Mentally Fit ??
Mental strength and fitness - It could improve your game
Many believe that mental fitness is just as important as physical fitness when it comes to golf. Certainly one of the most difficult barriers to overcome is when a bad shot has been played. How do you deal with this? Are you able to move on to the next with a positive attitude or are you still shaking with rage inside at your previous poor performance?
We can learn a lot from the professionals here, studying how they cope whilst under pressure may just be able to help us amateur golfers in the constant struggle to improve our game. Professional players aren't perfect, they too play bad shots, the difference is how they deal with this. Researcher and author Joseph Chilton Pierce summed it up by saying that when we become upset for any reason "All neutral action - learning, memory, cognition, problem solving and so on - are adversely affected."
Most famous on the professional circuit for this attribute has to be Tiger Woods. We have all watched on as the number one in the world has struggled to find fairways and then proceeds top the leader board. So how does Tiger beat the anger and move on? One of Tiger's most famous techniques is the '10 yard line'. All of the anger that was felt after a poor shot had to be released by the time he walked over his line 10 yards in front of where he hit the shot. This is the post shot routine that has allowed Tiger to approach his next shot without considering the previous one.
Take a look at these tips from Dr Karl Morris to help you to overcome your anger:
- Never walk off down the fairway with the club in your hand that you have just used. Don't hang on to the club and the negative feelings.
- Develop an ‘end signal' which marks the shot as over. This can be anything as long as you are able to do the action each time. It might be as simple as saying ‘done'.
- Take five strides. Count them done from 5 to 1 and don't allow yourself to think back once you have reached 1. Very similar to Tiger Woods' 10 yard line.
- Release breath. Make a conscious decision to breathe out. Sounds simple but this has a great effect on your body language.
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As you walk down the fairway, keep your eyes above the level of flag. Looking down encourages you to access memories you are trying to move on from.
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Unfortunately, none of these techniques will stop you from hitting poor shots, but they should help you to develop the skill of dealing with poor shots and getting the very best out of yourself.
Here are a few more master of the post-shot routine:
Ernie Els - breaks contact with the offending club as quickly as possible - a literal way of ‘letting go' of a bad shot.
Ian Poulter - keeps his chin up and his eyes above the horizon, both of which help him to access positive thoughts.
Luke Donald - gives his glove a rip to help him draw a line under any shot that has been less than successful.
Stuart Appleby - echoes Tiger's 10 yard rule - he takes a few strides to clear his disappointment in time for the next shot.