Golf is an emotional game not just a mechanical game. Don’t get me wrong, your ability to make the different golf strokes is an important part of the game but it is not the whole deal. When it comes to golf, your emotions will have the greatest impact on your performance.
Just look at Dustin Johnson in last year’s US Open. Even with the commotion about the one shot penalty because his ball moved, Dustin never changed his emotions. He had no idea if he was going to be assessed the penalty or not during his final 7 holes of play. He basically said to himself that he couldn’t control what was going to happen so he stayed with his game plan and didn’t worry about the future.
Dustin Johnson at the 2016 US Open
As the golf world was in an emotional state of confusion, anger, doubt and uncertainty, the one person that was going to be assessed the penalty put it out of his mind and went about his business doing the only thing he had control over, his own emotions and what he was going to think about. He stayed emotionally stable until the last putt dropped.
Just ask any golfer about a poor shot or a poor round and they most often will tell you they were uncomfortable, nervous, frustrated, or confused. These emotions affect how the body moves and with such an intricate firing of muscles to create the golf stroke any change in the body will change the golf stroke slightly.
It could be that the hole didn’t set up for them, or their playing partners talked too much or didn’t talk at all or they thought about a future score or the ball just moved. Anything can set a golfer into a tailspin if they don’t know how to gain control over their emotions.
Playing golf at Point A to Point A gives you the same positive process on each stroke and the commitment to give this one stroke 100% of your attention and effort to make it the best it can possibly be.
Just ask professional, Don Littrell, who shot 78-66 in the 49th PGA Professional Championship. His comment after the 66 was that he had a totally different mindset. As Michael Hebron says ,”Mindsets before Skill sets.”
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Creating a Point A mindset can help you manage your emotions and learn how to be in the state of mind that you perform your best. Our book, Golf from Point A can help you achieve that mindset.