The Mental Game

Maybe the hardest part of this game is the mental part. The space between your ears can really get in the way of a good shot. Not only before you hit, while you hit and after you hit. What goes through your mind before you hit over the water or the sand? What happens when you have a bad shot? How long do you think about that huge body of water in front of you that looks like an ocean instead of a small pond? Can’t we all hit an easy 100 yard shot, if only that water wasn’t in front of us? 

Mental Health

I asked a friend the other day, “How much club should we take to get over that water?” She said to me, “What water?” And I laugh, wishing I could tell myself that, but it just doesn’t work for me. If we could all have that mindset we probably wouldn’t try so hard to lift the ball in the air. I try to lift it and then I try to watch it. And what I see is the line drive straight into the water. We all need to have a positive attitude though. This same friend told me our brains can’t process "don’t". “Don’t lift, don’t put it in the water, don’t have a bad shot.” We need to change it to "do". “Do hit the ball softly, do keep your head over the ball, do have a nice shot.” Positive thoughts, not negative ones. We need to get out of our heads, but how? 

I’m not here to give you the answer cause I truly don’t have it. I’m opening up this question to you. What advice can you share that works for you? Do you visualize green grass instead of that huge body of water? Do you run positive thoughts through your mind? Do we all need a sports psychologist? Maybe you’re in the minority and going over water or sand doesn’t bother you. If so, tell us how you do it. I’m all about advice, giving and taking. That’s why I started this blog. I feel we should share our victories and defeats. So if you feel the same way, please respond to this post. I’m trying to give myself grace. Move on to the next shot when I have a bad one and try to have short term memory. (An advantage to getting old). We all know we’re capable of making that shot so we don’t give up. We go back day after day. After all, we're obsessed with this game! Share your thoughts and advice at www.golfergirlsview.com.