Golf Club Loft: The Psychology of <a href="http://www.golfswingguru.com/?hop=jsfllc">Golf</a>

Golf is part art, part skill and part psychology, and some claim that the psychology of Golf is 99% of it! If you have ever doubted the usefulness of what is termed the mental game of Golf, have a look at the top tour pros, and check out how they approach each shot. They look at the shot, decide exactly what they intend to do and then do it.

You likely think you do that as well, but are you looking at the game the same way as they do? When do you play a particular shot? When you have to, or have you played it mentally many times before? Have you ever considered what you would do if your ball was stuck deep into the front of a pot bunker with no apparent way of playing except backwards? That is one way in which your mental attitude can help you. The other is to have the conviction that you can and will play the shot once you have decided the correct shot to play.

When you consider most sports, they are played at a relatively fast rate in comparison to the pace of Golf. Many of the shots or reactions needed require little thought, and are more the type of reflex reaction that need a practised ability. With Golf, however, the ball is lying on the ground waiting for you to hit it. It is not moving, and you have time to think not only about the shot, but about what will happen if you miss it! Your attitude to the shot has a very definite bearing on its outcome, although attitude isn't everything. You have to be able to play the shot, and no amount of positive thinking will compensate for a poor swing.

The first step to using psychology to improve your game is to be as good as you can be at the mechanics of Golf. Develop a good swing, preferably with the help of a professional Golf coach. Practise it until you are fed up practising, and then practise some more. Get your swing so grooved that you can play it in your sleep; so that the only difference in the distance between your shots is the club you are playing. Get practised in every aspect of the game that you can, and then you can put the mental game to best effect.

That does not mean that a positive attitude will not help the poorer player - of course it will. However, it is a lot easier to be confident of making a shot if you don't have to worry about the mechanics of it. If you know that you can hit the ball straight up the fairway it makes life a lot easier. Nevertheless, even the poorer player will benefit from the correct psychological approach to the game.

Do not be afraid of losing or playing a bad shot. No matter how good you are or how often you have practised, you will lose and you will play bad shots. Every great player knows that, and one secret is to be patient. Another is acceptance. Accept your current situation. If you have a bad lie don't curse your luck but accept the fact and consider your next shot. Figure out how to get out of it without dropping a shot. Don't break your club because you played a bad shot right into a trap. Accept the situation and figure out the best place on the green to land the ball. Should you run it into the hole, or should you land it behind the hole with lots of backspin to draw it back in?

Be positive and work out how to turn your bad situation into a good one. It is amazing the difference a positive attitude can make to your game, but there is more to the psychology of Golf than just attitude. You can make the game a lot easier for yourself if you do not play shots that can get you into difficulty. If you normally drive around 300 yards, don't try to clear that lake that would take a 350 yard shot. Instead lie up to it, and then play a more accurate second shot.

Negative thoughts turn into poor scores. If you play a bad shot don't dwell on the effect it is going to have on your score. It might only make a one shot difference, and you easily make that back by playing better on the next hole. Be positive. The most successful Golfers are those that play with a positive attitude. They convince themselves that they are going to sink that putt, or figure the easiest way to sink the ball out of the sand trap or bunker they are in.

There are few doubts that the psychology of Golf can do more for you than new set of expensive clubs, but also that it can totally ruin your game if you allow it to. If you set off knowing that you are going to play well, and knowing exactly how you are going to play these tricky shots that your odd error will get you into, then you are a large part of the way on the road to success.

Golfplayernow.com/2008/01/19/the-psychology-of-Golf.aspx">The Psychology of Golf was originally published at Golfplayernow.com">http://www.Golfplayernow.com

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