Better golf 7 of 8: The mental game between shots
15 min Calm
Four hours on the course is mostly walking. What you do with your head between shots decides how you swing on the next one.
Vier uur golfen betekent misschien veertig seconden per hole echt op de bal slaan. De rest is lopen, wachten, kijken hoe een ander zijn derde shot uit de bunker haalt. Wat er in die tussentijd gebeurt, is niet leeg. De meeste golfers vullen die tijd onbewust: een gemiste putt van twee holes terug speelt zich opnieuw af, een swing-correctie die iemand vorige week gaf duikt op vlak voor de backswing. Tegen de tijd dat ze achter de bal staan, zijn ze mentaal al drie plaatsen tegelijk.
Een ronde verloopt anders wanneer die tussentijd een structuur krijgt. Niet om alles te controleren, maar om te weten wanneer je aan golf denkt en wanneer niet. De bomen langs de fairway, een kort gesprek bij de buggy, het gevoel van de handschoen die strak trekt als bewuste reset: kleine gewoontes die de geest leegmaken voor het moment dat er iets van gevraagd wordt.
Write your pre-shot routine in five steps, from behind the ball to the swing.
Suggestion: Same routine for a tap-in and a tee shot.Learn the ten second rule: after a bad shot, ten seconds of frustration, then a physical reset like tightening the glove.
Suggestion: Practise it at home on a bad putt on the carpet.Pick one swing thought for the whole round. Not three.
Suggestion: Write it on a tee.Rehearse a bad start: two double bogeys. What do you say to yourself on the third tee?
Suggestion: Decide it now, not then.Plan the walk: look at the trees, talk to your partner, think about the shot only at the ball.
Suggestion: The round is long. Do not play it in your head.Next
Better golf 8 of 8: A practice round with a scorecard that counts something else
Related playbooks
Better golf 5 of 8: Course management on paper
Take strokes off without touching a club. Plan your home course hole by hole: where to miss, when to lay up, which tee shot is not the driver.
Better golf 3 of 8: Chipping in the garden
One club, one landing spot, twenty minutes. Chipping is a small swing done with intent, and you can learn it on any patch of grass.
Better golf 2 of 8: Putting on the carpet
The putter is the club you use most. Ten minutes of short putts at home, every evening, does more for your score than a bucket of drivers.
Better golf 8 of 8: A practice round with a scorecard that counts something else
Play nine or eighteen holes and score fairways, greens and putts instead of strokes. The numbers tell you what to practise next.
Better golf 6 of 8: Bunker and short game hour
Thirty minutes in the practice bunker and around the chipping green. Sand stops being scary when you hit it on purpose.
Better golf 4 of 8: A driving range session with a plan
A bucket of balls without a plan is exercise. With a plan it is practice. One hour, sixty balls, four blocks.
Better golf 1 of 8: Grip and setup in the mirror
Most bad shots start before the club moves. Fifteen minutes in front of a mirror to fix grip, posture and ball position.
Better coffee 6 of 6: Your house coffee
Settle it: one coffee, one recipe, one way of buying. Then you can stop thinking about coffee and just drink good coffee.
Better coffee 3 of 6: Espresso at home without the frustration
If you have an espresso machine, most bad shots are grind and dose. A method to get to a good shot in five tries instead of fifty.
by PlayTryBe team