For the weekend golfer or a person who just enjoys the outdoors, preparing yourself mentally for a round of golf is probably not even a consideration. Many golfers, pros and amateurs alike, arrive at the course, possibly warm up with a few range balls, (or about 150 too many!), then head to the first tee and embark on a round of trials and tribulations. At the end of the game the scorecard reads like a play by play announcer at a boxing match. If this sounds like you, perhaps a different outlook to your next game is in order.

The first step is to realize your own limitations. Recognize the limits of your physical abilities and skill level and adjust yourself accordingly! Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods swing hard and attempt incredible shots because they know they physically can. For the rest of us, playing smart, (or within yourself as the cliché goes), will produce better scores. At this point, it is a good idea to know exactly how far each of your clubs goes, on the fly. The more precise you can be the better.

From here, develop a game plan prior to arriving at your course. Forming a route for your ball to travel from teeing ground to the cup on every hole is not really that hard. The hardest part is actually sticking to that plan when you are faced with an opportunity to score. It takes a lot of discipline to keep to your guns and not stray from your formula. By knowing your limitations and the distance you can hit the ball with each club, your game plan will result in more fairways and greens hit in regulation and lower scores. This is much like chess… you against the golf course!

This strategy you conceive is also known as course management. When a shot occurs that we wish did not, a smart decision to get the ball back in play and back into our game plan will, by percentage, help us achieve the lowest score possible. Miracle shots do happen, (Sergio's Tree Trunk shot @ the PGA?), but mostly big numbers end up on the card. Many people have studied Ben Hogan's swing incessantly, trying to discover his Secret. Many pros believe Hogan's secret was his mental ability to direct his ball around the course according to his own blueprint and choose the correct moment to stray from it. That's a lot easier to do when you have a matchless golf swing, but even a duffer can improve by simply choosing a safer, easier shot with a more manageable club.

If this sounds like something you would like to try out, please start small. Try it on a few holes or one nine before attempting it on a full round. Keep track of the fairways and greens you hit in regulation, the up and downs you convert and the scores you end up with. Track the changes and see just how much you can improve by focussing on something other than your swing or the clubs your not too happy with. Your enjoyment of the game will heighten. If you already do this to some extent, increase the detail of your plan. Begin using your mind's eye to see the ball travelling from tee to green on every hole. Bring this imagery to your pre-shot routine so the 'the sight' of your ball travelling to its intended target is the last thing on your mind before you attempt a shot. Imagery is an extremely powerful tool. Mark Tewksbury's book "Visions of Excellence", details his belief that mental imagery helped him defeat faster swimmers and won him Olympic Gold.

Certainly we are not all professional athletes or rely on golf for our livelihood. We all, however, would like to improve our scores and lower our handicaps. Using our mental abilities, we can do this without adjusting a single component of our swing, purchasing new clubs or even a series of lessons from a Golf Professional. Use some discipline and plan you attack! It will drive your playing partners nuts!

Good Luck!

Rob Anderson
The Harvest Golf Club, Kelowna