Did you know that on average golfers lose around 6 shots per round just due to their mindset? That’s what James Sinclair and the team at Golf Guru discovered. In this interview, we are taking a dive into the world of golf psychology to see what you can do to improve your game.
One of the areas that we can practice and get incredible results is our mindset… and yet I still feel like it’s not quite reached the place where everyone is doing it. Want to get better at golf… have a lesson and practice on the range… a lot. But why are more people talking about golf psychology? If you want to save a bunch of shots each round, then make sure you watch the video below.
What is Golf Psychology?
To me, golf psychology is all about the process of working on your mind to help you play better golf. As James said in the interview, how can you get your mind to be a tool that actually helps you on the course?
Your thoughts, your actions, and your emotions play a huge role in your overall performance on the course. How often can you think where one bad shot led to a bad hole, which led to a bad 3 holes, or even a bad rest of the round? Yes, it’s about stopping that from happening, and it is also about helping you make more putts when under pressure, it’s about being able to execute your full potential when on the course.
What does golf psychology look like? Well, watch the interview with James and you’ll see. It could be pre-shot routines, visualizations, your warm-up, meditations, thoughts, and loads more.
Takeaways From The Interview With James
Practice Better at the driving range:
- Simulate pressure in practice. In an ideal world, it would be greater pressure than you experience on the course.
- Technique work for only 50% of the practice. The other 50% simulating pressure – play virtual golf (no mulligans).
- Simulating pressure – change club after every shot. Don’t think… ooooh I can hit the driver better than that, let me have another go… you can’t do that on the course. “You’re missing an opportunity to become mentally tougher”
On The Course:
The level for playing your best golf is jsut below being stressed.
Use the walk in between shots to get yourself into the right frame of mind. Not focusing on the shot you just hit for 2 minutes.
After The Round:
Journaling – Write down your 4 best shots, no matter how bad your round was. Best drive, your best approach, your best chip, your best putt. Instead of letting the bad shots fester for hours, days… even onto the next round, get those great shots committed to your memory instead.
Pre-Shot Routine
Is all about getting in you in the right mindset in the seconds before you hit your shot. Yes there is a physical element but its also mental.
During The Shot
There are 3 places your mind could be…. One swing thought (no more), or totally empty, or being focused on a tiny, tiny target – a leaf on a tree that you are aiming at.
Post Shot Routine
Ask yourself… why did the ball go there? Remove the emotion from it. Do this on all your shots, the good and the bad.
How to make more putts:
The mental sweet spot for putting is… Believing you can hole the putt, but not caring if you miss
Golf Psychology Books
In a minute I’m going to talk to you about Golf Guru, and how that is the thing that will actually help you implement the practices, and thus get the results. However, it’s impossible to talk about the world of golf psychology without talking about 2 of the biggest names in this space.
Dr. Bob Rotella with his series of books including Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect and Dr. Joseph Parent with his book Zen Golf have shaped the landscape of golf psychology. In fact, Dr. Joseph Parent is a partner and a big part of Golf Guru’s app and program. Both are great books for golfers of any level, worth reading and keeping close by on your bookshelf.
The most important thing however is actually implementing the practices the books teach. This brings us to Golf Guru.
Golf Guru – Golf Psychology For The Modern Player
Up until recently as golfers, we have had the option of learning about golf psychology through the books or working one to one with a golf psychologist, which if we are being honest is probably something you’re only going to do if you are a professional golfer or very high-level amateur looking to gain the extra edge.
But we all know that as average golfers we are sometimes, ok often, our own worst enemy. We get in our own heads and waste shot and after shot for stupid reasons. We get the books, we read them and we think… that’s great. But actually implementing the practices is harder and so we don’t get the full benefit.
Enter Golf Guru
The golf psychology plan for the modern golfer.
Golf Guru Special Offer – 30-Day Free Trial (Normally only 7)
As a Sunday Red Golf reader, you can get a 30-day free trial instead of the usual 7. Giving you more time to try out the sessions and start to see results.
Download Golf Guru on Google Play
And use the following code at checkout: SUNDAYRED_1MF!
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