A golfer’s state of mind is critical for performing well and having a great round, but what can we do to ensure we find the optimum state of mind and what are the factors that influence it?
So what do we mean by a state? Well a state is how you are currently feeling and experiencing the situation you are in and in the world around you this can be seen as anger, anxiousness, happiness, joy, nervousness or calmness. But the important thing to remember is that vary rarely do these states happen suddenly, they build gradually and are more often than not a consequence of the situation you find yourself in.
For the golfer these states can be triggered by many things such as a state of heightened nerves or anxiety on the first tee or worry when hitting a long iron shot over water. Now both of these examples show a negative state but by looking at these and asking ourselves two questions we can begin to turn this around into a positive state.
Firstly, what states are going to help us the most in golf? Secondly, how can we begin to produce these states on purpose, every time?
Of course, that first question is easy to answer. Calmness, concentrating, focused, determined, even happy, are all positive examples of good states to find ourselves in when on the golf course. But what about that second question?
Well our state of mind is a result of the interaction between three parts, our environment, which is the situation we find ourselves in (needing a par on the 18th for a victory), our physiology (the way we walk, breath, stand and swing a club) and finally our mental approach.
For many people controlling the state they are in is not something they would have given much thought to, in fact most of the time the state of mind they find themselves in is a direct result of the external circumstances or environment (such as nerves due to the people watching you on the 1st tee) and leaves them only “hoping” for a good game.
So how do you begin to develop a mental approach that will enable you to get into a positive state of mind?
When we look at golfing greats we tend to see that they create a good state by focusing thoughts purely on the positives. They remember the good shots they have played in detail, they can picture the scene, the results, the feeling and every aspect of the shot they played, and of course this helps them to set goals and more importantly achieve them.
What I’d like you to try now is to imagine you are standing on the 1st tee of your local course, and to imagine it’s your perfect golfing day. Focusing only on the positive mental image, go through each shot you would play. Visualise standing over your ball and hitting the perfect shot down the fairway, imagine the sound the ball will make off the club, imagine its flight, and where the ball will land. Make your way around the course, thinking back to great shots you’ve played in the past, go over them again and again, and slowly let them begin to be the only shots you imagine.
Now next time you go out to play, think back to this session and imagine those great shots. As you stand over your ball replay that image of the shot you want to play. If you keep working on this positive state of mind and reduce the negative states undoubtedly, like all the golfing greats your game will be on the road to success.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Mastering Matchplay!
More often than not when you play in a stroke play tournament, you are competing against many others, and whilst on the course, unless you are a touring pro on the world stage with huge scoreboards on every hole, you have no idea of your position. But in contrast match play is played directly with your opponent adding a huge mental element to the game and is all about winning holes. So how does this effect the mental approach to the game and what can you do to give yourself the best chance of winning?
The first noticeable difference is that in stroke play you should only concern yourself with your game (unless you are standing on the 18th tee knowing a bogey is enough to win and safety is the key!), whereas match play is a game of reacting to events and making decisions that are based purely on the situation of the game.
Starting on the first tee you must make a decision to attack or defend, and if it’s your honour this means attacking by not handing the initiative to your opponent. Whilst it may be tempting to go for all out attack and reach for the big gun in an attempt to hit a huge drive, what you need to decide is does the risk out way the reward? If by attempting to hit a 300 yard drive your chances of hitting the fairway drop drastically then the risk of handing the advantage to your competitor is greatly increased. This may sound somewhat negative as an approach, but the point here is to manage the risk of each shot you play and choose your moment to attack and defend. When playing second, the same rules apply except you have the extra advantage that you can react to the position of your opponent. As the great Peter Alliss once said “Match play is not all about miracle shots – just keep your car on the track” the golden rule for your mental approach is to pick your fights, and attack when the rewards out way the risks.
Having a strong mental approach is a long way from gamesmanship and is something that is a positive approach to your own game rather than an attempt to affect the performance of others. This can manifest in the way your feel internally and of course in your outward appearance, and whilst for some a steely eyed determination or a fist pump on the green may be inspiring for them it can also cause negative feelings and reaction in their opponents. Of course we can all think of examples of players who have an aura of invincibility about them, but the second golden rule is to only play the shots made and not your opponent. Whilst this doesn’t mean ignoring your opponent it does mean ensuring that their behaviour does not affect yours. A simple tip here is not to watch your opponent strike a shot, but only watch the result of the shot and not them, and then assess what needs to be done.
Two simple rules then, that will have you on the way to giving yourself the best chance of success in match play. Firstly react to the situation and keep your car on the tracks by attacking and defending appropriately, and secondly play the shot not the opponent, ignore reputation, behaviour and most importantly gamesmanship.
The first noticeable difference is that in stroke play you should only concern yourself with your game (unless you are standing on the 18th tee knowing a bogey is enough to win and safety is the key!), whereas match play is a game of reacting to events and making decisions that are based purely on the situation of the game.
Starting on the first tee you must make a decision to attack or defend, and if it’s your honour this means attacking by not handing the initiative to your opponent. Whilst it may be tempting to go for all out attack and reach for the big gun in an attempt to hit a huge drive, what you need to decide is does the risk out way the reward? If by attempting to hit a 300 yard drive your chances of hitting the fairway drop drastically then the risk of handing the advantage to your competitor is greatly increased. This may sound somewhat negative as an approach, but the point here is to manage the risk of each shot you play and choose your moment to attack and defend. When playing second, the same rules apply except you have the extra advantage that you can react to the position of your opponent. As the great Peter Alliss once said “Match play is not all about miracle shots – just keep your car on the track” the golden rule for your mental approach is to pick your fights, and attack when the rewards out way the risks.
Having a strong mental approach is a long way from gamesmanship and is something that is a positive approach to your own game rather than an attempt to affect the performance of others. This can manifest in the way your feel internally and of course in your outward appearance, and whilst for some a steely eyed determination or a fist pump on the green may be inspiring for them it can also cause negative feelings and reaction in their opponents. Of course we can all think of examples of players who have an aura of invincibility about them, but the second golden rule is to only play the shots made and not your opponent. Whilst this doesn’t mean ignoring your opponent it does mean ensuring that their behaviour does not affect yours. A simple tip here is not to watch your opponent strike a shot, but only watch the result of the shot and not them, and then assess what needs to be done.
Two simple rules then, that will have you on the way to giving yourself the best chance of success in match play. Firstly react to the situation and keep your car on the tracks by attacking and defending appropriately, and secondly play the shot not the opponent, ignore reputation, behaviour and most importantly gamesmanship.
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