Quick Tips to Sharpen Your Mental Game

You’re striping your irons and bombing your driver on the range and lagging putts on the practice greens like the pros.  Your sand game is strong and you’re beginning to hit some nice fades and draws on demand.  All this means that you’re usually feeling pretty darn good about your golf game when you leave the practice facility, right?  So why does it all go out the window when you hit the first tee box?

Simple answer, your mental game takes over.

We don’t think about scores or bad lies on the range and many of us usually only practice the same putt over and over on the practice green.  Pressure and nerves are virtually non-existent when practicing and for most of us, that lack of pressure doesn’t really help up sharpen our mental game on the course—also, stop practicing shots your great at on the range, yes they make you feel good but you need to focus on building your confidence; so break out of your comfort zone and practice the things you know your not good at.

Giving Your Mind & Body the Proper Fuel

First let’s talk about energy on the course since its directly correlated to your mental game.  If you’re driving your car on a long distance trip, you always make sure you have enough gas in the tank.  The same concept applies to a five hour round of golf.

The elements in a round of golf can be brutal and they could consist of elevation changes, wind, rain, hot steamy heat, or even wicked cold depending on when and where you play.  Therefore, it’s crucial to make sure you have the proper energy not only before, but also during your round.  Morning rounds for me include a well-balanced breakfast but here’s the key thing; I pack a second breakfast in my bag.

A photo posted by One Hungry Girl (@onehungryygirl) on Sep 21, 2016 at 6:54am PDT

Proper nutrition is essential to get your round going but remember that you exert a ton of energy during a round, especially if you walk.  Fatigue can creep up on you fast and before you know it, your increased appetite can take control of your mental game.  Small things may happen like ‘being to lazy to go back and get the proper club’ or ‘throwing your pre-shot routine out the window’.  Despite being “small tings” they tend to lead to extra shots and sometimes “blow up” holes. 

Anytime you stop focusing on your golf game for whatever the reason, you ultimately end up playing poorly.  Fatigue is caused by lack of fuel and will definitely lead too miss-hits, shanks, chunks, tops, hooks, slices and everything else that can go wrong.  Golf is a game of consistency and routine and when you come out of that rhythm, you tend to play poorly.  How many times have you started a round with par or better and feel like your onto something great, then the fatigue settles in and the rest of the round is ruined?

Look, I’m not saying stuff your face and keep a 12 inch hoagie in your golf bag, but rather make sure you have enough electrolytes, sugars, and/or proteins to keep your engines going.   Heck, grab some beef jerky and stock your bag up so you always have protein on reserve!  By the 6 or 7th holes I usually reach in the bag and pull out a bag of jerky or my aforementioned second breakfast which could be as simple as a small banana, protein bar, or sometimes, an extra sandwich.

Slow Everything Down

This tip starts from the moment you wake up.  If you are scheduled to play, make sure you take it slow from the moment you leave for the course to the final putt of the day.  If you’re playing an early morning round, set the alarm early enough to avoid that “rushed” feeling.  

Most amateurs who have an early morning tee time will set the alarm for less than an hour before they head out; and this is very wrong.  You need to prepare your body (and mind) for the 18 holes that are to come and you need ample time to get ready.

Here’s a idea of how I prepare for an early morning round:

• The Night Before:  Quickly ‘Google’ the course’s scorecard/layout and get an idea of what your up against.  If you we’re preparing for a football game, most likely coach will have you watch film of the team your playing against to build your team’s strategy.  I find that this prepares me for certain things like ‘I don’t need driver much on this course’ or ‘lots of sand, I better get there a little earlier to hit a bunch of practice bunker shots’.  Also take a moment to learn your yardages and tee boxes.  If a lot of holes feature fairway bunkers at or around where you normally hit driver, you may want to rethink how you get off the tee.

• Rise and Shine:  Let’s say my round is at 8 am and a twenty minute drive from my house.  I’ll typically plan to rise around 6 am and give myself time take a hot shower to loosen up my lower back muscles.  You can avoid this step if you have heat wraps or pads that you can put on your back during your drive, but believe me, it’s made a huge difference in my game.  Upon arriving to the facility, my back feels loose and ready to begin swinging.  I’ll make my breakfast and pack my additional fuel and usually hit the road by 7 am.

• Drive Slow: We’ve heard it before.  Your tempo begins on the car ride to the course.  Allowing yourself plenty of time for arrival won’t elevate your heart rate and rush your warm-up routine.  Drive slow, arrive with plenty of time, and transition that pace out onto the course.  Don’t be like this guy:

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ2BnOHV27A&start=50&end=70&width=742&height=419[/embedyt]
 

The bottom line here is just to take your time and prepare yourself the right way for your round.  We know your weekend round with your buddies doesn’t have millions on the line, but as a student of the game always looking to improve, I tend to make each round count as if millions are in fact on the line.  Shooting your best score ever at the end of the day is just as good in my opinion!

Just Focus on Golf

Let’s just say that life has way to many distractions.

It’s hard to keep your electronics to a minimum, that’s something we can all agree on.  Most times we get caught up in the daily activities of life which force us to check our email, send texts, or take photos during a round.  All of that activity clogs our mental game and shifts our focus.  The best bet here is to silence your phone and if you need to check in on some things, save it for a quick five minutes on the turn, and then shut it down for the rest of the round.  Using phone apps for distance can be distracting too and my opinion here would be to get a GPS Watch or dedicated laser rangefinder to avoid this.

In addition to your cell phone, it may be a good idea to leave the beer at home.  Don’t get me wrong, I love a cold one on the course on a hot summer day, but it’s not what your body needs to focus.  I get it, you might enjoy the weekend around with your buddies and a few 12-packs in the car, but if you really want to be competitive out there you may want to opt for the electrolytes and water to keep the muscles loose and swinging smoothly.  Drinking alcohol on the course contradicts my first point about nutrition and healthy eating and severely hinders your ability to focus.

I thought about writing this article right after I played in my first Member-Guest tournament.  I really wanted to impress my playing partner who invited me and hoped to take home the top prize, but I shot myself in the foot before I even stepped out on the course.  I did not eat properly, I was late to the course, and I easily checked my email a half a dozen times if not more during the round.  I know that if I take my own advice next time out, I’m confident that I could play 6-7-8 strokes better than that sloppy tournament.

Prepare yourself better for your round and you could end up playing the best round of your life.