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Ok, I've read several of Bob Rotella's books. I've always found that I only hit a decent golf shot if I have at least some level of confidence as I swing. Any significant level of doubt at any point in the swing has always resulted in a horrible shot.

About a month ago, I was hitting shots in my yard (my normal practice range). For some reason I had the idea that I would intentionally think bad thoughts as I swung. I tried to have as little confidence as possible in the result. I found that I still hit my shots just as well as when I was confident.

Of course, this was an artificial psychological state ... I knew I was 'pretending' to be unconfident. However, the feeling of doubt and lack of confidence still felt just as real as 'real bad feelings' as I have felt them on the course. The difference was that I knew that I was intentionally entering a state of 'no confidence'.

The important thing that I think I have hit on here is replicating the feeling of doubt while still trusting the mechanics of a solid swing. Since I've started trying this exercise in practice, I've yet to hit a poor shot on the course from lack of confidence and feelings of doubt during the swing.

Basically, I am saying that I think it is possible to train ourselves to follow our well learned mechanics and hit good shots regardless of a momentary lapse of confidence during the swing.

Rotella says that golf is a game of confidence. Perhaps even better golf is a game of trust or faith. Trust in our well trained and learned mechanics to produce good results regardless of the momentary emotional or mental whims we may experience.

I've tried it, and it has helped my game. It's a very weird idea. Go out to the range and try to bring about a mental and emotional state where you are sure you are going to hit a horrible shot, and try to simultaneously believe that you will hit an excellent shot. Then execute the good shot. It isn't as hard as it sounds. In fact it is quite easy with practice shots.

The whole point is to train the body to ignore the doubt of the mind and the emotions.

Sports psychologists have always emphasized confidence so that the mind can be confident that the body will do what it knows how to do. The thing is that the body knows what to do if it has been trained correctly, so why not train the mind and body so that the body can do its job even when the mind is messed up? Why should the body need the mind to be confident when it already knows what to do?

Just because your mind is ******* up, your body is still just as good a golfing body as it is when your mind is perfect. Why not play good golf even when you are sure you will hit a horrible shot? There is no reason your body should ***** up just because of a momentary mental distraction.

Just hit the $%#$% ball!!!

Well, duh! But people (including most pros) have a hard time with just hitting the @#$%@#^@%^ ball.

I've read a couple of the Rotella books...I think that he made some inroads when first coming out and some of his ideas are now considered common knowledge and bounce around in the pages of golf magazines every month...essentially it is the power of positive thinking, kind of a Tony Robbins of golf...you have to believe to achieve blah blah blah...I have nothing against it, I just don't believe that it is a silver bullet...


As a struggling mid handicapper a few years ago, one of the most laughable things that I was confronted with when reading reams about golf and the swing was the Rotella stuff...I thought to myself "How the heck can I be positive about a shot that I'm not sure about!?!?!?" I can dig pros who strike the ball magnificiently benefiting from this kind of imagined success becoming reality, but the simple truth is that a mid handicapper doesn't have the tools mechanically, possibly physically and possibly talent wise to hit the ball consistently...I don't believe for a minute that it is all between the ears; you still have to hit the ball and that requires solid swing fundamentals as well as the mental discipline to do the movements honed by play and practice again and again...if any of those elements are missing you're going to have a tough time hitting the ball consistently well, period...

What I've come to believe is this...you have to develop good fundamentals, you have to practice a fair amount, you have to build a solid swing that you can repeat before any of that Rotella stuff will make much of a dent in your game...like I said, he has some good ideas that have now become commonplace, the preshot routine being a key one that he popularized and IMO should be applied to all golfers games right from the get go...his books are solid in content, and will offer a couple of bones here and there for the growing golfer, but it isn't going to hit the ball for you...


I think that trusting the swing is huge and very important in regards to hitting the ball well and consistently...I also think that good mechanics breeds that confidence and in the same way that I feel it is a total sham when I'm swinging poorly due to some mechanical issue to try to be positive over the ball when I know in my heart that there is something terribly wrong with my motions not my grey matter, the opposite is true and when I'm swinging well I am that much more confident over the ball...because I'm swinging well...


All the stuff about preshot routines and keeping an even keel is golden though...worth a read for any golfer not acquainted with Rotella...just don't expect miracles just because you can visualize them...

I mostly agree with all that bump.

And lest anyone think otherwise ... I really like the Rotella stuff, and don't have a problem with it. I was just suggesting another way to approach the mental side of the game.

