The first thing you have to do to play like a champion is to think like one. Your mental state can make or break your round no matter how good your swing is. But how does a champion differ from the average player?
First is how they prepare before their round. We don’t have a perfect swing every time and depending on what swing might show up on the range before your round will dictate your choices for that day.
So let’s say you are hitting a fade on the range before your round and your normal ball flight is a slight draw.
This can change where your shots are missing today. So now during the round your normal game plan will differ. This thought process is how better players approach their game before their round. They also don’t get busy with swing throughs. They keep it simple and only have one swing though.
The other thing is when they hit a poor shot they don’t throw in the towel and feel like they already are going to make bogey or worse on that hole. They know that if they are patient and stick to their routine there will be breaks along the way and still have a chance to make a par.
Being positive and staying and in the moment is what will help you when the breaks are not going your way.
This is one of the toughest things to do when a bad shot happens and then leads to another and the downward spiral begins. It has happened to all of us.
We must stay positive and only be concerned with the shot in front of us. Not the next shot or the shot before. Staying in process is a must and all champions do when things aren’t going well.
This takes practice just like grooving your swing. Without practice we can not master this trait of a champion.
There will be laps when you forget to stay in process. That’s when we regroup and get back to the moment with an understanding that not every shot will go as planned.
As a test the next time you play see how many shots you can hit during your round and have a positive outlook even when the result is not what we wanted. At the end of the round count how many times you were negative and how many you were positive. Each time you play keep track and see if you can improve as time goes on. The more you stay in the moment and keep a positive outlook that you can overcome any poor shot and come back to make par the better your shots will be. Not it’s not that but your overall confidence will begin to get better over time and the choices you make after a poor shot will have better results. The main thing we have to remember is no matter how good we are we will always hit a shot that is not what we intended. Just like in life things don’t always go as planned. It’s how we handle recovering from poor shots that will make us play like a champion. Mind set is everything in golf and life.
