Both your conscious and your subconscious thoughts can affect the way you think about your golfing performance. We need to understand emotionally as well as intellectually that we literally become what we think about – positive or negative thoughts will have corresponding positive or negative effects on our game. So, we need to control our thoughts if we are to control our game.

When I was working In my pro shop, I was always taken aback when I heard someone talking positively about their game – it was a very rare occurrence. It’s more usual to overhear my customers discussing how poor they are on the greens, or being negative about some other part of their game. Even when they’ve played a great game, they talk about missed putts or discuss the things that could have gone even better, rather than focusing on the positives. We need to listen to what we say to ourselves in these situations.

What would be going on in the mind of a champion?

Jack Nicklaus, in his book Playing Lesson writes the following:

“Champion golfers might think they can always find a way, sheer competitiveness desire, and determination to sink that putt or find the middle of the fairway.

“Don’t try to force the ball. A good outlook would be, I need this putt to stay ahead or within reach of the lead; so, go ahead, knock it in.”

Keeping control of the mind when playing well is a lot easier than when you are struggling with your game. When things aren’t going so well or you are feeling under pressure for any reason our aim is to keep the mind calm, clear, and quiet – these are our three guiding fundamentals to achieving peak performance.

Remember the laws of physics! For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. In other words: you have to put the work in to get something back.