Does Anger and Frustration Impact your Golf Game
Have you ever taken time to think about how much anger and frustration have affected your golf game?
Assessing how emotions have impacted past performances will provide insight into your ability to manage and regulate intense emotions.
In addition, you will become aware of your past ability to regain your composure and focus when you were frustrated or angry during a competitive round.
Most golfers who tend to melt down after a stray shot or missed putt do nothing to train themselves to react in a productive manner.
Instead, they work on their technical game. Their logic is that they won’t become angry or frustrated if they never hit a bad shot.
Surely, you can see the flaws in this thought process.
There are four facts of golf:
- Perfection doesn’t exist.
- Every golfer will have poor rounds and bad shots and experience unfortunate bounces.
- Every golfer gets upset at times.
- Your competitive emotions are controllable.
These facts are a must to accept if you are to play at your peak.
Once you accept these facts:
- You will cease to beat yourself up after mistakes or a bad round.
- You won’t feel the world is conspiring against you after an unfortunate or unexpected bounce or roll.
- You will be able to recover emotionally, rebound quicker, and be better prepared for your next opportunity.
In summary, regaining your composure requires mental training, not technique refinement.
Scottie Scheffler emotionally exploded at the 2024 BMW Championship after an unfortunate wedge shot in the second round.
After opening with a front-nine 35 (one under par), Scheffler drove his tee shot right into the rough. Slowly, things went from bad to worse. When Scheffler ended up left of the green with his wedge, he exploded in frustration.
SCHEFFLER: “Is that not an upslope?” Seriously? How is that possible? How? HOW?! How is that possible? How is that possible?”
Even the World No.1 golfer sometimes experiences frustration in the middle of a competitive round. It’s normal to be upset after a mistake, unfortunate roll, or unlucky bounce.
However, if you allow one unwanted result to affect the next several shots or holes, you will effectively take yourself out of contention for a top finish or out of position to shoot a low score.
This is the reason the mental skill of emotional management is crucial for golfers. When you learn how to regain your composure and focus, you will feel confident in your ability to recover after a mistake or unfortunate result.
The mental skills of regaining composure and refocusing are as essential as any technical skill and are worth the time to develop.
Follow this 4-step strategy to get back on track after an unfortunate mistake, roll, or bounce.
- Vent if you need for less than a minute
- Take a deep breath
- Tell yourself, “I can recover from this.”
- Ask yourself, “How will I play this shot?” This strategy is easy to implement to calm yourself and regain your focus.
Related Golf Psychology Articles
- How to Overcome Frustration on the Golf Course
- How to Recover After a Poor Round
- Are Your Expectations too High in Golf
- Subscribe to The Golf Psychology Podcast on iTunes
- Subscribe to The Golf Psychology Podcast on Spotify
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