Welcome to Mental Tip week!!
I have been asked by many of my students/players, “How in the world do I get rid of the nerves on the golf course?” Interestingly enough, many golfers truly believe that nerves is the reason they don’t play well or nerves get in the way of them reaching their true potential as a player.
Actually, having ‘nerves’ on the course is a good thing. It means that you actually care about your play. You get nervous because you are concerned of what might happen as a result of what you are doing. However, we all seem to believe that nerves are a negative and associated with fear and doubt. But nerves is an energy from within that can be harnessed and changed into a positive energy.
So how do we ‘play’ with nerves. Realize first that you will NEVER get rid of nerves–Tiger, Rory, Couples, Nicolas and Palmer all have nerves–Yani Tseng, Stacy Lewis, Natalie Gulbis and Christina Kim also all have nerves to deal with day in and day out on the course. These top world ranked golfers from today and yesterday all WELCOME NERVES as it increased their intensity and focus.
You will learn how to use your nerves to your advantage. Tell yourself that having nerves or being nervous is a positive way of letting you know you ARE in a positive mental state capable of playing your best. You must look yourself in the eyes in a mirror every day and simply say, “Nerves are awesome to have and I am excited that I care and it will put me in the most positive mental state I can possibly be in to play my best.” This is where we start to change our thinking thus improving our game.
Gaining experience with managing this emotion and turning it into a positive will give you the edge to realize your potential as a golfer.
Bottom line: We all have to find a way to leave our ‘comfort zone’…if we stay in it, we will never find out where we can go with this game. When we start to get out of our comfort zone (a score way lower than we are used to; tournaments we have never competed in before…), we start to play in a place we have never been and we become frightened. But change your thinking to how amazing this is to be in a new place and embrace it and say “this is where I belong”.
Elite athletes practice 50% of the time on the physical game and 50% on the mental game. They take the nerves and think of it as something that gives them positive energy from the present through the future. It is your turn to start to change the way you think of nerves!!! Are you ready to change your brain thus change your game??
‘Keep Smiling and Always Believe!!’
Written By: Kate Hughes (LPGA Pro)
Follow Kate on Twitter @hugapar
