When do Golfers Shoot Their Best Score?

Sunday, December 8, 2013

It's a lot of fun when you shoot your best score. But if you actually try to shoot your lowest score on that day, it won't give you good result.

But why?

When golfers shot their lowest score, what were they thinking or what happen to them?

If you understand what they were doing, you have a good chance of shooting your best score the next time you play.

 

Let it go

Golfers who shot their lowest score said that they made a big mistake on the 1st hole or during the first few holes they played.

They three-putted on the first hole, hit it out of bounds and so on.

But why they came up with the lowest score even if they made a mistake on the first hole?

That's because they kind of gave up trying to shoot their best after making a mistake on the first hole.

Before the mishit, three putt or whatever, they were trying to control results.

But you can't control results.

The result happens.

You can't make it happen.

You just let it happen.

Those golfers gave up trying to control results because they failed on the first hole.

But it made it much easier for them to just play golf.

 

Change Your Goal

When you set your goal for the day, try to come up with something you can actually control. Like we talked about, results can't be controlled.

I often set my goal to take one shot at a time as if it was the last shot of my life. I do this because I can enjoy golf more than I used when I was thinking about results and my score.

You can set your goal to check your ball position every time you set up to the ball. Or you can try to take it back slowly on the backswing and so on.

Any goal is fine as long as it's something you can control.

 

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Par 5: Five Ways to Decide When to Go for it

On par 5's, do you lay up or go for it in two? How would you decide wether you go for it or not?

Some golfers always go for it in two. But most of the time, they fail to reach green in two and get big numbers instead.

Sam Snead used to go for green all the time. But he analyzed his score and decided not to go for the green in two if he couldn't reach it with an iron.

His scoring average dropped dramatically. He started to play much better golf since then.

Zach Johnson became the first Masters Champion who won without going for a par 5 in two. He played the par 5's in 11 under without a bogey.

I'm not saying you shouldn't go for it. But I think you should have a clear rule when you have to make a decision.

 

5 Ways to Decide

When you are faced with the second shot in par 5's. there are 5 ways to come up with the decision.

 

1. If you can't make up your mind, lay up

2. If you can hit the green 7 out of 10 times, go for it

3.If you can have clear image of yourself hitting the green, go for it

4. Try to think about risk and reward your situation.

5. Do what you think is fun

 

Davis LoveIII's father, Davis Love Jr once said that he would go for the green, if you could hit it 7 out of 10 times. I think it's a very rule to have.

My father was a very good player. He won lots of amateur tournaments in Japan. He told me not to do it if I can't make up my mind.

I follow his advice every time.

5. Do what you think is fun

I think this is very important in golf or anything else. Golf is a game, so you should have fun with it.

Instead of trying to pick what you think is right, try to choose what you think is fun. Things go well when you start to choose the one that's fun for you.

If I give thes advice to golfers, you might think everybody will go for it in two. But if they hit it in the water or out of bounds as a result of going for it, that's not fun.

Sometimes it's fun to just lay up and try to hit it close to the pin for the birdie.

So you have to ask yourself which choice is actually fun.

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How to Stop Thinking about Bad Shots

The memories of bad shots often bother us on the golf course. After missing a short putt, you might start to fear putts from short distance on the next hole.

Bad shots will take away your confidence.

If you can erase bad memories, you won't have to fight against fear anymore.

But to be exact, you can't erase memories from your brain. But there is a way to get memories of bad shots out of your thoughts.

When you miss a shot or hit it OB, what will you do on the next hole? I think most of golfers try to forget about it or try not to think about bad shots. But it has a reverse effect.

Have you heard of "Don't Think of a White Bear" study?

This study's result showed that people who are asked not to think of a white bear can't get white bear out of their heads.

This means if you try not to think about your bad shots or try to forget about it, you will think it even more.

So the harder you try to forget about bad shots, the more you end up thinking about your bad shots.

 

How can you get rid of those bad memories or fear?

The only way to get a white bear or bad shots out of your thought is to concentrate on something else.

After hitting it out of bounds on the lasst hole, don't try to forget about it or not to think about it.

Instead, focus on your shot at hand. Concentrate on your target and routine. Your pre-shot routine will help you stay in the present moment.

 

Focus on Breathing

When players feel the pressure, they tend to breathe shallowly and quickly. On the other hand, when you are relaxed at home, you are probably taking a slow and deep breath.

It's also true that by controlling or focusing on your breathing, you can control your state of your mind.

So when you hit a bad shot, try taking a deep breath. After taking a deep breath for a while, you will soon begin to feel relaxed.

Whenever I feel the pressure on the golf course, I try to focus on my breathing. This is one of the best ways to control my state of mind when I feel the pressure.

