| How your game will be affected by your attitude? | | | | then move on as quickly as possible. The sooner |
| Everyone hits a bad shot now and then, its part | | | | you move on, the sooner you can chalk it up to |
| of the game. If we all played a perfect round all | | | | experience and use the incident as a learning |
| of the time, we would quickly tire of it and move | | | | opportunity. No one wants to play with a "club |
| on to something more challenging. The important | | | | thrower," their belligerent actions disrupt your train |
| thing to remember is that if you become angry | | | | of thought and it's difficult to think about anything |
| after hitting a bad shot, you must let go of that | | | | else. It brings a negative energy to the air and |
| emotion quickly or it will carry through the | | | | erases the fun from the game. |
| remainder of your game. We all know players | | | | Those who express negative emotion to an |
| who, after hitting a poor shot, use profanity and | | | | exaggerated level are far less likely to improve |
| throw their clubs, and blame their misfortune on | | | | their game because they tend to dwell on the |
| everything but their own actions. It not only | | | | negative aspects of their performance, and |
| disrupts other players, it can have an enormous | | | | devote little or no energy to improving |
| effect on their own performance from that point | | | | themselves. We don't have complete control over |
| forward. Of course, anger is a normal reaction to | | | | the outcome of every shot, but we do have |
| a bad occurrence, but it's how you handle the | | | | complete control over how we react, and how |
| disappointment that will keep your game from | | | | we apply what we learn from the result of each |
| going down the tubes. | | | | shot in future rounds of golf. |
| What is your current reaction to a bad shot? | | | | Tips |
| As Payne Stewart once said, "A bad attitude is | | | | 1. See mistakes as a learning experience rather |
| worse than a bad swing." Letting negative | | | | than a chance to criticize yourself. |
| emotions get the best of you will defeat your | | | | 2. Learn to isolate your bad shots and focus on |
| mental game, so it is important during your "off | | | | your next shot. |
| moments" to accept your disappointment and | | | | |