^{The Mind Set}

In order to Play Your Best Golf, You Must Take Control of Your Golf Mindset.  "Golf is 80% mental and the other 20% is in your head". If you think about it, this really isn't that far off.  Our subconscious mind controls what our bodies do naturally and our conscious mind mixes it all up.

One problem Golfers of all levels have, is trying to compete with the other players within their playing group, rather than playing within their own game.  Watching an episode of the Big Break this week, the elimination challenge remind people of the movie "Tin Cup". It get you thinking about how golfers tend to react when playing golf.

Here were 2 guys trying to avoid elimination from the show.  When the one put his second shot in the water, you ask yourself "why didn't you lay up and rely on your short game?"  You could get the impression that he had a strong short game.  On the other hand it could be that he thought the other player was going to do effect his decision.

We have all been through it and probably still struggle with it.  Maybe you're playing in a tournament or you have been teamed up with someone new. The natural tendency, at least for men, is to try and out play the other person rather than play their normal game and challenge the course.  The game of golf is competitive, but the biggest challenge in the game is between our ears.  No matter how well we know the golf course, another player or our own game, there are times when we just have to try and out play the other player.

Usually when this happens it leads to disastrous results.  Not everyone plays like Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson. You can see this happen almost every week on tour, someone less known than Tiger or Phil has a lead going into the final round, only to end up shooting a high score and finishing 2nd, 3rd or worse.

Having control of your emotions and controlling your mental game is one of the most difficult things to do.  Golfers practice their long game, short game, putting and every other aspect except the mental game.