The ability to focus or concentrate on what you choose will provide you with a supreme personal development tool that transcends golf. Daily practice of even a minute or two will train your brain to be more present and give you the ability to choose which thoughts to pay attention to, and which to ignore.
? TIP: Being Mindful of Your Thoughts & Emotions
Emotions come from thoughts. When your mind is quiet, you can become better at observing your thoughts and emotions, without reacting to them and giving them more power. It’s the resisting and reacting that causes performance-limiting anxiety.
With practice, your inner voice can be listened to impartially, without judgment and reaction – you just gently bring your attention back to what’s happening now. One day you’ll catch yourself smiling at this inner voice!
? TIP: Challenge yourself in difficult situations.
These can include distractions while you are playing shots; movements, noises, talking while you are doing your routines. You are only successful if mentally your mental routine goes well. Don’t judge success by how well the shot goes but by how well you committed, focused, and athletically played the shot un-distracted.
? TIP: Watch as many games as you can
Experience is everything. Even if you are not golf professionally but have thought of pursuing it, start watching the game on regular basis. This will help you learn about the mistakes and the tricks that professional players do. Also, you will be able to know what trick should be applied when and what will be the consequences.
? TIP: Get a role model
Fix your eyes on one player whose style fits you the best. Choose the player whose swings match the swings of yours. Start learning more about them. Concentrate on their game. Where they relax and where they concentrate. Also, learn about their pre-match routine which will help you too in your career.
? TIP: Play It Backward
The next time you play, take a moment before you tee up on each hole and play it backward in your mind. Imagine everything in reverse. Maybe you two-putt from 20 feet, hit a decent approach, and hit a drive that lands on the right side of the fairway. If you’re satisfied with the visualization, hit “play” and do it in real-time.
What do you think?