Welcome

Welcome to issue number 31 of The 3 Minute Golfer. This FREE, weekly publication is here to help every golfer improve their mental game and their personal wellbeing.

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In this issue:

• 7 Unhelpful Golf Thoughts

• Wellness Tip – Minimise the Sweet Drinks

• Mental Demons Q+A

• In Person Events - Book The 3 Minute Golfer

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7 Unhelpful Golf Thoughts

Golf psychology is pretty simple…those who consistently practice their skills tend to have the most confident mindsets out on the course. Those who don’t practice and think their natural ability, supplemented with a few YouTube lessons is all they need, probably experience more delusion than confidence.

At its core, golf is a very easy game. The ball remains stationary, the equipment is meticulously engineered, and people of nearly any age can generally hit the ball a decent distance. So, hitting the ball isn’t usually the main challenge…the real battle is waged within your mind.

Specifically, your mind can become cluttered with unproductive illogical thoughts that can severely restrict your ability to perform. While there are countless negative thoughts that can cloud a golfer’s mind, the following seven (7) are particularly unhelpful. Some may be familiar from previous newsletters, while others will resonate through your own lived experiences on the course.

“CONCENTRATE HARD”…No, don't. The game is four hours long, or longer if the group in front is full of catatonic, multi practice swingers, who talk too much, don't move quickly to their balls, pull out range finders for every shot, wait until they think it’s their turn to hit before beginning the process of choosing a club, then duff it short before starting the process all over again. Sorry, where were we? Oh yes, the average player will take approximately 90 shots to navigate the course over four plus hours. Each shot only requires focused concentration for just the few seconds it takes to hit the ball…totaling around 180 seconds or three minutes per round. That leaves the rest of the time for relaxing, eating and laughing. The highest correlate with success in any field of sport or work is how much FUN you’re having, not how hard you concentrate.

“I CAN MAKE IT THROUGH THAT GAP”…Maybe but not likely. There is an old golf saying that trees are 90% air. Not true, fake news, trees are 100% tree. Most of us overestimate our skill and underestimate our desperation. So, you’ve hit into the rough and if you can just get through that very small gap between two trees and overcome the branches of a third tree impeding your back swing, then yes, you might not drop a shot. Then again, you might hit one of the trees and end up deeper in the rough. The desperate mind is an irrational mind. It’s a stressed mind that’s prone to making solid errors of judgment. So, beat your desperate mind by thinking about the miracle shot, then chip back onto the fairway.

“IF I CAN START WITH A PAR, I CAN AFFORD A COUPLE OF BOGEYS”…Thinking in “what if” scenarios is the most destructive type of thinking on a golf course. Once you start playing in the future or the past, the present is lost…and good scores come from staying in the moment. Most amateurs move from a planning mindset to a dwelling mindset and back again. Planning 15 minutes ahead to the par they are going to make on the next hole and dwelling five minutes back to the previous hole where they duffed an easy chip into a green side bunker. As much as possible, staying present and not thinking ahead or behind will give you better outcomes. 

“I’M NOT SURE THIS IS THE RIGHT CLUB”…You’re halfway through your back swing, with multiple thoughts running through your mind at express pace…“The wind is strong, I always fall short with this club, perhaps I should have taken one extra, I wonder what we’re having for dinner, I may need to hit this a little harder, swing quicker, give it everything. Oops, that didn’t work.” Not being sure places you in the “valley of uncertainty.” So, pick your club, trust it and swing like you mean it. 

“DON'T HIT IT IN THE BUNKER”…As we’ve discussed in previous newsletters, your body operates in the direction of your brains most dominant thought. It also struggles with being told what not to do. So, when you mentally say, “Don’t hit it into the bunker,” your brain hears “Hit it into the bunker.” Sure, it can hear the “Don’t,” but the word only creates fear and begins an internal dialogue of uncertainty. It’s like telling a toddler “Don’t touch that.” Next thing you know, they’re licking it. Your autonomic nervous system, which processes faster than your conscious brain, has already calculated all the over accelerated “skinny” and decelerated “fat” possibilities and chosen the way forward before you even pull the trigger. Plonk, into the bunker. “Bugger, I said don’t do that. What an idiot.” No, you’re not an idiot, just someone struggling with a negative internal dialogue built on years of golfing mishaps.

“IF I MISS THIS PUTT, MY WHOLE ROUND WILL BE RUINED”…Oh, the drama. Yes, it’s a four-footer. No, it’s not a hostage negotiation. Missing one putt won’t ruin your round but your meltdown after the putt might. Relax…treat each putt like it’s just another stroke. Don’t turn it into a Broadway tragedy. Save that energy for when your driver decides to slice into someone’s backyard. The main problem with any ruination thought is it exaggerates the importance of a single shot and overgeneralises one error, affecting confidence on all shots.

“THAT WAS IN ALL THE WAY”…Many golfers have heard or even declared, “That was in all the way,” after a near-miss on the green. While it may serve as a comforting thought, it’s not accurate…if the ball didn’t drop, it was never in. Often, after such misses, golfers look for reasons…was it the bobbling green, background noise, the movement of playing partners, or simply a lack of time spent practicing? How a golfer interprets missed putts can impact future performance. If you attribute the outcome to luck, your confidence may remain intact, leaving you hopeful for your next attempt. In contrast, attributing the miss to a lack of skill or practice may lower confidence but could motivate improvement through more practice. Now, you have two choices…blame bad luck and walk away with hope…blame lack of practice and walk away with motivation. Option 1 lets you sleep better. Option 2 might make you play better. Depends on what you need more.

See the References Here.