Mental Tips

[Borf]

I am looking for some good mental game help.

some tips would be good, some links to read up on too!

I am not interested in spending money on a book at this point tho!

[jdumoit]

I'm no pro by any means, but I find that I'll always shoot better if I don't care. In fact, if I don't take a practice swing; just aim with the club behind the ball and hit it immediately; I have better results.

That being said... I've got a high-stress personality and tend to overthink/choke if I give myself time to consider things.

[cockergod]

I have just started but something that works for me is like a cadence in your head. I know I say two things that I try to concentrate the most on and then swing. They are the same two things all the time and I don't change them. I may not even need to remind myself but I think it may just get me not thinking about hitting the ball. Ultimately it comes down to you and finding what works for you. Hope this helps.

[andy77888]

I find that the hardest part of my mental game is getting a bad shot out of my head. Or a shot I am not looking forward to hitting. As well as having to hit a club I do not hit well. Any suggestions on hitting a longer shot that would take a 3 iron, but I don't hit well anything lower than a five?

[Borf]

Like posted earlier in the thread, it takes simple positive statements, reenforced directly before you hit.

Read what i have written again, do not take it lightly.

check out this thread, and take it to heart..

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10891

the first post is truely the key to play great golf!!

[sonicblue]

I think the best "starter" mental tip, for someone at any level, is to separate CONTROLLABLE and UNCONTROLLABLE goals. For example:

"I'm going to aim at that tall tree on the left and I'm going to focus on my balance and tempo."

VS

"If I can drive it 320, then mash a 5-iron, I can hit this green in two."

Once you're over the ball, you can no longer think about carrying the bunker, drawing into the wind, whether you're aimed properly.... You can only make the best swing within yourself, free from those other concerns. Each shot. Every shot. This is why golf is hard. If you think the swing is the hardest part of golf, you'll never be your best.

[srjorion]

One thing that helps me when I'm playing well is to focus on where you want the ball to go and not get wrapped up on where you don't want the ball to go. If you stay focused on your specific target then you won't let negative thoughs of hitting into trouble.

Take a hole with water down the right side. For me, I acknowledge the water is there and realize the smart play is to take it down the left side. I then pick where I want my ball to land, try to visualize it landing there, and then making it happen. With the proper club for the distance I take a practice swing, set up, look at the target, a little waggle, look at the target one more time, then trust the swing. When I'm doing it right I play much better.

[Avid Golfer]

I am looking for some good mental game help.

From a confidence standpoint I think it is important for you to know the yardages you (really) and consistantly carry your shots with each club.

I also think if you're in doubt about a distance then you should strongly considering playing for the middle of the green.

Like posted earlier in the thread, it takes simple positive statements, reenforced directly before you hit.

It doesn't matter how positive you are about something if you don't take the time and focus to setup to a shot correctly. If you're not setup to your target correctly there is very little chance that your ball will end up where you want it.

That is why you will find tour pros and instructors talking about having a consistant preshot routine, and picking a target. Like Bob Rotella ,who helps some of the tour pros, has often said you should pick a very specific target for your shots. To refer back to a post I made in the thread you linked above: Most golfers are in turmoil over what mechanical things to think about as they prepare to hit a shot. Head down, left arm straight, and so on. It seems the modern pre-shot prescription to break this mental gridlock goes something like this: You get behind the ball, take a few deep breaths, visualize a good shot, and walk in with a positive frame of mind. But I've never in my life seen a great player use this procedure, and it doesn't seem to solve the basic question of aim. A great player prepares to hit this way: He finds his target; selects his shot and picks a club to accomplish it; gets the club out and gets his grip established; then walks into address, always in motion. It's a dance step. And what is the accomplished player thinking about as he prepares to hit? His one and only focus is the target: a side of the fairway, a specific part of the green, the flagstick, the bridge on the fifth hole, or the hillock on the fourteenth. Not deep breaths, not positive thinking ; his visual and mental concentration on the target blocks out all else and begins the instant he chooses what to aim for. Having mastered the grip and his aim, his mind is free to think of golf's real goal, the target -- which frees his body to make good golf swings. page 35 Steve Elkington Five Fundamentals

I think the best "starter" mental tip, for someone at any level, is to separate CONTROLLABLE and UNCONTROLLABLE goals. For example:

I agree that goals need to geared toward things that are directly controlable by the golfer.

Once you're over the ball, you can no longer think about carrying the bunker, drawing into the wind, whether you're aimed properly.

If the golfer has taken proper time to determine the distance to the target then the bunker and wind factors should have been elimantated before a club was pulled out of the bag. If the golfer picks out a target before walking up to the ball, and sticks to a sound pre-shot routine that includes aiming the club and aligning the body then aim should no longer be a concern. If the golfer has doubt I do think it can be beneficial back off and start again.

While you say "you can no longer think" players can and do think, but I believe the better they prepare for the shot the less likely their thought may be to wander.

[Eore]

one thing i learned was don't use negative words, like "don't"

for example, "don't hit it in the water you @ss"

your body hears "hit it in the water you @ss"

other than that, don't think. one guy i golf with is constantly over-thinking every shot, and his game suffers. then he tosses his clubs and buys new ones. thanks for the driverhead, anyway!!

[cockergod]

So has anyone actually done studies to see if this works? I'm just curious.