Mental Focus
on the Golf Course
Outthinking Your Opponent
Here is a golf tip to help with mental focus. If you’re playing a superior golfer in a match play setting, you’re going to need every advantage in your arsenal to overcome the odds and emerge victorious. The golf handicap differential alone won’t be enough – you’ll also need to beat your opponent in the mental game.
Play Against the Golf Course
As a first step, don’t let yourself be intimidated, either by your opponent or the situation. If it helps, forget that there is anything at stake, and just play against the golf course itself as in a usual round.
Keep Your Opponent Guessing
Try to keep your emotions in check. In particular, don’t display any negativity for your opponent to feed off of. You don’t want to give a rival any edge. And if he’s able to tell your confidence level just by looking at your face before every hole, you are doing yourself a disservice. Keep that opponent guessing, and there is a chance he will become unnerved.
Play as though the Score is Tied
Play each golf hole as if you and your opponent are tied. There is a tendency for a golfer who is leading to start playing it safe and frittering their edge away, while someone who has fallen way behind may be tempted to mentally pack it in. Unless victory or defeat is mathematically certain, play each hole with the same mental tenacity and mental focus. You may be surprised at the result.
Watch Your Opponent
Also, don’t just zone out into space when it isn’t your turn to hit … watch your opponent. However, do not concentrate on your opponent. Just watch! You’ll be able to get a sense of her mental strengths and mental weaknesses, which could help your golf strategy later in the match. If she hasn’t made it out of the sand all day, you can play conservatively if she winds up in a green side bunker on the 16th hole. On the other hand, if she’s blasted out to within a foot of the pin twice already, you’ll know that the smart play is to be more aggressive.Pay particular attention to any change in your opponent’s demeanor. If they are altering their pre-shot routine, or standing over putts for an unusually long time, or muttering angrily to themselves. That could indicate that your rival is feeling the pressure of the moment, which can only be good news for you.
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