kurtbayne
December 7th, 2010, 08:48 AM
Winter time might be a good time to think about your mental game more. Establish a routine, develop a better attitude, maybe make a new years resolution on how you will approach your competition rounds next year. For example, maybe you can think of your three biggest mental shortcomings during competition and make it a resolution to concentrate on it next year. Maybe something like this: "In 2011, before every shot, I'm going to [think about] XX, YY, and ZZ." Or in shorthand, X-Y-Z. If you don't think you HAVE any shortcomings, ask your golfing buddies; they'll be happy to set you straight.
The reason I'm posting is that a ball-golf friend loaned me "GOLF IS NOT A GAME OF PERFECT" last summer, and I typed up a summary, and it just now occurred to me that I can put the summary on this board. Some of these ideas I don't get, but many others are sound, and it should give you some idea of where you might want to concentrate your mental efforts next year.
Rotella's rules in
GOLF IS NOT A GAME OF PERFECT
A person with great dreams can achieve great things.
People by and large become what they think about themselves.
Golfing potential depends primarily on attitude, skill with the wedges and the putter, and how well a golfer thinks. Great golfers are simply ordinary people thinking well and doing extraordinary deeds.
Free will is a golfer's greatest source of strength and power. Choosing how to think is a crucial decision.
Golfers who realize their potential generally cultivate the three D's – desire, determination and discipline; the three P's – persistence, patience and practice; and the three C's – confidence, concentration and composure.
There is no such thing as a golfer playing over his head. A hot streak is simply a glimpse of a golfer's true potential.
A golfer must train herself in physical technique and then learn to trust what she's trained.
Before playing any shot, a golfer must lock her eyes and mind into the smallest possible target.
To score consistently, a golfer must think consistently. A sound, consistent pre-shot routine makes it easier.
The correlation between thinking well and making successful shots is not 100%. But the correlation between thinking badly and unsuccessful shots is much higher.
Golfers must learn to quiet their minds, stay in the present, and focus tightly on the next shot to be played.
The loss of focus on four or five shots a round makes the difference between great golf and mediocre golf.
A golfer must learn to enjoy the process of striving to improve the short game.
Attitude makes a great putter.
As ball-striking skills improve, it becomes a greater challenge to love putting and the short game and to maintain a positive attitude toward them.
It is more important to be decisive than to be correct when preparing to play any golf shot, particularly a putt.
Confidence is crucial to good golf. Confidence is simply the aggregate of the thoughts you have about yourself.
A golfer cannot let the first few holes, shots, or putts determine his thinking for the rest of the round.
A golfer should strive to be looser, freer, and more confident with every hole. This will combat the tendency to get tighter, more careful, and more doubtful.
Being careful, tightening up, and trying to steer the ball will likely cause disaster. Good golfers gain control over the ball by feeling that they are giving up control.
Golfers need selective memories, retaining the memory of great shots and forgetting bad ones. Selective memory helps a golfer grow in confidence as he gains experience and skill.
Golf is a game played by human beings. Therefore, it is a game of mistakes.
Successful golfers know how to respond to mistakes.
Golfers must learn to love the challenge when they hit a ball into the rough, trees, or sand. The alternatives – anger, fear, whining, and cheating – do not good.
Patience is a cardinal virtue in golf. To improve, a golfer must learn how to wait for practice and good thinking to bear fruit.
...a golfer must expect only two things of himself: to have fun, and to focus his mind properly on every shot.
Players with great attitudes constantly monitor their thinking and catch themselves as soon as it begins to falter.
A good competitor never allows herself to intensely dislike another player. She might be paired with her for an important round.
The quality of a golfer's practice is more important than the quantity, particularly for better golfers.
If a golfer chooses to compete, he must choose to believe that he can win. Winners and losers in life are completely self-determined, but only the winners are willing to admit it.
Courage is a necessary quality in all champions. But an athlete cannot be courageous without first being afraid.
In sport, the bad news for the present champion is that tomorrow is a new day, when the competition starts again from scratch But that's the good news for everyone else.
On the course, golfers must have the confidence of a champion. But off the course, champions must remember that they are not more important than anyone else.
The reason I'm posting is that a ball-golf friend loaned me "GOLF IS NOT A GAME OF PERFECT" last summer, and I typed up a summary, and it just now occurred to me that I can put the summary on this board. Some of these ideas I don't get, but many others are sound, and it should give you some idea of where you might want to concentrate your mental efforts next year.
Rotella's rules in
GOLF IS NOT A GAME OF PERFECT
A person with great dreams can achieve great things.
People by and large become what they think about themselves.
Golfing potential depends primarily on attitude, skill with the wedges and the putter, and how well a golfer thinks. Great golfers are simply ordinary people thinking well and doing extraordinary deeds.
Free will is a golfer's greatest source of strength and power. Choosing how to think is a crucial decision.
Golfers who realize their potential generally cultivate the three D's – desire, determination and discipline; the three P's – persistence, patience and practice; and the three C's – confidence, concentration and composure.
There is no such thing as a golfer playing over his head. A hot streak is simply a glimpse of a golfer's true potential.
A golfer must train herself in physical technique and then learn to trust what she's trained.
Before playing any shot, a golfer must lock her eyes and mind into the smallest possible target.
To score consistently, a golfer must think consistently. A sound, consistent pre-shot routine makes it easier.
The correlation between thinking well and making successful shots is not 100%. But the correlation between thinking badly and unsuccessful shots is much higher.
Golfers must learn to quiet their minds, stay in the present, and focus tightly on the next shot to be played.
The loss of focus on four or five shots a round makes the difference between great golf and mediocre golf.
A golfer must learn to enjoy the process of striving to improve the short game.
Attitude makes a great putter.
As ball-striking skills improve, it becomes a greater challenge to love putting and the short game and to maintain a positive attitude toward them.
It is more important to be decisive than to be correct when preparing to play any golf shot, particularly a putt.
Confidence is crucial to good golf. Confidence is simply the aggregate of the thoughts you have about yourself.
A golfer cannot let the first few holes, shots, or putts determine his thinking for the rest of the round.
A golfer should strive to be looser, freer, and more confident with every hole. This will combat the tendency to get tighter, more careful, and more doubtful.
Being careful, tightening up, and trying to steer the ball will likely cause disaster. Good golfers gain control over the ball by feeling that they are giving up control.
Golfers need selective memories, retaining the memory of great shots and forgetting bad ones. Selective memory helps a golfer grow in confidence as he gains experience and skill.
Golf is a game played by human beings. Therefore, it is a game of mistakes.
Successful golfers know how to respond to mistakes.
Golfers must learn to love the challenge when they hit a ball into the rough, trees, or sand. The alternatives – anger, fear, whining, and cheating – do not good.
Patience is a cardinal virtue in golf. To improve, a golfer must learn how to wait for practice and good thinking to bear fruit.
...a golfer must expect only two things of himself: to have fun, and to focus his mind properly on every shot.
Players with great attitudes constantly monitor their thinking and catch themselves as soon as it begins to falter.
A good competitor never allows herself to intensely dislike another player. She might be paired with her for an important round.
The quality of a golfer's practice is more important than the quantity, particularly for better golfers.
If a golfer chooses to compete, he must choose to believe that he can win. Winners and losers in life are completely self-determined, but only the winners are willing to admit it.
Courage is a necessary quality in all champions. But an athlete cannot be courageous without first being afraid.
In sport, the bad news for the present champion is that tomorrow is a new day, when the competition starts again from scratch But that's the good news for everyone else.
On the course, golfers must have the confidence of a champion. But off the course, champions must remember that they are not more important than anyone else.