Thursday, May 14, 2009

Weekly Swing Reminder - Confidence

Be confident in all you do. Know that you can make the shot,
whatever the shot is. Positive self talk is an awesome thing.
I caddied some LPGA events in the early 80s and it always
amazed me that the ladies would talk themselves into hitting
a good golf shot. From the time they pulled the club out of the
bag, they talked to themselves and not once did I ever hear
one say anything negative. They told themselves “this is the
perfect club, the perfect yardage, and I have the ability to hit
a great shot”. Now how could you ever hit a bad shot with confidence like that?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are so right. There is a wonderful, older book, "The Inner Game of Golf" by Timothy Gallwey which addresses "our two inner voices spoken in our head. By quieting the one voice which questions, berates, scolds, undermines, etc. you eliminate the critical words. One method I tried and works for me is humming a song while I think positively. Then I continue humming (very softly) right through my shot. It quiets that negative voice and allows me to do what I already know how to do. It's not flawless. Yet, I'm a happier, more positive golfer and know that chastising myself always does more harm than good. Take the pressure off and you'll feel relaxed. We all know how a relaxed golfer plays vs. playing an uptight and negative game.

Jim Brochowski said...

Bob Rotella talks about being a good caddie for yourself. I've played my best rounds when I actually took the time to listen to that advice.

When push comes to shove and the work is done on the range, and the practice green - confidence becomes the key.

Another theory - your mind always hears the last affirmative thing you say. So if you tell yourself, "Don't hit it in the water," your mind hears..."Hit it in the water."

Better to keep a positive can do approach and let yourself believe you can do whatever you need to do to play your best round.