How To Overcome Emotion In Your Golf Game

Yesterday was one of those days that had me golf talking to myself.

It started when I pulled the first tee shot left. The golf ball bounced on the cart path and went further left into the purple sage and bougainvillea growing on the hillside below the homes bordering the fairway. That was going to be a bugger to find, so I decided to hit a provisional ball (It would become my primary ball if I couldn’t find the first shot). This little beauty went left, as well, trailing off into a sand trap behind three trees shielding it from the green - about 150 yards away.

Three of us looked without luck for the first one, so I climbed into the bunker and set up to hit the provisional to the green. The six iron picked the ball off the sand cleanly, and it shot over the lip, out of the bunker, right into the middle tree. My heart sunk as I watched the ball drop out of the tree to the grass below – lying 4 - about 100 yards from the hole. Not a good thing on a par-4 hole.

A pitching wedge to the green, and two putts, got me out of there with a triple bogey. I could feel the collar on my shirt getting very warm.

The second hole, a short par-3, was more of the same. Two over.

When the par-5 third produced another double bogey, I was ready to start shortening clubs.

Miraculously, a voice in the back of my mind began to coach me - “Settle down, go back to basics, make sure you’re setting up correctly”.

On the fourth tee I did just that, methodically checking each aspect of my Natural Golf set-up: ball placement, grip, posture, spine-tilt, etc. Then, as I brought the golf club back and began my downswing to the ball, I felt my shoulders turning ahead of the club. Shoulders went left, golf ball went left as the club went over the swing plane and back down into the ball.

The negative emotion began to melt away as I focused on what needed to be corrected. Concentrating on doing things properly took the focus off being angry and upset, allowing me to get back into the golf game. That old saw that says "When emotion walks in the door, Logic jumps out the window " is so true. I could either let the emotion run or deal with my game...not both.

Our minds can really only deal with one thing at a time. I can have a lot of things “floating” around in there, but I can only laser-in on one at a time. Both of us being human, I’ll bet you are probably the same.

The next few holes produced a par and a bogey, as I continued to pay attention to what I was doing. The rest of the round became very enjoyable because I was having fun again…which is why we’re out there, isn’t it?

That round of golf was not among my personal best, but I sure felt good walking toward the 19th hole.

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