The MIND GAME!!!

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to stop approaching a ball with negative thoughts???? and start playing with confidence

Are you playing bad? Or do you just have bad thoughts like thinking of all the horrible things that can happen to it after you hit it?

And in general, are you this type of person...do you see glasses half full?

I talk a bit about this in my "Competition Drills" here, if you care to look.
Golf Lessons - GregJWillis

Well iam a very inconsistant golfer,my 2 biggest problems is i slice alot and my mental side of the game.when i stand on the tee on the third at my club,it is next to a long 200yrd hedge and cos i slice i think everytime that no matter how far i aim left i hit it into out of bounds! i know my problem is all in my head cos everyone says i have a lovely swing but as soon as i step over a ball after ive hit a 'duffer' it all goes pete tong(wrong).

MY problem is i think too much when im over the ball about 'is my feet shoulder length am i balanced in the center,am i aiming correctly,is my knees flexed enough??? all these go through my head

hi burnie24
1st thing the more you aim left the more you slice!
i was an habitual slicer but not anymore, but you just have to work hard at getting rid off it.
practice your swing mechanics at the range then leave them there,

could be worse instead of golfing you could be shopping with the missus

Hi Slats,

I strongly recommend this book:

The Mind Factor byDarren Clarke

It has some great drills on the mental game, sure helped me. Referring to approaching the ball with negative thoughts, think "This shot is possible" not "if I duff this shot I am toast"

hi brian
i was thinking of getting that book even thoiugh my confidence is sky high at present

It is possible to occupy the mind with a
visual image. I think Jack Nicklaus used this
technique. The idea is to either (1) produce
a moving picture from the imagination or
(2) focus on a known visual, as the ball.
Thoughts, then, are displaced by pictures.
In the first case, I have a memorized movie
of the clubhead swooping down, contacting
the ball flush, and driving through. I see the
action happening, about 8" before impact, and
about 8" past. I have conditioned myself to
believe that I am imaging a desired outcome
and that the outcome has a high probability
of therefore happening.
In the case of the second, it is a matter of
directing the attention to the ball to the
exclusion of all other visual material, real or
imagined. Sometimes to bring the ball into
focus I have to grind it out, but it usually
happens eventually.
In putting, it is the line.

Sorry Slats, I didn't mean to address that post to you, I should have said Burnie - DOH!

Anyhow I have the book and it is very good.

Hi Burnie,

My suggestion to you is simple. Get a routine going. From the grip to eventual setup, make it the same. Whether its a driver or sand wedge chip, dont change anything. Tell yourself before every shot, " I must make sure the setup is right". If you do this and you are happy with your swing, then it should change your attitude on the course, and eventually your performance. When it goes wrong,we automatically get confused in the mindset, which in turn makes its way into the swing. Then we start adjusting this, adjusting that, and this is where we fall off the bike. Give it a go. If we train ourselves to this routine habit, it eliminates self doubt on the tee box. OK, I know it may sound easy, but it certainly gave me a solution to my inconsistency and improved my confidence overall. When a routine works to some degree, it eliminates any other bad habits creeping in.

Cheers,
Robert

__________________
"Play to your ability, not your expectation"

I've never necessarily been able to voluntarily block out negative thoughts. I guess it's a little like when people say, "Don't panic!" and you think, "What - you think I want to be? Would I be panicking if I had a choice in the matter?"

So when I get thoughts like that in golf where I can't shake the bad thoughts, I try to only think of two things;

(1) Focus on process, not outcome. Just focus on what you're doing, not what's going to happen

(2) Remember Scraggs' timeless advice; 'Swing Easy'