The Confidence Factor, Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles
The Confidence Factor, Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles

I think when you talk to any experienced golfers, they'll often talk about how confidence makes a big difference when you're playing the game of golf. You know, the nature of the game is that the skill that we have is something we've probably practiced an awful lot and it's something we're all capable of doing or should be capable of doing quite regularly on the driving range or on the putting green. But when we take it out into the golf course, particularly, you know, in different environments, maybe playing with people that you're not experienced about playing with, players that are better than you, or a more difficult golf course than you're used to playing, often your confidence can really disappear quite quickly. Then your sort of ability and technique disappears soon after. Yet to play with good confidence can actually mask quite a few swing flaws and mistakes in their technique because they're nice and confident.

So how can we improve your confidence? Firstly, understand your skills, know how to do things, research things online or go and take some golf lessons and actually what's going right or what's going wrong in your technique. Stay nice and fit. Stay nice and active. Stay nice and healthy so you got confidence that you're not going to be too tired by the end of the round or you're not going to injure yourself playing golf.

The next area of confidence to look, I feel, is equipment. Make sure you got clubs that you're really happy with. I often speak to golfers and, you know, they've got their old favorite putter or their old favorite three-wood in their bag. And they're aware that the technology of that club isn't necessarily as good as the modern technology, I like to say, but they're confident with it. They remember the good shots they've had with that club. Now, if you look in your bag and you can't find that club or you don't really have any confidence in your clubs, maybe it's time to get your clubs looked at. Get them custom-fit by a PGA professional. Make sure that they're the right size, length, weight, grip thickness, shaft flex, and the right sort of loft on the club heads. So go through a fitting process either online or in person with somebody and work out which clubs are going to be right for you. If you're slicing the golf ball, maybe an offset driver might be suitable. If you're struggling to get club head speed and struggling to get distance, maybe look at the right shaft flex. If you're not comfortable with your grip and you've got no confidence with your grip, maybe it's the grip thickness or the compound of the grip is actually making a problem. If you're struggling, you have no confidence with your long irons, maybe take the long irons out in the back and put hybrids in there. If you're not comfortable with your wedgies, change the wedgies, change the bounce angles. If you're not holing enough putts, have a look at maybe a face-balanced putter or a different alignment aide on the back of your putter.

There's always an option out there to make a club change that would actually increase your confidence. And when you stand over the golf ball with a bit more confidence, it allows your brain to be a bit free to make the nice fluid good technical movements to hit better shots. So, hopefully, if you can address those areas, next time you stand on the golf course, you'll be a little bit more confident, a little bit more relaxed, and a little bit more able to perform at your best.

 2012-05-31

I think when you talk to any experienced golfers, they'll often talk about how confidence makes a big difference when you're playing the game of golf. You know, the nature of the game is that the skill that we have is something we've probably practiced an awful lot and it's something we're all capable of doing or should be capable of doing quite regularly on the driving range or on the putting green. But when we take it out into the golf course, particularly, you know, in different environments, maybe playing with people that you're not experienced about playing with, players that are better than you, or a more difficult golf course than you're used to playing, often your confidence can really disappear quite quickly. Then your sort of ability and technique disappears soon after. Yet to play with good confidence can actually mask quite a few swing flaws and mistakes in their technique because they're nice and confident.

So how can we improve your confidence? Firstly, understand your skills, know how to do things, research things online or go and take some golf lessons and actually what's going right or what's going wrong in your technique. Stay nice and fit. Stay nice and active. Stay nice and healthy so you got confidence that you're not going to be too tired by the end of the round or you're not going to injure yourself playing golf.

The next area of confidence to look, I feel, is equipment. Make sure you got clubs that you're really happy with. I often speak to golfers and, you know, they've got their old favorite putter or their old favorite three-wood in their bag. And they're aware that the technology of that club isn't necessarily as good as the modern technology, I like to say, but they're confident with it. They remember the good shots they've had with that club. Now, if you look in your bag and you can't find that club or you don't really have any confidence in your clubs, maybe it's time to get your clubs looked at. Get them custom-fit by a PGA professional. Make sure that they're the right size, length, weight, grip thickness, shaft flex, and the right sort of loft on the club heads. So go through a fitting process either online or in person with somebody and work out which clubs are going to be right for you. If you're slicing the golf ball, maybe an offset driver might be suitable. If you're struggling to get club head speed and struggling to get distance, maybe look at the right shaft flex. If you're not comfortable with your grip and you've got no confidence with your grip, maybe it's the grip thickness or the compound of the grip is actually making a problem. If you're struggling, you have no confidence with your long irons, maybe take the long irons out in the back and put hybrids in there. If you're not comfortable with your wedgies, change the wedgies, change the bounce angles. If you're not holing enough putts, have a look at maybe a face-balanced putter or a different alignment aide on the back of your putter.

There's always an option out there to make a club change that would actually increase your confidence. And when you stand over the golf ball with a bit more confidence, it allows your brain to be a bit free to make the nice fluid good technical movements to hit better shots. So, hopefully, if you can address those areas, next time you stand on the golf course, you'll be a little bit more confident, a little bit more relaxed, and a little bit more able to perform at your best.