The Mental Side of the Short Game

In golf, the mental side of the game is almost just as important as the physical side of the game. In fact, once you have mastered the fundamentals of golf, the mental game is the most important aspect of the game. For proof of this theory all you have to do is look at a professional golfer on the PGA Tour. Talent wise, any one player out there can beat another on a given day. Even Tiger Woods does not win every tournament, but he does win more than anyone else. This is because his mental game is better than anyone around right now, and it may be better than anyone who has ever played the game.

The great thing about the short game is that you do not have to have physical strength to be good. In fact, you can make up for a lack of physical strength with a good short game and drive the guys you play with that hit it 300 yards crazy because you beat them on a regular basis. But, in order to have a short game that can accomplish this, your mental game must be excellent. It is easy to get over a bad drive, because you can make up for it with a good second shot or with a good putt or chip, but what happens when you three putt? There is no way to make up for it. The hole is finished. This is why it is so important to stay positive about your short game at all times.

Have you ever missed a putt or flubbed a chip and then proceed to call yourself names your worst enemy wouldn’t utter? Of course you have, or you have at least though it. In order to become mentally stronger, this must not be allowed. The best putters in the world blame their misses on something or someone else, and are so confident in their stroke that it is never their own fault. It used to drive me crazy when Jack Nicklaus would miss a four footer and then act like he was tapping down a spike mark that was in his line. Then I realized that this was the result of a genius at work. He was so confident in his own putting ability that there was no way in the world that he did anything to cause that putt to not go in the hole. He walked off that green angry, but not angry at himself. Every time you get angry at yourself and verbally or mentally call yourself names it whittles your confidence down bit by bit. So next time you miss a putt you should have made, try not to get down on yourself, even if you made a bad stroke and you know it. Find something positive to tell yourself and move on to the next hole.

Poor body language is another mistake golfers make. Tiger Woods is so much fun to watch after he has made a mistake, because he immediately puffs his chest out, holds his head high, and stomps defiantly to the next hole. It might not be happy body language, but he rarely looks as if he has just been told that his dog died. Pay attention to your body language next time you are playing bad. If it is a slouching, moping type posture, change it. Stand up straight and confident even if you are 46 over par. Whenever I catch myself trending toward this kind of posture, I immediately go into George Washington mode. I try to emulate the posture George Washington has in a portrait I have seen of him, where he looks like he could take on the world.

Lastly, be confident but not stupid. There is a fine line between the two and sometimes it is even more blurry when playing golf. A rule of thumb that I use is to never attempt a shot unless I have perfected it during a practice session. The temptation to try a heroic shot that you saw Phil Mickelson hit at Torrey Pines is always there, but a golfer with a good mental game will pull back the reins and play it safe. A par or bogey on the scorecard is better than risking a double bogey or worse just to pull off a near impossible shot. Play within yourself and the results will amaze you.
I know some of these suggestions border on silly, but they work. The only way you can lower your score is through practice and confidence in yourself. There is no reason to lose this confidence just because of one bad shot or unlucky break. As much as I hate to say it the best advice in golf is the old cliché to take it one shot at a time. Use this advice, stay positive, and believe in your ability to hit the shots that you have practiced.