Diamond Author
I write a lot of articles on control of thoughts, emotions, self control but a part of mental game is how you plan your game and each individual shot. Your challenge is not with the opposition, the rest of the field or your playing partner, it is between you and your self control and against the course designer, the green keeper and the course itself, how it is playing on any given day in whatever weather conditions are present that day. But this is not just my opinion, just take Jack's word for it.
"Success depends almost entirely on how effectively you learn to manage the games two ultimate adversaries: the course and yourself." Jack Nicklaus
You must value every shot so much that you are not prepared to allow the course designer to get one or two from you through poor planning. The designer has built the course with the very intention of pulling players into traps and pitfalls so they can be robbed of valuable shots. It's their job and yours is to get inside their heads by studying each hole properly so you can plan your strategy accordingly.
As you stand by your ball take in the terrain between you and your intended target. Imagine the course designer is there with you and jump inside their head for a moment. How were they thinking when they designed the hole? The course designer builds the course to be challenging and will place traps, greens, slopes in ways that draw the unplanned shot into bogey territory or worse. The green keepers will use the design to place the flags in positions which bring the dangers around the green into play if you are drawn into shooting at them. Hence the term "sucker pin position". It is a good idea for most golfers under most circumstances to shoot for the middle of greens and ignore the flags.
The level of detail you need to observe in the course architecture will vary according to your playing ability. The professional tour golfer will want virtually every detail with precise distances from every conceivable point. They will want to know what the general slope orientation of the greens is and then what all the feed and breaks are on each green. The beginner golfer will not benefit from this kind of detailed information but they will still benefit from some reading of the terrain and noticing where the biggest open areas are that they can play for.
Traffic Light System.
As you are studying the course between you and where you want to send your ball you are also imagining what kind of shot you can hit to get your ball to the target. Your skill level should determine your shot choice, but unfortunately far too many amateurs simply try and smash the ball as far as they can without any thought to consequences. The further you are trying to hit your ball the longer and less lofted the club you will need to use and thus the harder the shot and the less reliable it becomes. A scratch player can hit a reliable 3 iron but a 28 handicap will not.
There is a simple but effective way to make sure that you are always playing within your own capabilities which will then ensure that you are scoring as good as you can on any given day. It is called the traffic light system and I first read of it in the "30 second swing" by T. J. Thomasi.
Before hitting any shot you must rate it against Red, Amber or Green light. Think about the shot you are considering and what percentage of the time you believe that you can hit the shot. It is very important that you are both honest and realistic with yourself when deciding what your probability of success with a shot is.
The Green Light Shot. You can play the shot 80 - 100% of the time and if you miss it is not going to cost you more than bogey at worst.
The Amber Light Shot. You can play the shot 60 - 80% of the time and you are not risking more than bogey with a bad shot.
The Red Light Shot. You can only play this shot at best 5 out of 10 times and the shot has a high risk of double bogey or worse.
The green light shot choice is a balance between the most aggressive and appropriate shot for your situation when balanced against your ability.
Recap
Take note of the course architecture and try to place yourself inside the designers mind. How have they cleverly used the land and placed traps within it to draw you into hitting shots which get into trouble? Where can you play which sets your next shot up nicely according to your ability? When choosing your shot ask yourself if it is a green light shot and not at the mercy of a clever course designer.
About this Author
Find out more by the mental game of golf now and how to easily apply principals such as visualisation, focus of attention, targeting and many others that will dramatically improve your golf results and enjoyment of the game now go to http://www.golfmindshop.com
Improve By "Every Golfers Guide To The Development And Mastery Of The Inner Game" has extensive guides both written and on MP3 to achieve your best performance by discovering the surprising power of great Sports Thinking - The Mental Game.
Wishing you FIR's, GIR's & Blue Skies,
Mark Wright.
GET YOUR Peak Mental Performance FREE EBook to get your mental game started now at http://www.golfmindshop.com or FREE GOLF GRIP EBook.
Mark Wright is a Master Coach and Sport Psychologist, NLP Sports Coach, Hypnosis Expert and Master Club Maker with nearly 25 years of Sports Coaching Experience.
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