Improve Your Mental Toughness In Golf, Part I (Video) - by Pete Styles
Improve Your Mental Toughness In Golf, Part I (Video) - by Pete Styles

A lots of golf professionals, coaches and golf analysts will often identify the difference between the world’s best players and why some of the win majors and why some of them don’t. It’s actually in their brain in their head, you know, it’s not necessarily a technical, physical thing. We’re often told that the game at the highest level is just 90% mental, and I believe that with the professionals, because they have the 10% physical, 100% correct. So their swings are very, very good, so the brain controls most of the other things. If you don’t feel that your swing is perfect, there are still some things you can do to be mentally tougher on the golf course. If your swing isn’t perfect, you will find yourself under a tree, in a bunker, standing on a side slope, with the tree over hanging you. But all of these things we just have to learn to accept, you hit the ball in that position, you get in there, you accept the challenge, and you get it back and play. The big thing that I think I learned on the golf course is that you can control certain things, other things you can’t control. Focus on the things you can control, I can control how I approach the ball, the club I use, where I hit it. I can’t necessarily control the bounce it gets when it lands.

So I don’t worry about the bounce it gets, I hit the shot as best as I can, wherever that balls finishes, I’ll go and find it and I’ll hit it again. And if I can hit into the middle of the fairway, and into the middle of the green, generally my results will be better. If I’m going too goon high, when I’m taking on the shots I shouldn’t be taking on, and then it falls into the ditch or the bunker of the water hazard, that was my fault because I hit that bad shot, I put that ball into that position where it could go on the wrong place. So your mental toughness will always be tested, stay in the moment, stay positive, accept the challenge and control the things you can control and don’t worry about the negativity, don’t worry about the things you can’t control, just let those things be. Focus on your next shot, one shot at a time and hopefully, you’ll improve your mental toughness.

 2013-04-03

A lots of golf professionals, coaches and golf analysts will often identify the difference between the world’s best players and why some of the win majors and why some of them don’t. It’s actually in their brain in their head, you know, it’s not necessarily a technical, physical thing. We’re often told that the game at the highest level is just 90% mental, and I believe that with the professionals, because they have the 10% physical, 100% correct. So their swings are very, very good, so the brain controls most of the other things. If you don’t feel that your swing is perfect, there are still some things you can do to be mentally tougher on the golf course. If your swing isn’t perfect, you will find yourself under a tree, in a bunker, standing on a side slope, with the tree over hanging you. But all of these things we just have to learn to accept, you hit the ball in that position, you get in there, you accept the challenge, and you get it back and play. The big thing that I think I learned on the golf course is that you can control certain things, other things you can’t control. Focus on the things you can control, I can control how I approach the ball, the club I use, where I hit it. I can’t necessarily control the bounce it gets when it lands.

So I don’t worry about the bounce it gets, I hit the shot as best as I can, wherever that balls finishes, I’ll go and find it and I’ll hit it again. And if I can hit into the middle of the fairway, and into the middle of the green, generally my results will be better. If I’m going too goon high, when I’m taking on the shots I shouldn’t be taking on, and then it falls into the ditch or the bunker of the water hazard, that was my fault because I hit that bad shot, I put that ball into that position where it could go on the wrong place. So your mental toughness will always be tested, stay in the moment, stay positive, accept the challenge and control the things you can control and don’t worry about the negativity, don’t worry about the things you can’t control, just let those things be. Focus on your next shot, one shot at a time and hopefully, you’ll improve your mental toughness.