What is meant by “having trust” in your golf game?
How do you build trust so you can perform consistent, peak golf?
When you lack trust in your game, you second-guess every decision. Your mechanics will feel off, and you won’t feel comfortable standing over the ball.
Shots you make in practice feel infinitely more difficult when competing in tournaments. When you lack trust, your mind works against you rather than for you.
To understand the impact of trust, let’s look at the following scenario. You are trying to make par on the 16th hole to stay tied with the leaders. You need to sink a 10-foot putt.
Instead of reading the greens and committing to a strategy, you debate and overthink the greens, the slight wind, and the best course of action.
As you progress through your pre-shot routine, you feel unsure, “Maybe I shouldn’t play the break as much. Maybe I should hit the ball harder and take a straight-line approach. My putting hasn’t felt good all day, and I need to make this shot.”
Lack of trust interferes with your focus and causes deviations in your mechanics, affecting the outcome of your shot. Uncertainty is accompanied by anxiety and increased pressure to perform, which throws off your game.
“Having trust” in your golf game means having confidence in your abilities, mechanics, and decisions.
Trust involves:
- Having confidence in your swing mechanics.
- Believing in the strategy you’ve chosen and fully committing to your shot.
- Maintaining a positive and focused mindset when faced with tough shots or challenging circumstances.
- Focusing on the process of playing each shot rather than worrying about the outcome.
- Believing in your ability to recover after an errant shot.
Trust may not completely eliminate doubts, but it immerses you in the moment so you can confidently strike the ball and play your best shot in the moment.
Amy Yang won her first major at the 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Yang started the final round with a two-shot lead and carded an even-par 72. Yang’s steady play on the last day helped her win by three shots and become a major champion in her 75th major start.
Even though Yang wondered if she could win, she trusted in her training and abilities, committed to each shot, and stayed immersed in the process.
YANG: “I always wanted to win a major, and I came close several times, and I started doubting myself if I ever going to win a major before I retire because I’ve been on Tour quite a while… [But] It’s all the hard work our team did together. All four rounds, it was tough out there, but I just trusted what I prepared, and just I did my best all week.”
Having trust in your golf game is about having a strong belief in your abilities, preparation, and the process you’ve established through training. This mental state allows you to perform more freely and effectively during pressure-filled moments in competitive rounds.
When doubts creep into your mind during competitive rounds, briefly remind yourself of your training and preparation.
Let yourself know you have performed successfully before and can do it again. Then, reset your focus and immerse yourself in the moment.
Related Golf Psychology Articles
- How to Develop Consistency in Your Golf Game
- Use Your Mind to Improve Consistency in Golf
- Trust in Your Swing to Improve Consistency in Golf
- Subscribe to The Golf Psychology Podcast on iTunes
- Subscribe to The Golf Psychology Podcast on Spotify
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