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A Question for Wade: |
To Shoot Lower Scores Forget About Score
Hi Wade,
My name is Katherine. I am a member at the Victoria Golf Club in Australia.
I play off 22.
I have lessons, play and practice all the time. I am getting very frustrated as I know
I could easily be hitting lower scores.
I have been told on by my coach and people I play with that I should be playing off 15.
I have also been told I am very hard on myself when playing.
I want to be able to put those bad shots out of my mind but I am struggling..
What do you suggest? I am desperate to lower my handicap.
Kind Regards,
Katherine Ramsay
Ok, I know this might sound like a contradiction,
yet follow me here. One of the keys to playing fearless
golf is by loving each moment and loving each new challenge.
Treating each new shot as a challenge instead of a problem is difficult for players of all levels.
So I'll get right to some things you can do right away to get into the moment.
Being truly present is the ONLY place your emotions are free and the purest way to let go. What is
letting go? Forgetting about outcomes! A score is obviously an outcome, but how do we shoot lower scores
if we don't care about our score?
This is another one of the many confusing paradoxes of golf. But once you embrace the mindset
I'm encouraging you'll have the key to playing with a natural connection to your joy of playing the game.
1) Play 3 rounds WITHOUT a scorecard - This begins the process of detaching your emotions
and mind from expectations and breaks the negative influence of outcome thinking.
2) After each shot fill your lungs with air and take in the scenery around you.
It's useful to appreciate that you will always spend more time between shots than actually hitting them.
The walk between shots is a part of the game not just something to pass time and get lost in negative self talk.
Use that time to enjoy and remind yourself of the reasons you love the game.
3) If you find it too difficult to free your mind between every shot for an entire round,
then Do the following. After any shot you are not satisfied with (or potentially get angry over) immediately
re-do a swing as if you're about to hit another shot, and swing the way you intended to.
In other words, you will ALWAYS re-swing after a poor shot and rehearse how you wanted the swing to be.
This is a great way to build clarity and focus into your game and begin to connect poor shots with an
actual process to change things instead of robotically responding with negative emotions.
These 3 are excellent ways to free your mind and, more importantly, to get your mind focusing on positive,
constructive and enjoyable things while you play.
By playing without a scorecard you'll remove the obsession over outcome thinking and learn to be process focused.
This is the doorway to all great scores.
Once you feel more comfortable with these methods go ahead and take score.
You'll be pleasantly surprised at how your scores will trend lower and do so naturally.
And perhaps even more importantly you'll enjoy the journey to lower scores instead of grinding or struggling your way there.
Wade Pearse
Whole Mind Golf
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