". The head pro looks at me and said,"You have a great swing and you can hit the ball far. But, if you shorten your backswing and either speed up your arms or slow down your hands, you'll hit the ball better."

So, we spent about 30 minutes getting my timing down. Sure enough, I am just piping the ball. How well am I hitting the ball? Suffice to say it must have been pretty good because it was at his suggestion that I use blades. At first, I thought he was crazy because I was a 15 handicap at the time. I asked again to which he simply replied, "You hit blades like a pro, so if you have a 15 handicap, it's because of your head, not your swing." Whoa.

While I would like to say that I am now a scratch golfer, I'd be lying. If I said I now have a single-digit handicap, again, I'd be lying. Unfortunately, I ended up going through quite a nasty divorce. So, for the past two years, life has been Hell. However, we seem to be on the back-nine and I can finally see the light of the clubhouse.

For the past 6 months, I've able to get on the course @ 3 times a month. Still, no time for practicing (you know, the whole shared custody of the kids).

At first, I had the same problem as before. Again, I was hitting fat shots, thin shots and some really God awful pull hooks because I was trying to will the ball to the hole and swinging way too hard. One day, I strained a back muscle. Since I had committed to play that day, I decided that I would just take it easy. I didn't think about the results, I just tried to put a smooth pass at the ball and whatever happened was fine by me. I just wanted to be out playing with my friends.

Lo and behold, I started hitting the ball better. Then I remembered what the head pro said to me about my swing. I shortened it and concentrated on moving my arms faster. I'm happy to say that I've been scoring in the low to mid-80's (most of the time) and I even carded my career best 9 hole score (38 on a par 36). I've made more birdies in the past 3 months than I've made in the past 11 years combined.

So, now that I'm trusting my swing more, my mental game has improved. I concentrate more on the process rather than dwell on the outcome. I take what the course gives me instead of trying to fight a certain number out of the course.

All in all, I've finally learned how to enjoy golf for what it is; a game.

DT

[sonicblue]

I wanted to share this thought, that has been stuck in my head and has really helped me relax and focus. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I'm a Vision54 proponent. While I agree that, when it comes down to it, it's not so completely "revolutionary," it gathers some great thoughts and focal points into one philosophy. I have been re-reading Every Shot Must Have a Purpose , and came across this statement:

You can't make the 54 happen, but you can stay committed to a process that can make it possible. The COMMITMENT to the INTENTION of 54 is the secret.

The mark on my ball is a reference to 54, so that I see it on every shot, and I think of the above statement frequently. Lately, instead of simply 'crossing the decision line,' I actually imagine that I stepped into an elevator-like box when I address the ball. Outside it, I can pick a target, gauge the wind, check my lie, etc... However, all I can actually control is within that little box: that stance, that swing, that balance, that focus. It's all just inside the box. There's something very freeing about realizing that, once your club hits the ball, you've done all you can or - more precisely - you cannot do anything after that moment, so don't let your mind wander there.

[sonicblue]

Bump for another trip down mental lane....

Recently, there was a lot of talk of Vijay and Camilo adopting the practice of telling themselves, "I'm one of the best putters in the world." It's a bit crazy, like putting the cart before the horse, but I think it's still a key, and here's why:

You have three mental choices, right:

1) Think positive - "I've got the right club and the right shot."
2) Think negative - "I'm pointed too far right, I think."
3) Think nothing - ........

#3 is awfully hard, to truly have a blank mind, so consider only two choices. If #2 is in your head, why would you hit the shot?? Step back, start over, leaving only #1 as the option. In retrospect, you may find out you were lying, but as you're about to hit the shot, thinking positive thoughts is the only productive option. Anything else hurts your game.

[telrod11]

Bump for another trip down mental lane....

Seems like i read something about the "positive" that has to be *spun* by the caddies to their pro.

If there is water right, they never say "Look out for the water right", but they phrase it "look like we have a lot of room left, boss". I probably have a poor mental grasp of teh game, because I will always ask (if I don't knw the course) "Where is my miss?" Now I know that this is a negative thought, but it kinda settles me to know that if I don't hit the perfect shot, I missed on the correct side. Should we change our thinking to remove that thought, and only have positives?

[sonicblue]

Knowing your misses is not negative, but you shouldn't say, "don't go left." You need to formulate your plan positive. "Ok, we're in between 7 and 6. There's water left; we know the back slopes away from us with a bunker back there. PLAN: We're going to take a 7-iron right toward that tree on the right half."

[Fourputt]

The easiest part of the mental side is course management. The mental killer is overthinking the mechanics of the shot.... trying to be too mental. Plan the best shot for the situation that you can actually pull off , line it up and visualize it from behind the ball, then forget that part of it once you are set up and just let the swing happen. Too much thinking once you address the ball is the bane of a good swing. You have to be able to trust your swing once you are over the ball. The best way to do that is to have planned a shot that you know you can make.

Save the experimentation for practice rounds... in competition just play to your strengths.