Your playing partner may tell you about hazards ahead or you yourself may find an obstruction, whether it's a stream, pond, bunker, or some other hazard. Once you know where the hazards are, it can be difficult to get them out of your head. Occasionally the ball lands in the one area you were firmly attempting to avoid, it's just part of the game.
Visualization
It was already tackled in a previous write-up about why visualization is so important. Your mind works best with imagery, so picturing your target in your mind is the easiest way to tell it where you need the ball to go.
Now thinking about where you DON'T want the ball to go will basically have the same effect. It sends the message to your consciousness announcing that that is where you WANT to hit the ball. The mind will not know the difference.
When you're confronted by a hard shot, the mind wanders to all the places and obstructions that will get you into trouble. Whether you have got to hit the ball over the water or try squeezing your drive into a tight fairway, you've got to focus on the image of where you need the ball to end up.
Putting additional focus on your target when faced with a complicated shot will actually make you perform better under these pressure conditions and hit the ball safely toward your intended target.
It's also important to really pay attention to your target when you are protecting a lead or trying to play safe. Take this situation for instance, you are up by two going into the last hole and there's an out of bounds down the left hand side. You clearly avoid the out of bounds. Even if you end up with a bogey, it will force your opponent to birdie to tie you. There are players nevertheless who are so cautious and conservative that they concentrate more on where they do not want the ball to go, instead of focusing on the target.
You can clearly select to play it safe and give yourself some margin of error if you hit to the left, but once you draw up the right method for your new target, then you can just focus intently and execute your shot.
Response to Fear
Fear will always be a problem for golfers because when you fear the possible result of a shot, then you'll probably try to over-control your swing. Your conscious mind will make an attempt to direct the movement of the body. If a golfer needs to hit a fairway or green they tend to try and steer the ball where they want it to go.
Fear produces reactions in the body. It mostly comes back to the fight-or-flight response. When faced with a situation we fear, our body tenses up and adrenaline pours through our veins. When this occurs, strain prohibits a free swing and is replaced by tightness and limitation thereby producing bad shots. When you're pumped full of adrenaline, you don't swing at the same speed and lose your rhythm. This scenario almost always ends up a poor shot, worse is that your ball usually ends up at the area where you do not want it to be.
You need to start learning how to relax if you would like to overcome this strain. If you can incorporate deep breathing into your preshot routine, then you can loosen yourself up to play a relaxed and much improved game.
Visualization
It was already tackled in a previous write-up about why visualization is so important. Your mind works best with imagery, so picturing your target in your mind is the easiest way to tell it where you need the ball to go.
Now thinking about where you DON'T want the ball to go will basically have the same effect. It sends the message to your consciousness announcing that that is where you WANT to hit the ball. The mind will not know the difference.
When you're confronted by a hard shot, the mind wanders to all the places and obstructions that will get you into trouble. Whether you have got to hit the ball over the water or try squeezing your drive into a tight fairway, you've got to focus on the image of where you need the ball to end up.
Putting additional focus on your target when faced with a complicated shot will actually make you perform better under these pressure conditions and hit the ball safely toward your intended target.
It's also important to really pay attention to your target when you are protecting a lead or trying to play safe. Take this situation for instance, you are up by two going into the last hole and there's an out of bounds down the left hand side. You clearly avoid the out of bounds. Even if you end up with a bogey, it will force your opponent to birdie to tie you. There are players nevertheless who are so cautious and conservative that they concentrate more on where they do not want the ball to go, instead of focusing on the target.
You can clearly select to play it safe and give yourself some margin of error if you hit to the left, but once you draw up the right method for your new target, then you can just focus intently and execute your shot.
Response to Fear
Fear will always be a problem for golfers because when you fear the possible result of a shot, then you'll probably try to over-control your swing. Your conscious mind will make an attempt to direct the movement of the body. If a golfer needs to hit a fairway or green they tend to try and steer the ball where they want it to go.
Fear produces reactions in the body. It mostly comes back to the fight-or-flight response. When faced with a situation we fear, our body tenses up and adrenaline pours through our veins. When this occurs, strain prohibits a free swing and is replaced by tightness and limitation thereby producing bad shots. When you're pumped full of adrenaline, you don't swing at the same speed and lose your rhythm. This scenario almost always ends up a poor shot, worse is that your ball usually ends up at the area where you do not want it to be.
You need to start learning how to relax if you would like to overcome this strain. If you can incorporate deep breathing into your preshot routine, then you can loosen yourself up to play a relaxed and much improved game.
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