Bad Day? Don’t Panic
Even the most skilled and experienced golfer can fall prone to a bad day. Maybe you’re feeling a little under the weather, or maybe you’re distracted by goings on in your personal or professional life. Or maybe you’re feeling absolutely fine, but your swing just isn’t getting the job done.
Never fear. We’ve got a helpful list of suggestions that can boost your confidence and enable you to pull it together when things aren’t going as expected. Before you know it, you’ll be back on your game and on top of the world.
First, Don’t Panic
When your first shot goes wild, it can be cause for alarm. You’re used to the ball sailing true, not into the rough. So the next time you step to the tee, it can be tempting to overcorrect. Golfers tend to make a thousand adjustments when something goes wrong, from changing the force or angle of their swing to changing the club they’re using.
But there’s a better option available to you—nothing at all. Although it seems counterintuitive, by hunting around at random you might actually be causing your game to drift further from the core of skills that made you a successful golfer in the first place. Trust your body. It knows what to do. You’ve gone through these motions thousands of times, and one bad swing is no reason to throw away everything you know and start over from scratch. Keep calm and odds are the next ball you hit will be back to normal.
Take the Game as a Learning Experience
Of course, it can be hard to accept that one or two bad holes could ruin your score for the whole game. You might start to feel as though the afternoon is wasted, particularly if this happens early on. If you’re playing against people, you’re no longer competitive. If you’re playing to beat your own score, you now know you’re not going to achieve that goal.
Take a deep breath. There’s plenty more you can get out of an afternoon of golf—and it’s not just the scenery and weather. Learning to play from the rough, for example, can be a valuable asset to your game. True, you might not do well today, but if something like this happens again you could be primed to surprise your opponents by being back on course quickly.
Let it Go
Remember that once you step off the course, this game is over. It can be hard to put something like a bad day of golf out of your mind—what if it happens again?—but of course, today’s game has no connection to any that may come after, and your skills haven’t disappeared on you. Put golf out of your mind until the next time you play. When that day comes, you’ll likely feel refreshed and ready to recapture your old glory!
You may also want to seek out golf instruction to help you refine your game and take it to the next level. PGA and LPGA professionals can help you break down your game and focus in on the areas with the greatest potential for improvement. Schedule a class today!
