Don't
Throw Away Shots!
In 2000 Tom Lehman broke
his four-year PGA victory drought by winning the Phoenix Open. Tom credited watching Tiger
Woods with his improvement. He was inspired by the
way Woods remained cool even when struggling.
"He didn't
throw away shots," Lehman said. "So during
the off season, I thought about it, 'What is it that
I do? I throw away shots.' That's kind of the reason
I felt so good going into this year. You know, if I
couldn't drive it out of the shadow, and if I
couldn't chip or putt at all, then I'd be worried.
But, I've beating myself for three years."
"It would
have been easy for me to have gone out and shot 71 or
72 or something and let my negative feelings about my
putting carry over, but they didn't," Lehman
said.
So how do you keep
from throwing away shots and beating yourself? You do
it by playing one shot at a time and staying in the
present or process. This can be accomplished by using
the Four-Step Routine after each stroke while playing a
round of golf.
The Four-Step
Routine consists of feedback response, relax,
preparation and instinctive execution. I explain and
illustrate these steps in my book
"The Mental Keys To Improve Your Golf". I
will summarize them for you here.
1) Feedback
Response. Everytime you hit a golf ball, learn from
that experience. All of your successes and failures
are learning opportunities if you use the feedback to
make the proper adjustments. Make a mental note of
what you did right and store it away for the future.
Note what you could have done better and tell your
mind to make the necessary adjustments.
2) Relax. Whenever
you react negatively to a situation or bad shot, tell
yourself to relax and become objective so you can
learn from the feedback. Remind yourself that shot is
history and all you can do is live in the present. As
you walk to your next shot, take a couple of deep breaths, and relax. Enjoy your
surroundings and your companions. Have fun and count
your blessings.
3) Preparation. As
you approach your ball, accept any and all challenges
with determination and confidence. Focus and prepare
for your next shot. Make sure your intensity level is
appropriate for the task at hand. If you are over
excited or too relaxed, you will be out of your
optimal intensity range and your performance will
suffer. A consistent preshot routine will help you
relax and stay in the present.
4) Instinctive
Execution. Practice and develop your mechanical
skills until you are a subconscious competent and no
longer have to think about your mechanics. Step up to
the ball, go through your preshot routine and go for
it. If you find yourself thinking too much at the
point of execution, step away from the ball and go
back through steps two and three. After you regroup,
step back up to the ball and execute. See what
happens and start again at step one.
This routine gives you a four-step
process that allows you to quickly reduce, eliminate or transform
your negative emotions. It helps you to regain your composure,
become objective and learn from your feedback. It trains you to
relax and regroup after each shot. It makes you focus, adjust
your intensity and prepare for your next shot so you can execute
instinctively. If you use this routine, you will play golf one shot at a time in the present.
It will definitely help you from throwing away shots.
If
you have not read "The Mental Keys To Improve Your Golf", you
will benefit greatly from my book by seeing the whole picture
instead of just pieces contained in my mental tips.
I guarantee it! So
order now and lower your score.
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