If you watched this year’s British Open at Royal Troon, you saw great performances by two of the games best. Henrick Stenson shot a 63 on the final day and was 20 under for the match—the lowest score in Open History. Phil Mickelson shot a 65 on the final day and was 18 under for the match. Their performances for the whole tournament were remarkable.
The question is: How do professional golfers like Mickelson and Stenson drive themselves to perform way beyond expectations over four days, with a fat purse and millions of dollars in endorsements at stake. It’s not easy. But chances are good they used some mental “tricks” to help drive their performances—tricks that kept them playing at a high level.
Below are eight mental golf tips that can help drive performance when you need to play at a high level.
1) What can I learn from this?: If you’re like most weekend golfers, you have your good days and your bad days. Hopefully, you have more good days than bad days. The bad days can be tough. But you can make them easier by asking yourself: What can I learn from this experience? The positives are always there. You just need to find them.
2) Have patience when making a change: It’s not unusual for golfers to make swing changes or change their playing strategies. You don’t always see instant success when you make changes — even if the change is right on the mark. Have patience when making a change. It takes a while to ingrain it and your game may suffer for it.
3) Play with an edge: When Tiger Woods was at his best, he played with a fearless edge. Mind you, he didn’t play recklessly. Instead, he played aggressively, which eliminated the feeling of restraint. That feeling will help you play your best. It’s what you need to beat opponents, especially during match play.
4) Don’t carry over disappointment: All golfers feel disappointed after hitting bad shots. Some golfers even get disappointed when hitting anything less than a perfect shot. Don’t let disappointments carry over to your next shot. Let it go. It relaxes you and helps you hit good shots. Call it talking sense into bad shots.
5) Score isn’t the only measure: Some weekend golfers judge performance strictly by score. That’s not the only way to measure success in golf. Often, it’s not even the best way. It takes time to improve, so have some patience and look for signs that show you’re getting better, even if your scores don’t reflect it.
6) Never lose your inner peace: Sometimes things happen off the course that makes it tough to focus on the course. Hey, things happen. It’s only human to react to them. Good golfers don’t let those things bother them too much. They see themselves as “calm warriors,” committed to doing everything with a calm spirit and inner peace.
7) Rhythm eases tension: Tension causes your muscles to tighten up. When that happens, you start hitting bad golf shots. Rhythm eases tension. So use rhythm to trick yourself into staying relaxed throughout the round or during a match. The keys below suggested by a sports psychologist can help you do that:
a) Find the rhythm in your pre-shot routine
b) Soften your grip when addressing the ball
c) Think “release to the target” on full swings
d) Release the blade when putting
8) Make a mental checklist: Weekend golfers sometimes feel the need to reset their minds. If that’s you, make a checklist containing mental keys to your success. These tips can be things like “Commit to every shot” or “Don’t let bad shots affect you.” Tailor the list to your needs and carry the list with you and refer to it when things go south.
These eight mental golf tips will help boost performance when playing a round or a match. Over time, they’ll become ingrained, creating a new attitude designed to drive performance to the next level. This new attitude will help you break 80 and shave strokes off your golf handicap.
