A Mental Primer for Junior Golfers
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What makes a good junior player? Is it the talent in which he or she swings the club? Is it based on their past successes in junior competitions? Or could it be that great junior players create an attitude for success that allows them to believe in themselves right from the first tee? Perhaps these young golfers know something that you haven’t realized yet! Based on my experience with successful junior golfers, the single reason for their success is based on a very simple premise: You have to believe in your talent before you can ever have success. It’s just that simple. The following sections will help you to achieve a winning mindset and get you started on the road to Yes and Success!
Making the Decision to Think “Yes versus No”
The most effective way that you can create an attitude for great golf is to realize that your mind generates positive thoughts and feelings. Almost every junior player who has won a top amateur event agrees that when you use your mind correctly and believe in yourself, it is the best piece of equipment in the bag. Also, the ability to turn the power on and off is as simple as saying YES or NO to yourself when you begin your pre-shot routine. The pre-shot routine is basically a procedure of organized behaviors and thoughts that allow your mind and body to function at an optimum, automatic level when hitting the ball.
So, before you walk into and address the ball, the most critical component of your golfing procedure is that you make the decision to believe in yourself at this particular moment. This means that you must have faith in your ability, your decision making and your swing. Faith (as used in this context regarding golf) is having the power to believe in your talent when there are not tangible bits of evidence to confirm or refute that spiritual foundation. Therefore, faith that you will persevere in the face of golfing doubt or uncertainty is having the ultimate faith in yourself!
I realize that many junior golfers may not understand the value of faith and positive feelings versus the physical feelings of hitting a powerful drive or sinking a long putt. But the truth remains, that if you can have faith in your talent, you are ahead of your junior peers in almost every department. The notion of having faith in your talent means that you give yourself permission to say “YES” to yourself when standing over a shot.
It is a sad fact, but many junior players sabotage their golf games by the words in which they choose to say to themselves. Their self-talk is basically all negative and destructive. By saying “NO” to yourself before you step into your shot is a sure-fire way to sabotage your success and damage your ability to have faith in yourself. Words and phrases such as “There’s just NO way that I can hit that green,” or, there’s NO way that this putt is going to drop!” are forecasts of doom and gloom. Junior champions do not use negative self talk. Junior champions realize the value of doing everything they can to keep their confidence strong and their momentum moving in a positive direction. By saying “YES….I CAN DO THIS!” to yourself and directing your energy into what you want to achieve (a positive focus), you have used your willpower to proceed into the direction of success and have increased your faith in yourself as a junior golfer.
The Words You Use have POWER!
Faith is a powerful force, but when you are stepping into a shot, you also must use your imagination and willpower to enhance that faith. To do this, you must use your self-talk to provide yourself with some empowering affirmations (words or word phrases that provide you with self-motivating energy). Affirmations such as: “This is my day and this is my moment!” Or, “I will step into this shot and give myself the best chance possible to focus and swing towards my target!” It could also be: “I am going to do this now!” It could be even as simple an affirmation as “Come on now, stay focused and get into your target!” By providing yourself with a positive and golf-specific affirmation may be the “pump or pep-talk” to move you through the wall of doubt and negativity.
A Final Word to the Junior Golfers
One of the most important things you need to learn as a junior golfer is to make a clear decision to say “YES” to yourself before you address your ball. By making a decision to say “YES” before each shot may not always guarantee success, but at least it gives you a chance to execute as well as you can on every shot. Conversely, by making the decision to think and say “NO” before each shot almost always guarantees a negative action and result. Therefore, the notion of tapping into your ability to choose “YES” becomes vital. By making a conscious “YES” decision before you step into the ball will increase your sense of confidence and ultimately lead to more control and consistency!
May you always have the courage and willpower to make the ultimate decision to say “YES” to yourself on the golf course!
Dr. Robert K. Winters
Golf Fitness Magazine