I can dig it...I try all kinds of crazy stuff on the range all the time...I just feel like a house of cards if I feel like I'm lying to myself and imagining a perfect shot even if I am whipped, sunburnt, working off three hours sleep, been misaligned all day hitting weak fades, golfer's elbow flaring and a little lightheaded...what I've found that for me works alot better is a simpler swing that I really trust that is easier to repeat than my usual full swing...I have alot of confidence in it because it is flat out easier to hit when I'm run down...it isn't as flowing, it isn't as long, but it has less moving parts, much easier to repeat, the ball goes straight and I can limp home by clubbing up...it's a true confidence that I can sink my teeth into and sometimes when things are going wrong I can get back on track after a couple of holes with this modified swing then go back to playing the game per normal, swelled by the confidence bred from well hit shots...

I think we tend to overthink ourselves on the golf course.

My takeaway from Rotella and other mental golf books is that we need to focus on keeping negative thoughts out of our heads and just trusting our self.

I don't think his advice is strictly for the top pro's. I think it applies to us mortals too. I think the amateur is a fragile player, just waiting to lose confidence.

So many people get down too fast and lose confidence too easy and let 1 or 2 bad shots take there confidence to the dumper. Worse yet, are people like me who try to make up for that 1 bad shot by trying to hit that miracle shot.

I found that when I was putting for a 7 on a hole, the putt would go in or be right around the hole. When my swing or tempo is lost, I try to forget about the outcome and get back to the feel. I get back into the "back-hit-stop" mentality of the Inner Game of Golf book.

It's almost a paradox, but I think the mental books on golf are about getting your mind to wander to the right things, rather than to the wrong things and almost leave you alone.

I agree Andy.

I think most or at least many golfers would agree that the mental side of the game holds them back more than anything else.

I think that in most sports, the mind doesn't get in the way as much or as often as it does in golf. Most sports have more of a flow. I think it is easier to perform athletically when the body is in motion for more than one or two seconds at a time. One sport I think is similar is baseball. There are many very talented players who have had great difficulties only because of problems with the mental side of the game ... 3 recent ones that come to mind are Kahlil Greene with the Cardinals this year, who couldn't hit and couldn't field because of the 'pressure to perform'. Rick Ankiel, also of the Cardinals who was a brilliant pitcher that suddenly lost all ability to throw a strike in the playoffs and never pitched effectively again. Chuck Knoblauch, one of the best players in MLB for a few years who suddenly couldn't throw the ball 50 feet to first base ... second baseman yips.

I'm sure most amateur golfers are like me ... they can go to the range and have a session where it seems they hit every ball well (or at least very well for them). Yet, go play a round, and it is never so easy. I remember hitting 250 yd straight drives when I was 17 at the driving range with a ****** range driver. I knew nothing about golf and had a horrible swing. I was just having fun with friends, and didn't know I had a bad swing and couldn't play golf. Then I could go out on the course the next day and be lucky to hit one fairway.

I think if anything, working on the mental side of golf helps more with the 20-40 handicapper than the scratch golfer or pro. For a PGA Tour pro, the difference between being top ten in the world and losing your tour card is 1-2 shots per round. I know for a fact that over the last 50 rounds I have played that I have dropped at least 5 shots per round on average simply because a lack of confidence promoted a horrible shot.

My 'new' idea here is not intended to be the solution to the mental game. It is just another way of thinking about golf that might work for some people. It has worked for me. I don't think there is any 'right' way to work on the mental side of the game. Golf is so much different from pretty much every other sport. You play for 4 1/2 hours, but you only actually play for about 2 minutes.

I like to spend a little time once or twice a week while practicing trying to hit good shots while having as negative as possible of an internal feeling mentally and emotionally. This helps me on the course because it allows me to believe that I can still hit a good shot even without confidence. It used to be that I could say that every single time I had a negative thought on my backswing the result was a disastrous shot. Now, those shots may not be the best, but are acceptable. I believe this little mental exercise has saved me at least 2 shots a round, possibly 4 or more.

Maybe your are producing adrenaline during your session at the range. The reaction to it can be "flight or fight" Some people just chunk the shot or yip it, some hit the ball way farther and sometimes better when the adrenlaine is flowing. It depends on conditioning and experience.

Earl Woods used to harass little Eldrigde when they were playing together. Tiger got that conditioning or training at an early age.

it is wierd that you brought up this subject because I am reading Rotella's book a second time on trusting your swing. He doesn't want any swing thots on the course. Just aim, target, feel, etc.

I read something about visualization in a Jim Flick/ Bob Toski book recently; When you visualize the ball going into the hole before a putt, imagine the speed as well as the line. I estimate the speed but I don't see it in my mind. any thots on this stuff?
WF

I've never read a book on sport's psychology, but I can tell you that if you can see the ball going into the hole, your chances of making the putt increase tremendously. In fact, it's probably quite difficult to estimate the speed of a putt without also visualizing the line you want...

