What is your golf nemesis?
What is holding you back in golf?
Your golfing nemesis is about how you think, and that impacts how you play. While most golfers practice their putting and long-game, the players making the greatest improvements are working with sports psychologists like me to improve their mental game to score better.
have helped players win 29 PGA tour events and 4-major championships by learning how to think better to score better, and now I have an assessment for you that will determine your golf nemesis and a tailored exercise to improve what is holding you back.
Having repeatedly seen players make the mistake of practicing swing after swing without addressing their mental game, it is time to include mental practice if you are serious about improving.
What should you focus on to improve your golf?
Everyone will have to focus on something different and build upon mental exercises that continue to align with scoring better.
How you think has been tailored by your unique experiences. Once you figure out how your thinking impacts your game, you can practice mental exercises that align your mental game with your objectives on the golf course.
Having a mental practice is so rewarding for everyone because while you may never be able to swing like Ben Hogan, your best swing or putt is also influenced by your mental ability, and being able to excel mentally can be trained.
You could be playing like a Messy Mouse, Jumpy Jackass, Worrisome Worm, Unrealistic Unicorn, or Nervous Nightingale, and this thinking impacts how you play. While players should continue to practice their swing (technique does still matter!), I challenge all players to focus on mental exercises that improve their mental tendencies, maximize their physical game, and help them SCORE BETTER.
Best way to improve your golf game
The best way to improve how YOU play golf is to figure out what you need to mentally work on.
Once you know how you think, you can build upon your mental game to improve every aspect of your game. For instance, we know that Tiger Woods' gait is calm and steady throughout the course. What we should appreciate, is that players identify their mental nemesis and then take action in the form of a mental practice that gives them the ability to win against their nemesis and play their best golf.
It is a decision to have a calm and steady gait, and it takes practice to achieve this under pressure situations. The ability to conquer your nemesis does not just happen; it takes a commitment to your mental practice, and when you do, you will see results.
Identifying your golf nemesis
It is important to highlight that once you identify your golf nemesis, it is in your best interest to work on this obstacle if you want to improve. Merely identifying what is holding you back will not result in any improvement, which is why we are identifying your nemesis AND starting you off with an exercise to take action right away.
Your golf nemesis will come down to one of five types, a Messy Mouse, Jumpy Jackass, Worrisome Worm, Unrealistic Unicorn, or Nervous Nightingale, and from here you can start to kick that nemesis’s butt and play your best golf.
Repeatable Success on the Golf Course
Ultimately working on your mental game is the most efficient practice you can commit to because it means you are building a repeatable practice. When somebody has a successful swing but does not know why or cannot repeat it, they have not truly figured out how to succeed. Alternatively, when players work out and own their mental game, it is repeatable, and they become successful.
When I started working with Zach Johnson in 2006, he thought he had a good routine that could be repeated, but he soon found that it was not. He has improved that by working with me and now has a solid routine over the ball, whether it is putting, driving, or chipping. The great thing is that he is always trying to better himself and integrate something from his practice, and ultimately succeeding because of it.
Players like Zach Johnson and all of my students can credit practicing their mental game as a significant factor in their repeatable success.
To move from “just swinging” and working on your technique or if you are unable to repeat your success over the ball on a consistent basis, take my quiz and work out what your golfing nemesis is now! It will help make you the best player you can be.
