good article

also mood swings can seriously affect your round…its easy to sail downwind when the breez is blowing with you but if things get tough its hard to handle

My menatl plan for each round is simple, no matter what happens its only a game…games torment us its why we play them…because we think we can win the game.

winning is what mentally drives us…if we didnt care about winning we wouldntt play…I hear people say Oh I just like to social golf and dont care what I shoot….hello its rubbish

if that was the case they would go a bridge club instead to make freinds

also menatlly I believe I can nail every shot even though I wont..because I know if I think like that I will nail more than I will miss

You talk to any elite athlete and its thier attitude that wins you over more than thier raw ability. I watched John Worsfolf play footy and that geez what a great player he was…yet when i met him at a coaching conference a few years back I suddenly realised why he was so great ..because mentally he had the right attitude. I met serveral AFL players and that is what struck me about them was thier confidence..some call it cockiness its not. Its belief in thier own ability.

self belief is the best skill you can ever own in sport…its better than anything

The biggest lesson I am learning and I stress still learning is to truly let the bad shots go. When I can and really mean it then I can focus on the next shot and hopefully repairing the damage from a bad shot.

When I can’t let go, I am destined to hit the next few badly.

It is easy to say the last shot didn’t matter but very difficult to actually mean it and what a difference if you can really let a bad shot go…

Cheers

Outcast

The biggest lesson I am learning and I stress still learning is to truly let the bad shots go. When I can and really mean it then I can focus on the next shot and hopefully repairing the damage from a bad shot.

When I can’t let go, I am destined to hit the next few badly.

It is easy to say the last shot didn’t matter but very difficult to actually mean it and what a difference if you can really let a bad shot go…

Cheers

Outcast

Would have to agree with you Outcast,very hard to move on straight away.

Cheers

Bob

To Dave,

When I go out for a “social hit”, I honestly do not give 2 hoots whether I had 2 under, even-par, 2 over or a shocker like say 80. I just do not care mate.
Played a course last week and started birdie, birdie. The next 3 holes I hit the greens in reg but above the hole, dead, and 3-putted them all. It did not worry me in the slightest as it was my fault for hitting my approach shots to the wrong part of the green. It was also my first time playing the course so I knew no better. Ended up having a couple more bogies and a double, couple more birdies and shot +3. Did I think that I could of shot better? Did I care? No I did not mate. I had a nice day out with some mates playing skins for a few beers.
The only thing “mental” I took from it was when I play the course next time, keep the ball under the hole and nothing else. Playing a one round comp is easy, putting it together for 4 rounds in a row is a different story. I agree with you that mental toughness is a major part but ability does get you a long way.
Winning is not everything!

Cheers

Letting go of a bad shot means turning off the mental word processor during the swing. Clear keys work wonders.

Have a round of golf with TW. His ability is 2nd to none and his mind is 2nd to none when it comes to this game. Does he give much away? No..The guy is cryptic in a way.