Anyone that has ever played golf can attest to the fact that golf is a mental game.
Bobby Jones once said, "Golf is a game that is played on a five-inch course - the distance between your ears.
" Many golfers new to the game, or for that matter seasoned players as well, see the fancy clothes, the shiny equipment, or the cool gadgets and assume that some combination of these will make them a better golfer, shoot lower scores, and lower their handicap.
However, unless you master the space between your ears you will not see the improvement to your game that you want.
This starts with keeping a positive attitude while one the course.
One of the hardest habits to break is getting down on yourself after a bad shot.
Too often a golfer will allow that single bad shot to ruin an entire round, not only resulting in a high score but resulting in the golfer and their playing partners not having any fun.
Negative Voice We all have that voice inside our heads, some of us more than one voice, talking to us wherever we go.
Unfortunately that voice shows up on the golf course as well.
While in the moment most of us do not realize that we are having a negative dialogue with ourselves, but it can certainly influence our decision.
For many of us this negativity is "just part of us", and we are prone to see the negative side of life.
If you want to improve you golf scores, and improve your life, you need to stop thinking negatively and reprogram that voice inside your head.
If you change that voice from saying "I will miss this putt", to "I will make this putt" not only will your golf game improve but your life will be happier as well.
It will take work but you can make the changes.
The next time you hear this dialogue going on in your head, stop it and replace it with something positive.
If you are set up over the ball, back off the shot and compose yourself.
Creative a positive thought for yourself, or change your thinking all together, and restart your routine.
Do this in all areas of your life, the moment you hear the negative voice stop and replace it with a positive thought.
Overcoming Mental Obstacles Our perceptions or belief systems have a powerful affect in our lives and in many cases can create obstacles in our lives.
For example, breaking 100 for the first time is a HUGE obstacle for many golfers.
Some become so obsessive over trying to break this score that it consumes their lives.
More often than not there is nothing preventing them from achieving this goal other than their own belief systems and the mental obstacles they have created for themselves.
If you are a golfer and you think that you'll never break 100, or staying in the 100s is good enough, the chances are high that you'll never score in the 90s.
Why? You have limited yourself.
When remove these mental limits everything changes.
Can you remember the last time you broke through a personal barrier and then found yourself asking yourself why breaking this barrier was so difficult in the first place? The mental obstacles that we put in our paths are powerful, but as you have experienced can be overcome.
They key is to keep setting goals and believing that you can achieve them.
You will have foundational work such as improving your putting or your short game that you need to accomplish as well, but a belief in yourself is equally important.
The equipment, clothes, and gadgets are cool, but none of these will impact the scores you shoot.
A basic, solid golf swing along with putting and short game skill is important for shooting low scores, but more important is your mental approach to the game.
As Ben Hogan said, "Golf is a game of misses.
The guy who misses the best is going to win.
"All golfers have good days and bad days, good shots and bad shots, the sooner we learn to accept this and move on the sooner we will start seeing a lower handicap index and possible a little more fun from the game of golf.