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How to Stop Thinking about Bad Shots
The memories of bad shots often bother us on the golf course. After missing a short putt, you might start to fear putts from short distance on the next hole.
Bad shots will take away your confidence.
If you can erase bad memories, you won't have to fight against fear anymore.
But to be exact, you can't erase memories from your brain. But there is a way to get memories of the bad shots out of your thoughts.
When you miss a shot or hit it OB, what will you do on the next hole? I think most of golfers try to forget about it or try not to think about the bad shots. But it has a reverse effect.
Have you ever heard of "Don’t Think of a White Bear" study?
This study's result showed that people who are asked not to think of a white bear can't get white bear out of their heads.
This means if you try not to think about your bad shots or try to forget about it, you will think about it even more.
So the harder you try to forget about bad shots, the more you end up thinking about your bad shots.
How can you get rid of those bad memories or fear?
The only way to get a white bear or bad shots out of your thoughts is to concentrate on something else.
After hitting it out of bounds on the last hole, don't try to forget about it or not to think about it.
Instead, focus on your shot at hand. Concentrate on your target and routine. Your pre-shot routine will help you stay in the present moment.
Focus on Breathing
When players feel the pressure, they tend to breathe shallowly and quickly. On the other hand, when you are relaxed at home, you are probably taking a slow and deep breath.
It's also true that by controlling or focusing on your breathing, you can control your state of mind.
So when you hit a bad shot, try taking a deep breath. After taking a deep breath for a while, you will soon begin to feel relaxed.
Whenever I feel the pressure on the golf course, I try to focus on my breathing. This is one of the best ways to control my state of mind when I feel the pressure.
If you try it and feel like it's not working, try to focus on your breathing regularly when you play golf. And make it your habit.
Taking a deep breath is a great way to get rid of your everyday stress as well. The best thing about it is that it's free. But it works like a charm.
Be Willing to Accept the Outcome
Another method to stop thinking about bad shots and start focusing on the shot at hand is to remove the fear of hitting bad shots.
To remove the fear of bad shots, you want to be willing to accept the outcome of the shot that you are going to hit.
Whatever the outcome may be, you should be willing to accept it.
Dr. Joe Parent who is the author of the Zen Golf, said this pre-acceptance of outcome will remove the interference that comes with fear of hitting bad shots.