Peak Tips

Sport Psychology:  The Mental Game Of Golf

The temperature hovered at 88 degrees, a crystal clear blue sky, making it a perfect day for James to enjoy a round of golf with his corporate buddies. James was not new to Golf and had previously won several country club tournaments. 

The time had come for James to tee off.  He had executed his swing hundreds of times in the past.  He knew that the pin was roughly 420 yards away.  James  decided that his target would be a raised grassy area about 280 yards away.  To James’s right,   60 yards away, was a water area.  To his left was a bunker.  James began to wonder, with inner doubts creeping in, about his ability to get the golf ball to the targeted area.   With his driver in hand, James set up with his familiar and comfortable grip,  stance, feet, arm and body alignment exactly as he had practiced many times in the past.  He looked at his target and told himself “Now, don’t let it go into the water.  Make sure you don’t get it to the bunker.”  A number of his buddies were watching him as he thought to himself, “Don’t disappoint them!”   This was his moment of triumph.  He executed his swing and the ball went right into the water.  In the company of his friends, James felt terribly embarrassed as he shook his head and examined his driver.  He couldn’t explain what went wrong and tried to shake it off as the jitters of using his new clubs which he had used them before.

The scenario just described is very common in golf.  It happens often when golfers lose their focus, have thinking errors, are too outcome oriented, too mechanical oriented, thus resulting in “choking.”  James, like many golfers,   lacked performance confidence.  He was excessively self critical and just unable to find his “zone.”   James used negative thoughts such as “don’t let it go into the water!”  In doing this, his mind translated just the opposite message. That message caused the ball to go into the water.   James showed concern about what his buddies would think of his playing abilities.  In this way, James put additional pressures on himself.  All of these factors described in this scenario are important issues for golfers that Sports Psychology Consultants help golfers learn improved mental techniques to enhance overall performance.

Initially, a Sport Psychology Consultant must assess the issues and formulate a plan of action that will enable the golfer to make changes in his/her attitude and performance.  The areas most commonly addressed by Performance Enhancement experts are:

**Maintaining Focus and Concentration without negative or critical thinking

**Identifying and stopping negative/ critical thoughts

**Turning negative thoughts into positive thoughts

**How to maintain positive self-talk while playing golf

**The use of visual imagery to enhance target focus

**How to get into the “Zone, “where performance is relaxed; without concern for scores; without being results or outcome driven and without the inner doubts of mechanical techniques.

**How to have more fun while playing golf!

For further information, contact Sam Sterk, Ph.D. at Peak performance Plus, LLC.  480-767-0956 Email at:  peakplus@aol.com