If you try it and feel like it's not working, try to focus on your breathing regularly when you play golf. And make it your habit.

Taking a deep breath is a great way to get rid of your everyday stress as well. The best thing about it is that it's free. But it works like a charm.

 

Be willing to Accept the Outcome

Another method to stop thinking about bad shots and start focusing on the shot at hand is to remove the fear of hitting bad shots.

To remove the fear of bad shots, you want to be willing to accept the outcome of the shot that you are going to hit.

Whatever the outcome may be, you should be willing to accept it.

Dr. Joe Parent who is the author of Zen Golf, said this pre-acceptance of outcome will remove the interference that comes with fear of hitting bad shots.

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Ways to Overcome First Tee Nerves

The first tee shot of the day is always nerve-wrevking for every golfer.

So don't think that you are the only one who feels very nervous on the first tee.

The cause for the first tee nerves is mostly the anxiety about the outcome.

 

There are many ways to overcome your first tee nerves. So let's start.

 

1. Anxiety

You get nervous because you are not certain about the outcome of the first tee shot.

To overcome, you need a little confidence. So you can either,

- Practice enough

-Use the club that you are comfortable with

Lots of players get nervous because of the lack of practice. It's very simple. If you hit enough balls, you'll be more comfortable with your tee shots.

It's also a good idea to use 3 wood off the tee if you don't hit your driver well.

 

2. Try not to Get Rid of it

When you become anxious, the tendency is to try to get rid of it. But that's going to make things worse.

Because it's natural to feel anxiety for human, try to accept it instead of trying to deny it. It's interesting that if you accept for the fact that you are nervous instead of trying to deny it, you tend to calm down.

But if you try harder to get rid of it, you get more nervous.

So on the tee, say it out loud that you are nervous. Admit the fact that you are nervous. Once you admit it, you don't have to hide it anymore.

And it really relieves tension. You can try the same thing when you have to give speech or something.

It works like magic.

 

3. The Best Way to Ease Tension

When you get nervous, your muscles get tense and tight. The tight muscles don't move as fast as loose muscles so you lose distance.

So you have to loosen your muslces.

The best way to do it is to smile. When we smile, the muscles will automatically loosen. That's how our muscles are built.

So we should take advantage of it and smile when we feel pressure.

This smile method works not only for driver but with all your clubs, putter inlcuded.

When you feel like you have to make a short putt, try to smile instead of trying hard to make it.

When hitting the first shot of the day, smile as you take your address and keep your smile throughout your golf swing.

It just work likr magic.

 

4. Lower Your Expectation

Lowering your expectation is a good way to heat the first-tee jitters. You get more nervous because your expectation is high.

Most players try to hit it long or hit the pretty shot in front of people watching on the first tee. But this will only make it harder to hit the shot that you normally hit.

If you are afraid of first-tee jitters, try to lower your expectation. Don't expect yourself to hit it long or hit the shots that you usually hit.

Instead, try to hit the shot that you can easily hit during your practice. If you hit your driver 250 yards, aim at the spot that is 200 yards away.

Try to pick spot to hit instead of trying to hit as far as you can.

 

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Tips to Calm Your Nerves

Every golfer has a shot that they rather not hit. The first tee shot of the day, bunker shots or shots over water or other hazards can be nerve-wrecking.

But how can you overcome those shots or fear?

The first thing to do is to practice. The more you practice, the better you can handle those shots. But even if you practice enough, you can still get nervous by hitting the shots you don't like.

 

To calm your nerves, you can do 2 things:

 

1. Focus on Your Target

If you get nervous trying to hit the shot over water, you must be thinking about the water more than other players.

When I stand over the shot, I see the water but don't really think about it any further.

But those players who hate the shots over water start to think about the water. They are thinking they don't want to put it in the lake.

In other words, they are focusing on the water. We tend to hit the ball toward the point that we are focusing. That's why they often hit it in the lake.

So instead of focusing on the spot that we want to avoid, focus on your mind to the target.

Of course, it's important to know where the hazard is. But witht that information in mind, you are going to have to pick the specific target.

So next time you stand over the shots you don't like, ask yourself "Where is my target?"

You will notice that you can calm your nervous much easier that way.

 

2. Why You do well When Hitting a Provisional Ball

Most players do well when hitting a provisional ball or second ball after hitting it OB.

But why?

That's because they gave up trying to avoid whatever they were trying to avoid.

When you think about avoiding OB, you are creating the image about hitting OB even if you are trying to do the opposite.

For example, if you say to yourself

- I shoudn't eat ice cream(because I'm on the diet)

- I like to eat ice cream

No matter which one you are thinking, you are creating the image of ice cream in your brain.

That's why thinking about avoiding OB is the same thing as forming the mental picture of hitting in OB.

So you hit it OB. You are going to have to hit another ball. But you failed to avoid OB on the first try. So when hitting your second shot, you give up trying because you failed on the previous shot.

But you are likely to hit the nice shot as a result because you were not thinking too much about avoiding OB ar any other hazards.

So when you get nervous about hitting the shots you don't like, say to yourself "This is the provisional ball".

I think you will do much better.

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How to Let Go of Tension in Golf

Like other sports, tension will cause all kinds of trouble in golf. Especially in golf, we have lots of time to think between shots.

Lots of golfers wonder how they can get rid of tension.

But if you ask professional athletes in other sports, they will tell you that there is no way to get rid of tension completely. However, they might tell you that some tension is necessary for better performance.

In big sports events such as Olympic Games, lots of world records are created. That's the proof that the tension is helping those athletes for better performance.

So tension is not a bad thing. It can help you play better golf. But you want to avoid too much tension.

A lot of times, too much tension comes from people trying to get rid of it when they felt tension in the first place.

However, like I mentioned earlier, you can't get rid of tension completely.

All you can do is to accept it and play with it. By trying to deny it, you get more nervous. But if you accept it, you can ease your tension.

It's funny, but that's how tension works.

 

Forget about What that Putt would Mean

Padraig Harrington won the British Open in 2007 and 2008. He also won the PGA Championship in 2008.

When he won the Open for the first time, he played against Sergio Garcia in a four-hole playoff. He later told his mental coach, Bob Rotella, about what he was thinking as he was putting.

He said he didn't think about the situation. He didn't think about what sinking the putt would mean. He didn't think about the mechanics of his putting stroke.

He was only focusing on his routine.

A lot of times, we tend to think what this putt would mean or how this first shot affects the score of the day. We are putting extra pressure on ourselves by doing this.

That's why we make all kind of mistakes in a  big situation.

Instead of thinking what this shot would mean, try to enjoy each shot or each putt.

When Padraig hit his last putt, he said "there were only the ball and the hole."

 This may be the real mental strength.

 

 

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How to Hit the Ball Straight under Pressure

Keep your Grip Pressure Constant

 

Nerves can sometimes make your hands and arms overactive during your golf swing, especially during the transition and through impact zone.

 

When players are nervous, they tend to grip the tighter than normal. This would make them tense, and it make much harder to hit the consistent shot under pressure.

 

Others increase the grip pressure during the swing. Some players do this during the transition or during the downsing through impact.

 

If you increase your grip pressure during your golf swing, it can affect the clubface angle and the path of the golf swing and cause the ball to slice or hook.

 

So hit it straight under pressure, you might want to focus on your grip pressure during the swing.

 

I like you to try to keep your grip pressure constant from the start of your swing to the finish.

 

I think it's a very good idea to control the shot under pressure. Tour pros also use this technique to control their nerves. It should help you as well.

 

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Make posture a priority if you want to play better golf

You wouldn’t think that PGA Tour players need to be reminded about basic fundamentals like posture.

 

Martin Laird seemed to be doing just fine with his posture as he birdied the last three holes to win the Valero Texas Open by two shots Sunday.

 

Look a little further down the leaderboard and you’ll find Shane Lowry, who still finished tied for 15th despite hitting one of the worst shots of the tournament.

 

Lowry seemed to have a hiccup in his fundamentals on Sunday when he topped his ball, hitting a shot a mere 100 feet while trying to play from the rough.

 

It’s good every once in awhile to see the world’s best players appear to be human, but unfortunately the average golfer experiences poor shots like this a little more often.

 

Poor posture can lead to several bad golf shots, including topping the ball. If you experience more mis-hits than good strikes, follow these basic guidelines to get your posture on track:

 

• Posture is one of hardest things in the world to do correctly because you can’t see yourself in your posture when you play. It’s all based on feel. A great way to practice is to get in front of a mirror and try to mimic a picture of your favorite tour player’s posture. Then close your eyes for a few seconds to enhance the feel of a proper posture.

 

• You want your body to be athletic before the swing begins. Using examples from other sports, a linebacker in football or a defensive position in basketball, can be a great visual to get your posture stable and more athletic. Knees bent for balance, shoulders straight versus slouched, and bending from your waist with arms hanging naturally are just a few keys to an athletic posture.

 

• Practice your posture separately from your golf swing. This simply means shifting your focus from making a swing to making sure you have a good posture. The slightest change in your posture can have a dramatic effect on your results. When I teach, I enjoy using technology like K-Vest to measure my students and give them the proper feedback needed to fine tune their posture. You don’t have to have a K-Vest to perfect your posture, but you will need feedback from somebody or something to make sure you are practicing the right thing.

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