After your swing, hold your finish for at least three seconds without reacting to the result. Don’t talk to the ball, call yourself any names or use any negative body language. Just watch the ball and hold your finish. Reacting to a shot’s result wears on your emotions.
If you have a hot temper and complain about every shot, compose yourself. Start by doing this postshot routine. Hold your finish without a reaction. It’ll take some time, but you’ll play better and have more energy at the end of your round.
Many golfers let one bad shot ruin a hole because they try (and usually fail) to pull off a difficult shot to get out of trouble. The next time you find yourself with a difficult shot, ask yourself if the reward is worth the risk. Is it worth trying to save one shot, when you might add on a couple more? Consider your skill level and honestly assess what your chances are of pulling it off.
Consider the situation I’m in here. My ball is behind a tree, and there’s a small gap under its branches. I could go directly at the pin, but I might hit the branch, or I could hit a little to the left and avoid trouble altogether. The safer play to the left might leave me with a 20-foot putt, but I’ll be on the green with my putter in hand. If I risk it and go at the pin and hit the tree, I’ll have to hit another pitch shot, and the chances of getting up and down decreases.
I ended up playing it safe. The risk was not worth the reward. I’ll leave the green feeling confident and hope to bounce back on the next hole.
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