Guest blog by Adrian Riddell golf Psychologist

Guest Blog by leading Sports Psychologist, Adrian Riddell 

Adrian Riddell BA (Hons) Dip Psych ABHYP MANLP

When you've played great rounds of golf, how did you feel before you went out? Was you worrying about what the future holds, and feeling the elephants (or butterflies with elephants feet) in your stomach?

You can probably answer no to these questions - true, you may of had a certain feeling in your stomach, but that was because your body was preparing itself and getting you ready for the day ahead. If you didn't feel anything, you wouldn't play and practice anyway.

Now, you may say that some of your great rounds have been when you have just turned up, no practice and just gone out there and played - no preparation. And this may well be true. BUT, when you next go out, can you replicate it, and are you able to play that well in a competition that really matters to you? Probably not.

So we are talking about being able to replicate your results - CONSISTENCY…

Players always talk about wanting to be more consistent - however they often are amazingly consistent. They usually have what they say, what they focus on and what they do before they go out to play down to a fine art:

“I mustn't 3 putt today, and not go in any trouble, and not embarrass myself. I will putt to a hole with 3 or 4 golf balls before I go out, often with the pin in and hit lots of shots in the net to make me feel better”.

So when they stand on the 1^st tee - they focus on the trouble, and are more concerned about how they look to other players. When they get to the 1^st green they are trying not to 3 putt, and become tentative. They putt to a hole with no pin in. They can’t understand why they feel so different from the practice green and become agitated by the pace of play, especially if they can’t hit another shot straight away after a poor shot….

The way they prepared was the exact opposite to what they were doing before they went out. The mind doesn't understand a negative- so it just heard “I must 3 putt….’

Golf is played by humans…although I’m sure you've played with a few ‘other worldly creatures’, and you play with 1 ball, and probably have a Routine on the course before each shot.

Knowing these facts - how often have you practiced controlling and understanding how you feel inside? How often when you practice do you try to replicate what 1 shot that means something will feel like?

How often do you go through your Routine before you play a practice shot?

PREPARATION PLAN:

1 Practice putting with 1 ball to a hole, and going through a Routine (not every putt). Imagine (your imagination is incredibly powerful) you are playing in something that matters, and use all your senses to make it real.

2 Practice putting to a piece of string on the green - you can use a few balls for this. Putt to the piece of string- but before you see the ball’s resting place, say to yourself where you think is has finished in relation to the string- then look.

You are building a feedback mechanism - and relying on your natural touch and feel. Also you are not trying to hole the putt- there’s no hole. So you are purely working on feel. Never practice holing out with the pin in….

Finish by holing a putt to a hole- so you SEE IT GO IN.

3 On the range have a REAL and TECHNICAL bay- the real bay only has 5 balls, and you can’t hit consecutive balls here (so no ‘shelling peas’)- you have to go through your routine with each shot. You can imagine playing an actual hole here- and put the club away after the shot. This is where you practice what you are going to do on the course.

The technical bay is where you can work on your game (perhaps your having lessons off a PGA Pro). Your mind and body now know to click into real golf when you are on the course, and you become ready.

4 Before each round decide how you want to feel on the 1^st tee (get to know yourself). Breathe evenly and focus on where you want to go and care less about what other people think.

Decide what will give you real confidence before you go out- not false confidence (hitting lots of balls).

5 Finally before you go out, decide the reason you play golf- TO HAVE FUN AND ENJOY IT. So decide that whatever happens you will remind yourself of this goal.

Great preparation will allow you to focus in the now and keep the feelings inside at a manageable level, giving you the best possibility to have those great rounds time and time again.

Adrian Riddell trains elite and amateur sports performers to achieve winning performances through mental game training. The powerful winning results he provides are much sought after by both professional and amateur sports players, and to find out more please visit Adrian's website, by clicking here