Golf Slumps
Slumps are the enemy of all golfers… But what if I told you that slumps are inevitable, a natural and normal part of golf.
Think of any athlete who has enjoyed a long successful career in their sport and you will find periods of time when he or she experienced performance droughts.
It’s true… the very best of the best, Hall of Famers and record-setting athletes suffered through slumps, performance blocks and losing streaks.
The length of time you spend in a slump is up to you. If you keep thinking about your slump, wallow in self-pity, start doubting your ability and fear bad outcomes, you will prolong your slump.
Tiger Woods has been trapped in a well-noted, lengthy performance slump.
Woods missed the cut three majors in a row for the first time in his career and his ranking has continued to plummet.
Woods has not won a Major since 2008 and hasn’t placed above 17th during the 2015 PGA Tour season.
Woods has adopted different mindset for the Wyndham Championship.
Woods is focused on playing his way out of his slump rather than thinking his way out of his slump.
Woods had some success with this “present moment” mindset during the first three Rounds of the tournament.
Woods shot his lowest round in two years in the First Round of the Wyndham Championship and, after three rounds, was tied for second and in contention for the tournament title.
When you are focused on playing your way out of a slump, you become grounded in the present and less aware of distractions.
How exactly do you play your way out of a slump?
This may sound simplistic but you play your way out by playing or focusing on ONE shot at a time…
If you think about it, you dug your way into the slump over time; you can build your way out of the slump one shot at a time.
Woods summarized his mindset and approach to the Wyndham Championship after his First Round performance.
WOODS: “I started to build, I need to get more consistent with everything and start stringing together not just holes, not just rounds but tournaments. That’s why this tournament is important to me. Hopefully I can win and get in the playoffs and start playing a bunch of golf.”
If you adopt the approach of playing your way out of your slump instead of overthinking and overanalyzing, it will free up your mental energy to focus on what you need to do to execute each golf shot.
Piecing together three quality rounds is a step in the right direction for Woods. Breaking out of a slump is a process which requires patience.
Try this strategy to start your ascent out of a slump:
Play one shot at a time. You need to be able to build a positive momentum. Let go of bad shots and relish when you hit a good shot.
Getting out of your performance rut starts with one step, one shot.
Each small success built over time lifts your game. Even though the success may be small, it is significant to taking your game to a higher level.
If you may have a bad shot or a bad round, quickly turn the page on that shot and re-focus. Learn from your bad shots and focus on how to improve in practice.
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