Juniors Only

Go For What You Want

One of the traits that just about every great golfer has is a desire to make something good happen. While this might at first seem to be true for every player, there are a lot of players who are focusing too much on trying to avoid having something bad happen. One of the forefathers of Psychology believed that all of our actions are based on either movement toward what we want or away from what we fear. We see the latter frequently in golf.

Trying not to hit the ball left, staying out of the hazard, making sure not to three-putt, not chunking it, not coming over the top with the swing, not missing the cut, etc.
These are examples of the type of thinking of players who are fearful of a negative consequence. The problem with this line of thought is that one’s mind becomes full of words and pictures that have us paying attention to the things that are the opposite of what we’d like be focusing on.

What follows from a negative or fearful picture in one’s mind is a tendency to get tentative (play scared) or rush through things (“hit and hope”). Both of these inevitably lead to poor play. Indeed, one of the things I tell the players with whom I work is that they are very likely to create whatever they are thinking about! Think about negative situations, you are likely through tentative or rushed play to actually create it. On the other hand, thinking about a positive scenario increases the likelihood of success.

Picture hitting a ball with a draw toward a specific target. See yourself rolling the ball so that it dies over the front edge of the cup, playing enough club to catch the front edge of the green, playing one shot at a time and letting the results happen, feeling a smooth tempo, etc.
These are examples of the types of thoughts of a champion. Paying attention to what they want to have happen, and creating pictures and thoughts that represent accomplishment rather than failure.

Make sure that you are picturing success. This will ingrain a habit for you as a golfer that will sustain you throughout your golf career- and your life!

Jeff Troesch's biography and past articles