Some
golfers respond
magnificently
to pressure
during a round
- and then
there's the
vast majority
of golfers
in the world
who don't.
For
those who find
that pressure
affects their
standard of
golf (and most
fall into this
category),
here is an
alternative
method which
works very
well for some
golfers - reverse
psychology.
This
alternative
mental method
can be used
at certain
times during
a game to
reduce the
pressure
and allow
yourself
to play your
shots without
restriction
or inhibition. Be
warned
however,
that this
method
is very
much a
personal
choice
and should
be trialled during
practice
for its
effectiveness
before
trying
it in
competition
- because
every
golfer
is different.
A
classic
example
of how reverse
psychology
can work
(and without
even knowing
it) is when
a golfer
plays
a horrible first
9 holes
- in fact, so
bad that
they
finally mentally
'give
up' or surrender, to
the
point of
almost not
trying on
the
10th
and 11th
holes.
Quite
often
these
golfers
discover
(to their
utmost
surprise)
that
they
suddenly
begin
to play
some
very
good
shots
and
some
excellent
holes.
The
reason for
this is that
during this mental
surrender, the
golfer's
game switches
from the
control of
the (weak)
conscious
mind to the
very powerful
subconscious.
Through
mentally
'surrendering',
the golfer
shuts down
their conscious
mind's steely
grip over
their game,
and this
allows the
all-powerful
subconscious
(the control-center
of all movement) to
do its job
properly.
This
sometimes even
allows a golfer
to reach their absolute
peak for
a short time
- the holy
grail on the
golf course,
'the zone'
- the peak
of human potential
on the golf
course.
This
means that
often when
we emotionally
detach from
the outcome,
we get
more positive
results. When
we release
our emotional
attachment
and just
allow
ourselves
to hit
without
pressure (much
like
most
of us
do in
practice),
our body
gets
its
instructions
from
the
powerful subconscious (not
conscious),
mind.
So
how can we put
this into practice?
As an example,
let's say that
you are hitting
a shot over
water - and that
you are feeling
the pressure
a great deal.
There are 3
different mental
approaches which
you can take
in this situation:
One
approach is
to focus 100% positively on
making the
shot, keeping
all thoughts off
the obstacle (the
water) -
and this
very often
brings
good results,
depending
upon how
successful
you can
be
at keeping
the negative
thoughts
at bay.
The
second approach
is the complete negative approach
- where
you think to
yourself "there's
no way I will
make this shot".
This doesn't usually work
- as most
often, if
your goal
is 'the
water', you
will very
often hit
it! However,
some golfers
swear that
this approach
works for
them, as
they say
it takes
all pressure
off them
- I suppose
everyone
is different!
The
third approach
is where
you say
to yourself "I'll
just wait
and see
what happens
- I have
no expectations,
come what
may".
This
approach
tends to
relax the
mind and
body, as no
huge demands have
been
made upon
it, and
it allows
you to
relax
and play
your
shot without
too much
mental
pressure
or physical
restriction.
This
approach
brings some
excellent
results and
many golfers
have
found this to
be a superior
method
(for them) -
even
over the more
positive
method. This
technique
works best if
all other
attempts
prevent you
from playing
in a
relaxed
manner - as
it reduces
your
expectation,
and the
pressure
you put upon
yourself.
So
in general,
the best mental
approaches are
either the positive mental
approach, followed
by the 'let's
see what happens'
approach.
It is always best to try the positive approach first, however if you find
you are continuing to struggle from pressure, then relax and take the pressure
off with some reverse psychology - and see what happens.
