When You’re Hot, You’re Hot

Have you noticed that your hot streaks come and go? When you’re hot, you’re hot. When you’re not, YOU’RE NOT. The pros need 4 days of hot streaks to win a tournament. One bad hole seems to be the start of more bad holes so we all must have mental lapses. Recreational golfers have shorter hot streaks and longer cold streaks. Why is this happening?

Golf is a game of perfection. One bad hit can put you in the rough followed by a topped ball and then a brilliant blast over the green into a sand trap can leave you devastated. The wonderful thing about our handicap system is that we can just take a MAXIMUM score on a hole and move on to the next hole. Unfortunately tournaments put a lot more pressure on you as your total score counts.

“Better than Most”.  These words just about sums up Tiger’s streak. Shattered confidence ruined his streak.

For great golfers, the hot streaks seem to just keep-on-comin’. Why do they end?
Tiger Woods’ 142 streak of making the cut ended on a FRIDAY the 13th. Was it his unlucky day or were marriage problems on his mind.
Luke Donald was the first player to win more money than any other golfer on both the PGA and European Tours in the same year. He hasn’t won a tournament since.  Where did his confidence go?
Vijay Singh at 42 in 2005 was the youngest player elected to the Golf Hall of Fame. That was the end of his winning streak.

Recreational players have streaks of success during a single round of golf. Have you noticed that you par a number of holes in sequence or that one nine will be much better than the other nine. Your mental commitment is your turning point. CONFIDENCE and FOCUS must be the key factors in our success.

Tricks to create CONFIDENCE and FOCUS
Minor changes in your setup can destroy your distance and direction control. Determine your swing cues before every round.  Correct YOUR IDEAL grip, stance and relaxed body during your practice and lock them into your memory bank. The pros do it and you should too.

-Putting: Practice your swing for distance, then move up to the ball and focus for 2 or 3 seconds to lock your brain into your target. Refocus on your ball for 2 seconds and swing with your shoulders.
-Driver: Relax your shoulders and grip. Take a controlled backswing to create lag at the top. Feel like your club is HEAVY so that it accelerates as you “throw” it from the inside whooshing through the ball.
-Irons and Hybrids: If you can’t shift your weight to your leading foot during your transition then start your swing with 60% of your weight on your leading foot.

Learn your swing cues when you practice with GOLFSTR+. Straight leading arm, flat leading wrist and 90 degree lag in your transition are great swing queues. Buy one today: www.golfstr.com

Save

Save

Save

Share

2 Comments