Staying Focused During A Round Of Golf

Dear Golf Nut.  Can you help me with a part of my mental game.  Lots of times I will start off a round doing really well and then at some point I seem to start falling apart. And then it seems that the harder I try, the worse I play. Any golf tips on how to stay focused so this doesn’t happen?

Well I don’t have any magic tips, but I can talk about something that I’ve found that really helps me during a round.  It’s a real simple thing called walking.  One of the things that I have found over the years is that riding in a golf cart actually tends to hurt my game to some degree.  But it’s sort of like swinging easy.  I seem to keep forgetting it.

When I walk on my rounds of golf rather than riding in a cart, I seem to stay much more focused and relaxed.  As I walk towards my golf ball, I get a chance to look at my next shot from several angles rather than just jumping out of my cart and getting ready to swing.  I tend to be relaxed and stay relaxed through my pre shot routine.

Another aspect of walking is when I make a bad shot I get some time and physical activity to shake off that bad golf shot. By the time I get to my golf ball, most of the time the shot that got me there is forgotten.  This really helps me to avoid putting several bad shots together and totally killing the hole.

Another aspsect of mental golf is playing smart and playing what the golf course gives you.  Walking helps me take the time to think about this.  Usually when I’m riding, I’m talking with my cart partner and not focusing on what I should be doing next.  Walking allows me to talk as well, but then if I need to focus I can slow down a bit/speed up a bit or just separate myself slightly from the group and gather myself.

This may not have been what you were expecting as an answer to your question, but I encourage you to consider walking more often when you play golf and using the time between shots to strengthen your mental game. It can make a world of difference.

Good golfing out there!