The three golf mindset traps that ruin your round (and how to fix them)

We are all capable of grumbling our way around the golf course and, similarly, we are all very aware that it doesn’t do us much good.

We are hitting around 80-95 shots and therefore the same number of chances to find fault with either ourselves or the course so it’s crucial to be able to keep a lid on the negative self-talk.

1. The lie

There’s is nothing worse than a bad lie in the rough, even worse is a bad lie in the fairway. Hold on though, we are playing a game that is outdoors, in the elements, on uneven ground and sometimes on a course that has been there potentially decades and centuries of years played by thousands of golfers.

So guess what, bad lies are going to happen – its part of the game. The reaction by many is to either let their playing partners know this or moan internally that the golfing gods are against them today.

In perspective it is what it is and the one thing lacking from most golfers is the skill of acceptance.

In my mind this is probably one of the greatest skills we can ever learn for this beautiful game and possibly for life. Accept the poor lie to allow the mind to focus on the task at hand. Instead, what many do is go through their process physically but the most important bit, the mind, is sitting in the past still moaning about the poor lie and guess what…. the result is a poor one.

So next time we reach our ball in a poor lie don’t blame the golfing gods, accept it, re-focus and execute the best shot that we can at that time. It can be very rewarding to pull off a great shot from a poor lie.

2. Our practice

One of the best lines is when we hear people tell us they are shooting great numbers in practice rounds. Unfortunately however we are judged handicap wise and tournament wise by our competitive rounds though we can of course put in scores at any point.

Yet why and how can we hit it so great in practice and yet so poorly on the course? Well the answer is simple; state. We are surrounded by states, states of people. Happy state, sad state, frustrated state, calm state – the list goes on.

We have to become very mindful of the states that we create for ourselves because some can be very beneficial and others harmful.

In practice be aware of the state that we create. My guessing is we are probably in a relaxed and calm state. However some of we may start that way but move into a frustrated and annoyed state if we hit it poorly.

Are the last two states really good for golf? Not a chance and certainly not in practice because we are training ourselves to get annoyed and frustrated at poor shots in practice so guess what happens in play? We become frustrated and annoyed in play.

So next time we are practising, become aware of our state and maintain a consistent state throughout our entire practice session regardless of results. Then we might just see a reflection of this in play.

3. The pins

Most golfers have played a round of golf, shot a poor number and blamed the pin positions on certain holes or even every hole.
What we forget are numerous things and two of the most important things are these – one is it is out of our control where the pins are set and, secondly and most importantly, we don’t have to go at the pins.

This is massive. A golfer, generally one having a poor day, will hit his or her approach shot into the green and be left in a shocking position with an almost impossible chip to the pin. The knock-on effect is ‘that pin is a joke’. The joke is not the pin; the joke is the individual who got suckered into playing towards such a tricky pin placement.

How many times have we heard Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods say they won most of their Majors by making the least amount of mistakes.

Just check next time we are playing, at the bunker nearest the pin, generally on the short side. It will have lots of rake marks in it from players being in there. Then check the bunker on the smart side of the pin. I bet it is smooth and generally unused. Yet this bunker is the one to miss in for the average golfer because it leaves the easier shot.

Next time we are faced with a tight pin placement, play our shot to the smart side of the green, whether it is long, short, left or right.

Finally, remember that centre of the green never hurt anyone.

About Duncan McCarthy

Duncan is a mental performance coach who works across all sports including women’s Major champion Ashleigh Buhai.

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