Banishing Tension

What thoughts do y'll have to help banish tension?

I was 3 up with 4 to play last night in my match and knew all I had to do was just finish well. For some reason I just felt off, even though i'd been playing well the whole round. like it was all going to go pear and of course thats what happened.. .. lost 3 holes straight .. until the 18th when the bloke I was playing had an even worse experience than me and I won the match with a bogey 5

When you start to get this dreaded lack of confidence what do you do to overcome it?

Paul,

If we actually new the answer we would be on tour.


The only thing I do is try to switch off and trust my swing, hit with an empty head (no joke please), also stick to the drill or swing thought you have had for the whole round.

Thats the best I can offer.............................just don't try to correct anything


Ian.

Interesting, having seen Paul's posts and heard his podcast I wouldn't have he'd have this problem - which in a perverse way makes me feel a bit better.

Anyway to get to the point, Ian (or others) who would you recommend Rotella or Gallwey? Neither or Both?

Some people tell me (apologies to half the board here) that they are both too American (Californian?) in their relentless belief in self improvement for me, a cynical old scouser, to cope with - but I must admit I haven't read word of either yet.

I certainly need some help with the mental side - if only to get me to calm down - in practice I think its almost impossible for my takeaway and back swing to be too slow and as a result my ball striking is more or less fine - on the course and its like watching a video in FF .

It's so hard Paul,

I go bad and get nervous when I start thinking about the score I can have. So I try not to.

I walk around between shots looking at the flora and fauna and so on. I stick to my pre shot routine trying to only worry about what I have to do at that moment. Oh yeah, try to work on my breathing too.

Hi there,

Tim Gallwey (the inner game of golf) 1983 version with the soft green back, really cheap from Amazon.

A truly great read and very refreshing for your on course thoughts, I know it's really difficult when tention builds and also the pressure of a good score.

I only have my own opinion and my own experience to draw on, however some general things will help:

Past experience: ever played a round lost it or blew up on a hole early on with temper etc then come of with a better score than you thought..................What you may not realise is that the game consists of 18 holes and you need to play 18 before judging your performance, hitting the first few shots and deciding that todays not your day is fatal.

Pre-Shot routine Many thing have been said about the same routine, again this is a must when playing under pressure, remember your best ever round, what happened different than any other, maybe a few more putts went in, but you may find that you had the same concentration level for the whole round.

Playing well Last and most important thought is you have pressure on the last few holes only because you are playing well, not because you are rubbish.

Ian.

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Once you learn the swing, your next step is mastering golf psychology................

I'm not a psychologist or a single figure handicap but I have played sport at representative level so maybe I can offer a few thoughts.

Visualisation: Mentally see the perfect swing and its outcome in your head. When I mean visualise it, I don't mean just see it but feel how it feels, what tempo it is, the feel of the club in your hands as it contacts the ball. As I've already seen what's going to happen, I don't doubt or worry about my swing.

Tension Distraction: When you feel tension creeping in (especially when I have had time to think about a putt) I will often set myself a short mental task such as "count back from 100 in 7's...100, 93, 86, 79..etc". This task moves my attention from the physical action so that I don't have any conflicting thoughts. Lless "Hit it hard enough..but not too hard.....take enough break..don't take too much" but instead "72...um..what's next...65..then 60 minus 2 more is 58..51..that was an easy one..".

Belief: Everytime I step up to the ball, I absolutely believe that I will make a great swing and that the ball will go where I want it too. This isn't from an overbearing ego (I hope!) but more from the fact that at some point in my golfing career I have hit this shot perfectly. Having a mental catalogue of great shots means that this isn't a step into the unknown but just another shot.

__________________
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Callaway Big Bertha 3W - Aldila NV 75 x-stiff
TaylorMade Rescue Dual TP (16°, 19°) stiff
Mizuno MP-32 2-PW Rifle Flighted 6.0
Titleist Vokey Wedges 52°, 56°, 60°
Scotty Cameron Circa 62 #3 35/330

I've gotta say a preshot routine is the main thing. I'm still toying with my golf Page Ranking, but in my basketball career, I found that a PR was ridiculously helpful at the freethrow line. Rhythmic breathing helps reduce tension.

My current golf Page Ranking starts with slow rhythmic breathing as I pick out my target. Then I address the ball, force a relaxation through my upper body (arms, chest, hands), then swing.

I use the Page Ranking at the range, too - so that eventually my body will learn that when these things are going on, it's just a shot like any other.

__________________
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PCS Class 'A' Clubfitter

A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

Thanks Ian.

I played with a guy last night (who plays off 3) and is a golf nut .. its his life .. anyway he's been having hypnotherapy sessions which basically allow him to say a trigger word as he stands over the ball - kind of self hypnosis

He says this trigger word completely relaxes him and he truly believes he will hit the shot he wants to. He claims its miraculoius and that all the pros are doing it (I know Nick Dougherty does for example)

Wow! The lengths some people will go to eh

Interesting.

You come across hypnocds on golf site links and I have always dismissed them as snake oil but you never know, maybe 40 minutes in a dark room might be better than a trip to the range.

Anyone else have any experience of this?