If you’re having trouble getting a good warm-up on the golf course, you’re not alone. The good deals with the same kind of phenomena.
It was one of the topics that sports psychologist Julie Elion discussed in the latest episode of GOLF’s Subpar Podcastwhere she also talked about her work with professional players (including US Open champion Wyndham Clark) and amateurs, as well as her new book, “Mastering your mental game”, which will be available next week.
Hitting the ball on the range only to completely lose that feel on the golf course is a common problem for golfers. Elion says, for recreational players, the key is to dig deep, try to understand their best competitive condition, and choose goals (which she also discussed on the podcast). She said it’s important to “understand who you are and be present with it.”
“If you can keep repeating something about how you want to feel and go with that, I think that will serve you better than getting angry on that first whole trip,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of people over the years get first finger jitters, from the pros to myself, so I try to help prepare mentally knowing that you might feel that. Then, how are you going to respond to that? So you’re already prepared that those feelings are coming up. OK, how are you going to handle them?”
To further explain her point of view, Elion said she works with a pro who struggled with first-time jitters, even in things like the pro-am. Her final homework assignments to him were simple: start the pro-am by intentionally hitting a bad shot.
“Put yourself in the water on purpose and then deal with your feelings,” she said. “And then, when he saw them on Thursday, he was already prepared for the worst that could happen, which was to put him in the water. And he was ready and it worked.”
For more from Elion and to learn how a strong mental game can help you, listen here OR see below.
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