Take each shot on its own merit

PLAYING at the Royal Golf Club presents many unique challenges. One of the things I enjoy most about the golf course is that it demands concentration and a good thought process on every shot.

The tricky nature of the golf course means that quite often a good shot might not be rewarded with a good result. Equally, we will sometimes get lucky with a poor shot, but it's in our nature to dwell on the unlucky ones!

I have seen many occasions when a player has let something out of his control have an adverse affect on the next few shots, through a poor attitude, throwing away valuable strokes.

The thought of being able to produce a low score over a long period of time can sometimes stop you from performing your best. If you set out to build a great wall, the scale of the task can start to make you negative. The correct mentality is to focus on laying each brick as perfectly as you can, then move on to the next, and soon you have a wall.

I'm sure everyone would agree that if you had the ability to approach every shot in a consistently calm and focused way regardless of what has gone before or indeed is yet to come, you could shave a significant chunk off your score at the end of the day, or just have a more successful game of golf. The good news is that you can stop letting your circumstances affect the way you think!

Next time you play, set yourself the goal of 'taking each shot on its own merit.' After a destructive shot or a stroke of bad luck, take the time to step back, take a deep breath and start to project an image of the ideal shot you wish to play. Do the same if you have a potential good score and you begin to feel nervous.

If you judge your performance at the end of the day not on what you scored, but how your mental process was before each shot, you will be measuring your performance on something you can control (your state of mind) not something you can't fully control (your score).

If you have observed no improvement in your game for some time, then look at this statement: "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result" - Albert Einstein.

Do you think it's about time you change the way you think? Prepare studiously for every shot, make sure you have a clear image of what you want, breathe smoothly, play the shot and then forget about the result! Then find your ball and do the same again and again, just as you would lay each brick. You should focus on being calm and ready for every shot regardless of the result. If you persist in doing this you will have a distinct advantage over any other player who becomes easily frustrated or nervous.