Depending upon the level player you are can determine what your expectations should be for your game. I have players who are low handicap that I work with. They get upset when they miss fairways and greens. Even higher handicap players get upset when they hit poor shots. The key is to allow yourself the leeway to hit poor shots knowing that you can still make Par. If we look at a better player they will find a way to make par when they miss fairways and greens. The PGA tour averages 61.33 % of fairways during a normal round. That is for players that have an average of +5 handicaps. These are players that are shooting under par for every round and are still missing 39% of the fairways. We all know that it is much tougher to hit a green in regulation out of the rough and still make Par but they are doing just that. They are only hitting 8 fairways a round.
The average player beats themselves up when they hit these missed shots. If this sounds like you then here is a solution. Give yourself at least one bad shot per hole. Know that you are allowing yourself to hit a poor shot that doesn’t go where you intended it to. That could be a slight miss to a big miss. Then tell yourself that you can still make Par from there. The problem I find with most of my students is that once they hit a big miss off the tee or even a small miss they think they will now bogie the hole. This also leads them to believe that they are going to have a terrible score by the end of the round. The way to become a better player is to think like one before you play like one. A better player never gives up and always tries to get the ball in the hole in the fewest amount of shots as possible and believes that they can even after they hit a poor shot. This is called staying in the moment. Once they hit a poor shot they don’t make a judgment on the score for the hole. As a matter of fact they don’t make a judgment on the score until the hole is over. And they don’t make a judgement on their score for the entire round until it is done If you allow yourself that one poor shot then you will release a ton of stress during play. Golf is supposed to be fun not stressful. Plus you have to remember even the PGA Tour players only hit 61.33%of fairways. So lower your expectations just a little to more where your actual ability level is. You will have more fun and start to improve your scores because you are not putting so much pressure on yourself.
If you like you can join me for a playing lesson at Tiburón Golf Club in Naples Fl. Just call 239-236-5536 and ask for Bernard. I will be happy to help you better understand the mental side and shot choices out on the course which will lead to better scores.
Leave A Comment