Golf Psychology - Why bother with Sports Psychology?

Why bother with Sports Psychology?

Are you already as good as you can be? If so, the following will be of no interest to you.

If all you want out of sport is a bit of fun and relaxation then your approach should be entirely different from someone who wants to reach the top. It is important to realise that excellence demands complete dedication: if you want to be a top golfer, then training to be a top golfer must be the most important thing in your life. If your social life or friends are more important than your sport you will find it difficult to devote the time and dedication you need to achieve excellence.

How good do you really want to be?

Once you have decided how committed you are, adjust your training and expectations appropriately.

Tiger Woods is one of the world's finest exponents of the Mind Game. Sure he is fit and talented, but so are many other top players. But how often have we seen Woods turn a disappointing shots deficit into a tournament winning performance on the last day? His ability to 'turn it on' in the face of seemly impossible odds is testament to his exceptional mental strength.

Technical ability on its own can only take your game so far. If you wish to excel in your sport you will need to understand and hopefully master the mind game.

The difference between being good and great is a deeper understanding of how your thoughts affect you. Your emotional state will contribute greatly to your finest day or your darkest hour. Do not underestimate this. Your mind is a very powerful tool. It can toss you around like a rag doll without you realising that it’s actually you doing it to yourself!

With understanding and practice you will be able to command your emotional state, controlling how you respond given a wide range of situations, managing your mind's immense potential to your advantage.

A truly competitive sportsperson is always seeking to improve. A truly passionate search for excellence will involve analysis of the main areas that make up your game:

Technical Ability
Physical Ability
Mental Ability

Although you will need to address each element separately, each element will have a direct influence the other.

For example:

You execute a poor drive from the tee. Was it because of –

a) Poor technique

b) Poor physical condition

c) Poor mental state

In order to identify the cause of a problem you need to understand the components that make up the moment and how one affects the other. This will enable you to spend your practice time curing the cause rather than the symptom.

If your poor tee shot was due to lack of concentration or physical fatigue there would be little reward in analysing or changing your swing.

Be sure in the knowledge there is always something about you or your game that can be improved. The secret is having a clear idea of what it is and how to do it.

Have you heard the comment “I can’t understand it, I had a good game yesterday.”

Ever wondered why?

If you find you get cross with your performance this signifies you have greater expectations of yourself. Unless you are working hard to improve all aspects of your game you have no right to be disappointed.

“The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same things over and expect a different result….”

Albert Einstein

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