I remember playing in a medal, at the time I was off a 5 handicap and I made double bogey on the first two holes.  It was a real test of resolve to steady the ship and not go on to make a real big number.  I remember questioning myself about all sorts of things, what was wrong with my swing, is my alignment ok, maybe it’s the clubs or a dodgy ball….have you noticed when things aren’t going great that there is always something else to blame.

I finished this particular round 8 or 9 over par and wasn’t overly pleased with the way that I’d played.  I was concentrating on all the bad shots that I had played and I never paid any attention to the quality ball strikes I had made.

When I got back into the club house there were lots of higher handicappers talking about the great shot they had made and they were really up-beat.  Their own scores were in the high 90′s or so.  It was an event that I never forgot, as we all know, most golfers are only a few shots away from beating themselves up.  But if we focus on the good and forget the bad then everything will seem easier.

Maybe you have noticed that better you become at this great game the harder it becomes.  When you first start out you play lots of poor shots and you take great delight when you play a ‘proper’ golf shot.  When you become a much better player you expect to play great golf all the time and you only remember the bad shots.

To deal with this problem I used to tell myself that I would always have around ten bad shots in a round and to just accept them.  When the ten bad shots didn’t materialise I felt much better about things.  Golf is a physical game but it is very much played in the mind as much as it is on the course.

A lot of golfers expect to play perfect golf and I used to be one of them.  Perfect golf doesn’t really exist…everyone has their own interpretation of what perfect is.  The best advice is to find out what you do well at the game and keep doing it and always remind yourself how good you are.  Forget the bad shots, even if you have shot 100, remember the good shot you hit that day that the Pro’s would’ve been happy with.

If you struggle to find a shot that the pro’s would be happy with, assuming you finished your round, then you would have made 18 putts that all went in…and they would all be happy with them.

Happy Golfing  – Steve