Welcome

Welcome to issue number 47 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:

• The Paradox of Choice

• Wellness Tip – The Conspiracy Trap

• Mental Demons Q+A

• In Person Events - Book The 3 Minute Golfer

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The Paradox of Choice

Every golfer knows the feeling…you step onto the tee box with high confidence, only to immediately have it reduced. Not because of a water hazard or out-of-bounds stakes but because you have choices. Type of ball? Tee height? Wood or iron? Fade or draw? High or low? Psychologists call this choice overload, and research suggests too many options can reduce your performance (Iyengar & Lepper, 2000).

Faced with a dizzying array of options, even the most seasoned golfer can find themselves second-guessing before they swing. As uncertainty creeps in, what should be a straightforward decision becomes a mental minefield, with each possible choice inviting scrutiny and self-doubt. Before your club even leaves the bag, your mind starts tallying the pros and cons, weighing advice from mates, coaches, and that YouTube video you watched last night. So, it’s little wonder your confidence has been chipped away before you even address the ball. The paradox is clear…striving for the perfect choice often leaves you further from the perfect shot.

One of the mental keys to good golf is to be certain about your choices on all aspects of the game.

Pro Tips…to Eliminate Choice and Uncertainty

Get a Grip…Golfers use a variety of grips. There are strong grips, neutral grips, those that overlap, the interlockers, baseball, reverse-overlap, and so on. The key is to find the grip that works best for you and embed it on the practice range, then grip your club on the course without even thinking. 

Tee Height…Raise your tee for distance? Lower it for control? Medium height for emotional stability? Some golfers adjust tee height like they’re tuning a satellite dish, convinced the perfect millimetre will finally unlock greatness. Spoiler alert…it won’t…close enough works.

Ball Selection…Compression, core material, cover softness, pitch, distance, launch angle, altitude, spin rate…golf balls now come with more stats than your FitBit. Best advice…forget all the stats and go with the ball that feels the best off your club. The ball you like most will perform the best because it will reduce your anxiety by limiting at least one of your many choices. 

Swing Thoughts…Keep your head down. Rotate your hips. Relax. Explode. Don’t explode. Once upon a time, golfers had a simple swing thought…“Keep your eye on the ball.” Today, your coach, your dad, an app, and a neighbour all offer conflicting swing advice, and you are left to decide which is best. Nothing drains mental energy faster than trying to remember seven swing tips while holding a thin stick. Keep it simple.

Putting Decisions…Declutter your putting thoughts…see line, roll ball. Instead, many golfers increase their confusion by overanalysing the green speed, grain, slope, shadow direction, and position of the moon. Putting should be relaxed and fun…not an endless series of decisions around your putter length, putter head, putting grip, green speeds, grass strand alignment, and whether your socks are the right height. Research indicates decision fatigue decreases performance on subsequent tasks, so keep it very simple (Baumeister et al., 1998). 

Practice Swings…One practice swing? Two? A slow one? A fast one? Each extra practice swing adds confidence…right up until the real swing, which often bears no resemblance to any of them. They say practice makes perfect, but when you’re deciding between three practice swings, two half swings, and a ceremonial windmill you might be over doing it.

Fewer Choices…It is always good to have choices but there’s a paradox. The more choices you have, the more your brain can become confused. So, make definite decisions, reduce your choices and keep it simple. With fewer choices, you can focus on actually playing golf. Studies show that fewer choices can improve satisfaction and performance and that constrained choice can increase happiness (Schwartz, 2004), which should lead to more fun on the course and better scoring.

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