How to Finish Round Strong, (Video) - by Pete Styles
How to Finish Round Strong, (Video) - by Pete Styles

I often hear from my clients about how they have had this perfect round of golf. This perfect round of golf was going on nicely and then something happened to all the 'back nine' and the slump came, and they turned the good score into a bad score. And it's always around about half-way towards the back nine that things start to go a little bit downhill. An aftermath can come from a couple of different factors. Golf on the golf course-- four, four and a half hours, a four or five mile walk around the golf course, is a big physical and a big mental challenge. So it's really important that you try and get your body and your mind prepared for the full 18 holes-- the complete round.

Eating right, not just on the golf course but the day before, breakfast, and on the golf course is really important. Also carbohydrates, lots of protein, plenty of hydration, loads of water, not the sugary soft drinks and sweet nozzle thing but good, proper, slow-release energy so it keeps you sort of energized for the whole round of golf and keep topping that up during the round as well.

Then you've also got to come sort of it, playing golf on the golf course, the mental challenge. It needs to be a nice, even keel. You can't be too excited on the 'front nine' and then too depressed as soon as you hit a bad shot. Your body just can't cope with that, it gets too tiring mentally and physically. If you’ve hit a good shot, fine, reward yourself with a little bit of a fist pump, but don't walk down the fairway giving at this because you’ve made a birdie, and then you carve one into the trees down the next, and you walk down the fairway giving at this. You can't just play 18 holes for four hours with that sort of mental approach. You've got to be nice and even and, you know, stay positive, but don't bemoan the bad shots too much, but don't celebrate the good stuff too much either. Celebrate when you finish after the 18th.

A little thing I'd like to think about to keep positive is make sure your game is always about the process of hitting the golf ball and not worried about the result. So when you're setting up to the golf ball, you're thinking about the processes that you're required to do in your swing, and not just the result of “What happens if it goes over there, what happens if it goes over there?” You've got to think positively about 'that's where I want the ball to finish' - that's the visualization—“ I'd like the ball to finish there. How am I going to get the ball to finish there? I need to make this movement to my swing that will produce the better results”. And I think those are three really good tips to making sure you can put together a nice, complete and really consistent round of golf.

2012-08-07

I often hear from my clients about how they have had this perfect round of golf. This perfect round of golf was going on nicely and then something happened to all the 'back nine' and the slump came, and they turned the good score into a bad score. And it's always around about half-way towards the back nine that things start to go a little bit downhill. An aftermath can come from a couple of different factors. Golf on the golf course– four, four and a half hours, a four or five mile walk around the golf course, is a big physical and a big mental challenge. So it's really important that you try and get your body and your mind prepared for the full 18 holes– the complete round.

Eating right, not just on the golf course but the day before, breakfast, and on the golf course is really important. Also carbohydrates, lots of protein, plenty of hydration, loads of water, not the sugary soft drinks and sweet nozzle thing but good, proper, slow-release energy so it keeps you sort of energized for the whole round of golf and keep topping that up during the round as well.

Then you've also got to come sort of it, playing golf on the golf course, the mental challenge. It needs to be a nice, even keel. You can't be too excited on the 'front nine' and then too depressed as soon as you hit a bad shot. Your body just can't cope with that, it gets too tiring mentally and physically. If you’ve hit a good shot, fine, reward yourself with a little bit of a fist pump, but don't walk down the fairway giving at this because you’ve made a birdie, and then you carve one into the trees down the next, and you walk down the fairway giving at this. You can't just play 18 holes for four hours with that sort of mental approach. You've got to be nice and even and, you know, stay positive, but don't bemoan the bad shots too much, but don't celebrate the good stuff too much either. Celebrate when you finish after the 18th.

A little thing I'd like to think about to keep positive is make sure your game is always about the process of hitting the golf ball and not worried about the result. So when you're setting up to the golf ball, you're thinking about the processes that you're required to do in your swing, and not just the result of “What happens if it goes over there, what happens if it goes over there?” You've got to think positively about 'that's where I want the ball to finish' – that's the visualization—“ I'd like the ball to finish there. How am I going to get the ball to finish there? I need to make this movement to my swing that will produce the better results”. And I think those are three really good tips to making sure you can put together a nice, complete and really consistent round of golf.