Yes I know it is Wednesday. Hopefully I’ll be back on track next week!
Breaking a scoring barrier can be an exciting time for any golfer. It can also be the source of unwanted anxiety as the end of your round approaches. These barriers typically come in bunches of 10 strokes at a time; breaking 100, 90, 80, 70, etc.
So when you’re on the cusp of breaking a new barrier, regardless of your overall skill level, what are some things you can do or think about to finish your round strong? In other words… not to blow it!
Embrace the fact that you are playing good! If you are playing a good round of golf, chances are you’ve put in the work in order to do so. When you are playing good, enjoy the moment and stay positive no matter what until you’ve holed out on your last hole and the round is over.
Be aware of negative self fulfilling prophesies. Avoid thinking that a bad shot or stretch of holes is just around the corner. Again… embrace that you are playing well and don’t give in to thinking that it will come apart at any moment.
Perfection in golf does not exist. Technically, a perfect round of golf would be 18 birdies for 18 holes. Last I checked this has not yet been achieved by any professional golfer. Allow yourself to make mistakes and do not think that just because you make one, you’re going to miss out on breaking that new scoring barrier.
Never want the round to end. The only thing that you should be thinking about when you are playing well is hoping you get as many chances as you can to keep posting good scores. If you’re just trying to hurry up and finish before you screw it up, chances are you will screw it up before you run out of holes to play (the negative self fulfilling prophesy).
Do you have an elusive scoring barrier? Put it in the comments below and let me help you break that barrier this year by working with me at the High Performance Golf Academy!
Also… if you like to read I highly recommend the following books for work on the mental game: