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5 Mental Mistakes to Avoid at all Costs!

Written by Mel Sole on January 3, 2015. Posted in Mental Game

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I know most golfers want to improve their golf and spend a lot of time on the range, improving their long and short games.

But what about the mental part of the game? Are you missing out on this important aspect of the game? Here are 5 Mental Mistakes to Avoid at all costs! David MacKenzie of “Golf State of Mind” tells us how.

1. Any thoughts about your swing on the golf course are counter-productive to a good score, whether in between shots or during your swing.

Trusting what you have is far more important than trying to correct something or forcing a movement while swinging. Trying to consciously control your body during any action makes the task more difficult.

Think about if you drove your car while consciously thinking about what your body is doing (“foot on brake, now accelerator…”) and you’d probably get into a crash! Instead you simply trust your ability as a driver. Thinking about your swing while swinging creates tension which interferes with the free-flow of a good swing. It’s fine to think about it on the driving range when you’re practicing a new movement you’ve learnt in your golf lessons, but on the course your mind has to be quiet to play your best.

Swing thoughts usually creep in during a round when a few wayward shots are hit, and subsequently the golfer analyses the swing and attempts to correct the problem. A lot of these off line shots are simply caused by tension, which increases with the more control over the swing the golfer attempts to have.

In golf, there’s a saying that “You need to give up control to gain control.” And I strongly believe that to be true.

Instead of being focused on the body’s movements, we need to be connected with the objective – to hit the ball to a specific target with a pre-determined shot shape, and then trust the body to do what we’ve practiced. The best swing thought is to trust the swing you have, but if you need some help, you can try saying the words “one-two-three” – “one” for the back-swing, “two” for the down-swing and “three” for the follow-through. This should help eliminate the swing thoughts

“You need to give up control to gain control”

To see the other 4 Mental Mistakes to avoid, go here.

Source Golf State of Mind

Picture – Keith Allison

Thanks for reading – 5 Mental Mistakes to Avoid at all Costs!

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5 Mental Mistakes to Avoid at all Costs!

I know most golfers want to improve their golf and spend a lot of time on the range, improving their long and short games.

1. Any thoughts about your swing on the golf course are counter-productive to a good score, whether in between shots or during your swing.

In golf, there’s a saying that “You need to give up control to gain control.” And I strongly believe that to be true.

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