Playing Well When Faced With Adverse Conditions
There are many challenging aspects to the game of golf and many are outside your control, such as weather, course conditions, your score and the leaderboard.
There is one uncontrollable factor that distracts or hurts golfers’ mental game… wind!
Wind gusts and swirling winds affect both the flight of the ball and the path it travels as it rolls. You can do everything right and put a great swing on the ball but the wind often blows the ball in a different place than you intended.
The unpredictability of the wind frustrates and angers many golfers and increases the difficulty of each shot exponentially.
You must stay above the weather in the golf course and not allow the wind to control your emotions.
Focusing on what you can control is a mental skill that you must develop to play great golf. The biggest thing you can control and your most powerful weapon against the wind is your mental attitude.
At the 2016 Masters Tournament, wind gusts caused many shots to veer off path and messed with some golfers mentally.
During Round Three, the winds gusted up to 30 mph making playing conditions extremely difficult. Of the 57 players who played in Round Three, only five managed to shoot under par.
Jordan Spieth, who had a performance collapse on the final day of the tournament, commented on the difficult playing conditions.
SPIETH: “We were trying to adjust with ever-gusting and changing winds. It was just a really difficult day to score.”
No golfer suffered the effects of the wind more than Billy Horschel. Horschel was facing an 8-foot putt for eagle on the 15th hole when the wind ruined his chances to move him to 1-under for the day.
As Horschel was surveying his putt, a gust of wind blew and Horschel watched helplessly as his ball rolled into the water.
Horschel had to go back to where he hit the third shot from, take a one-stroke penalty, and take a drop. Horschel was visibly frustrated as his would-be eagle became a bogey.
HORSCHEL: “I knew that once the ball rolls, once it’s in play, if it starts rolling, you have to play it from where it finishes… I just wasn’t happy…”
“It’s an unfortunate situation where a big old gust came through, my ball was a foot or two from a false front, and it started rolling and the wind kept pushing it to the false front and it went in the water.”
Horschel understood it was an unfortunate event that was uncontrollable and his positive attitude allowed him to re-focus quickly.
HORSCHEL: “Everyone knows I’m an emotional guy. I’m just trying to learn as I get older to harness it a little bit. And, listen, it’s bad luck. It’s nobody’s fault for that happening…”
The “right” attitude to cope with windy conditions:
Attitude is everything. You can’t control the wind but you can control your attitude about the wind.
The “right” attitude doesn’t mean you like the wind; it just means you accept the wind as a potential added hazard on the golf course that affects every golfer on the course.
Tell yourself, “It is what it is” and re-focus on the next shot and how you will play it. Arming yourself with the “right” attitude is your most effective weapon against bad weather.
Learn Proven Strategies to Perform with Confidence!
Do you suffer from fragile self-confidence after missed hits, playing with strict or high expectations that undermine confidence or the inability to play freely and relaxed on the course?
If you suffer from lack of focus, low self-confidence or other mental game obstacles on the course, you cant reach your true golf potential…
What are students saying?
“To play well, you have to believe you can play well. Confidence goes a long way in golf. Patrick has developed a great system for helping me improve confidence and my overall mental approach to golf.”
~Brian Watts, 11-time Winner on the PGA Japan Tour
“Dr. Cohn has helped me improve confidence and build a consistence pre-shot routine that helps me stay confident, and learn how to play one shot at a time during competition. He also taught me that I don’t have to hit every shot perfect to score well.”
~Brian Belden, Winner 2003 AJGA Steel City Junior Classic & Marsh Junior at Hawk Pointe
Learn Powerful Golf Confidence Strategies!
Learn Powerful Golf Confidence Strategies!What are customers saying?
“The amount of knowledge I’ve learned from your eBooks, books, and podcasts at Peaksports is fantastic! You’re the best Mental Training coach I’ve found.”
~Gavin Clark, PGA Member
Boost Your Self-Confidence And Focus With Expert Mental Game Coaching!
Master mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn can help you overcome your mental game issues with personal coaching.
You can work with Dr. Patrick Cohn himself in Orlando, Florida or via Skype, FaceTime, or telephone. Call us toll free at 888-742-7225 or contact us for more information about the different coaching programs we offer!
What are our students saying?
“Just wanted to say thank you Patrick for the many years of golf psychology training you have given me to help all the players the Good Lord sends my way and all the knowledge you have assisted me with over the years at the various seminars, tapes, and reading material. It is not often enough that we thank those who have played a significant part in our growing as instructors in this great game of ours. You have helped me in many ways and many of my players are that much better because of your influence in me.”
~Joe Thiel, PGA Master Golf Professional