OK I read this story once about how this scientist set up a cage full of pidgeons with a random mechanism on a feeder. Every now and then the feeder would release seed. The pidgeons tapped away at various things in the cage and when they tapped on something and it coincided with the seed being released (I can't recall the scientific term but you get what I'm, saying...) the pidgeons kept tapping away at an object thinking it released the seed... My 7 year old son started saying stuff at the range like 'this is going to be a rotten shot' because he thought by saying that it would be a good one... because it so happened he said that once and then hit a good shot afterwards... I don't think that you've found a psychological paradigm... but who knows... At least you are trying so good on ya!

I am a mental game coach from London (UK) and I find your post fascinating. I have been to a party tonight and will reply tomorrow when I am sober, good job!

I to have read most of Rotella's books and it's interesting how you have analyzed your own mental golf game.

Here is my perspective on your post and for what it's worth, if what you are doing works then I would absolutely stick to what you are doing. The human mind is an amazing thing that science may never completely understand how it really works.

First off your experiments with negative thoughts and images are within your conscious mind. It is difficult to recreate actual pressure situations unless your really in them. When I was a kid I would line up 10 footers on the practice green and say "This is for the US Open Championship" and I would feel pressure trying to make the putt, but nowhere near the real pressure I would feel if I was actually standing on the 18th green at Oakmont surrounded by a huge crowd with a hard breaking lighting fast putt. In other words you can only fool your conscious mind so much, it knows the difference between real and pretend.

When Rotella talks about confidence, he's talking about handling adversity and pressure with a positive outcome. The conscious mind is what feels that pressure within us but our subconscious self image plays a big role in producing a positive or negative outcome. I think the whole point of Rotella's teachings is by focusing your conscious mind on the positive aspects of your golf game you will build a strong subconscious self image that will produce positive results under pressure.

Here's a real experiment for you: Challenge a player at your home course that is 5 handicap points lower than you and play him straight up for $100/$200(or whatever you may consider high stakes). Basically make it a challenge that you know you will have to play your very best golf to even have a chance to beat him. Or perhaps you could enter your State Open and attempt to qualify. Either of these challenges will put your conscious mind under real pressure and give you a sense of where you are with the mental state of your golf game.

An example in mentally challenging my own game came last season when I played in a match play event where I had to face one of the best players in our region who also holds the course record at my home course. There were no handicaps so I had to play them straight up. In my younger days I had played in many state and regional chamionships but it had been quite a few years since I had put myself under that type of pressure.

To be honest, when we teed off on the first hole my only real thought was to try and extend the match as long as possible, in other words, I just didn't want to get blown out,,lol! I was 3 down after 7 holes and I was feeling pressure but I didn't panic. It was a long walk from the 7th green to the 8th tee and in that time I was able to calm my conscious mind, basically telling myself that I have been in this type of pressure many times before and have had success. I believe I was able to calm my conscious mind and let my subconscious self image start producing the shots that I knew I could hit. I won the 8th and 9th hole to get back to 1 down.

In fact I kept winning holes and I was 2 up with 5 to play on the back nine but hit a bad tee shot on both 14 and 15 and the match was all square with 3 to play. I hit another bad tee shot on 16 but made a beautiful up and down to stay even. The 17th hole was a par3 with the pin tucked near a false edge of the green that ran down a steep embankment. I had no intention of going for the pin and I hit a clutch shot to the center of the green with a 20ft uphill birdie putt. To my suprise my oponent went for the flag, landed on the green but the ball rolled off the false edge down the embankment. They failed to get up and down and two putts later I was one up with one to play.

The 18th hole was a par5 and after both our second shots my opponent was just short on the front fringe and I was pin high in a greenside bunker about 60 feet away. My opponent hit a nice chip to 4 feet for birdie. Here again I had to calm my conscious mind because I know if I don't get up and down for birdie we will have to go to extra holes. I took a few practice swings outside the bunker and just kept telling myself, your a great bunker player and you've hit this shot a million times. I splashed the ball inside of my opponent mark and the match was over.

I have to say that I was mentally exhausted and wanted to collapse right there on the green because it was 4 1/2 hours of total focus. My opponent and I made a total of 13 birdies between the two of us and our marker that scored us commented that he had never been so entertained in witnessing a match. The cool thing about that day was my opponent and I became friends and played more friendly matches throughout the rest of the season.

The point of my example is even though I had not been under the gun like that in a few years, I knew that I had the talent to compete and win and by keeping my conscious mind calm I was able to let my subconscious self image produce the shots I knew I could hit.

Sorry for the long post, I love to ramble on about the mental game of golf!