Having Fun Playing Golf

As I continue to work with golfers of all levels I am amazed at the lack of fun they are having, both in practice and in competition.  I try to encourage all of my golfers to enjoy this great game, but their common response is often, “How can it be fun when I am playing poorly?”  Changing your attitude about the game will often affect your performance.

When I attend junior tournaments today, I am amazed by the lack of camaraderie and friendship among the players, especially compared to my experience as a junior competitor.  The best part of playing junior golf during my time was the friends you met along the way (many with whom I still keep in touch) and the fun we had away from the golf course.  I can promise you that we worked hard on our games and we were very competitive on the golf course.  However, we also said “good shot” to our competitors, as we wanted to play well and win on good days versus having a fellow competitor have a bad day.  At the end of the day, dinner and a movie was very common with our fellow competitors.

In today’s golf, many parents are very involved with the junior golfer and tend to put a lot of pressure on their juniors to always play well.  Unfortunately, I also feel that some parents out there are trying to live their dreams through their kids.  I encourage all parents to be cheerleaders for their children and to support them in any way possible, but this includes supporting the golfer on both good and bad days.  I can promise you that the golfer is not trying to play poorly.  We just have those days in golf.

It is important for all golfers to remember that having success on the golf course is a process.  First and foremost, you must prepare yourself correctly in order to play well.  You must know your weaknesses and improve in these areas.  Once you have confidence in all aspects of your game, it is very important that you trust your game and play golf when you go the first tee.  Golfers prepare and train on the practice facilities and the better training, the more the results will transfer to the golf course.  When you step on the first tee, it is very important that you tell yourself you are going to have fun no matter what happens with your score.  The more you can have fun and stay in the moment on every shot, the better you will play.  I always tell my players there are worse things in the world than you making a bogey or double bogey.

I encourage all golfers to prepare your game and then stick with the process for better golf.

• Evaluate your weaknesses and come up with a plan to improve these areas of your game.
• Develop a practice game plan to improve.  When you practice, make it very similar to golf course situations.
• Play one shot at a time.
• When you play golf on the golf course, focus on alignment and target and just play.  You do not want a lot of thoughts going through your mind as you try to play.
• Have only positive thoughts while you are playing.  Negative thoughts lead to negative shots.
• Have fun regardless of how you are playing.

If you need help evaluating your game and working on your weaknesses, talk to an expert - your local PGA Professional.

close window