Golf is a sport like no other - where else can you experience every extreme of emotion; the highs and the lows, in one long walk with a stick and ball?

What is the fascination with golf? To me it is like life squashed into four hours. In order to come out of the other end smiling you need to be able to be able to combat your inner demons; focus on your strengths, remain positive, focused and confident - otherwise you are in for a pretty rough ride.

In this article I want to focus on how goal setting for your golf will create motivation and ultimately greater confidence in yourself to help you to succeed and how in simply setting goals and achieving them the positive impact this will also have on your 'self-esteem'.

Motivation is very important to this process ...how many times has your little voice said, 'I always get to the fifteenth hole and feel really tired', or 'I just can't seem to get motivated about anything especially my golf!' - I am sure you can add to these?

In order for you to create the game of golf you would like to play, or indeed the life you would like to lead, you need to set goals; then fulfill your commitments to these goals and change the habits you have created that are stopping you from achieving what you really want to.

NB: Goals are dreams with a date attached!

I often ask the following question when I do a talk on this subject - 'How many of you have set yourself the goal of lowering your handicap this year?' Guess how many people in the audience put their hands up - yes nearly everyone?

Then I ask the next two questions; whether they had a similar goal the year before and how many actually achieved it. Again, many hands go up for the first part of the question but for the second part pretty much EVERY hand stays down.

Making goals is a peculiar emotional process that we humans engage in on a regular basis, however, what we tend to do is make the goal in our heads and then expect them to happen - we do nothing to change the habits that are preventing us from achieving them or create an achievable plan to get us there.

As the months go by and you have not achieved what you thought you would it only serves as another nail in your coffin to lower your self-esteem. It allows that negative self-talk to kick in and tell you what a failure you are again!

It is important to truly 'desire' that which you seek; you must really, truly want the changes that you are looking for with all your heart when you set yourself any goal. Let's take the value of 'success', for instance, if this value means to you playing consistently well and taking your handicap down by two this season, then by thinking and believing it and by living it in every moment, you are more likely to succeed.

REMEMBER you become what you think about most of the time!

Also remember when setting goals they need to be yours, not other peoples or what you think you should be doing because those around you say so.

Often amateur golfers will come to me because they are not enjoying their game of golf anymore and cannot understand why. It sometimes turns out to be because they are putting unnecessary pressure on themselves because they have created a belief that they should be playing golf to a certain standard. What they have often bought into is someone else's beliefs.

This is why it is so IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND YOURSELF - to help create a real sense of self worth and inner confidence so that you can ENJOY the hobby the way you want to - not the way someone else believes you should!

So before you set about defining your GOALS make sure that they are in-line with what YOU WANT otherwise you will set yourself up to fail again.

Above all else write them down - set yourself monthly targets to achieve and celebrate them when you do. Start with the end in mind and then work out what you need to change on a daily basis to make them happen.

That might mean committing to a monthly lesson with your Club Pro, making it to the driving range once a week, and spending time on your short game and putting.

You can also work through your mental game with my on-line programme - but whatever you choose to do you need to commit and have an action plan. To keep doing the same thing will bring you the same results.

REMEMBER: You are what you think about most of the time - so make them positive and successful thoughts and watch the results happen!