Interesting question received from a reader.
“What comes first, thinking confidently even though you may not be swinging that great, so you can hit decent shots, or hitting some decent shots first to grow in confidence”.
Ahhh the good old golfing version of the chicken and the egg question, what comes first.
This question has been around since the very first shepherds got bored out of their mind grazing their flocks next to Scottish beaches and decided to start whacking stones up the beach with their shepherds crooks.
No easy answer to this question and it is purely a matter of personal opinion.
Mind gurus will tell you that you have to think positively, visualise your shot and then have a clear head when it comes to executing the shot.
Any swing teacher worth his salt will tell you that thinking confidently when you can’t keep the ball on the planet, let alone the course is a waste of time.
My take on all of it?
It’s a combination of both.
First off, you need to have some basic technique, if you’re a twenty five handicap and you think your going to bust it 300 down the middle like the tour pros, think again sonny. No amount of visualisation is going to help you with that.
At the same time, you can have the best looking and functioning swing in the world and if you lack confidence, have a negative mind-set, always fear a bad shot, well……you’re not going to get the best out of your game, no chance.
This is where knowing your strengths and weaknesses as a player come in.
Knowing what you’re capable of and playing up to that level or just under it, also known as playing within yourself.
By really knowing yourself, what you can and can’t do with your golf game will allow you to make great decisions out on the course in the heat of the moment.
Case in point,
if you’re a high handicap who struggles to hit high pitches but is pretty decent at hitting standard chip shots, then you should be looking to hit that standard chip shot most of the time.
Ignore the pitch, just chip the ball to where you can play the next shot from.
If that’s middle of the green so be it.
So in summary, the better question is to really ask yourself, what is my ability level? What am I capable of? And stick to that when you’re on the course.
Leave the improvement and taking on tricky shots for the practice ground or when you’re out on the course playing a few practice holes.
When you do this confidence will ooze from your every pour.
More:
My ebook “9 Ways to Lower Your Handicap & Shoot Your Best Round Ever” won’t turn a chop into a player but it does contain all sorts of juicy tidbits that might just be responsible for losing a few strokes off your game, provided you put that glorious info contained within to work in your game.
Play easy.
Bob James PGA