Do the Weather Conditions Throw You Off Your Golf Game?
Many golfers throw in the towel when course or weather conditions are unfavorable. These golfers assume that poor weather conditions lead to poor results.
When you make up your mind before a round of golf that you will card a high score, you most likely will!
A golfer who responded to our Golf Mental Game Golf Survey commented on his mindset when playing in unfavorable weather conditions: “I just don’t play well in cold conditions. What can I do to change this trend?”
If you predict you will play poorly, you will most likely perform as predicted. For example, the temperature at the beginning of the tournament is 50 degrees.
You step to the first tee, already in a bad mood, and think, “I hate playing in the cold. I never shoot good scores in these conditions. This is going to be a rough day.”
Then, you proceed to bogey the first three holes and say to yourself, “I knew it. I knew this was going to be a horrible day.” You never recovered and played as predicted.
In essence, you proved yourself right. It’s not the weather or your physical game holding you back; it’s your mindset that never gave you a chance from the first tee shot.
Here’s the good news: the problem is fixable. You can change your mindset to produce better results in less-than-optimal conditions.
Instead of automatically equating bad weather with poor performance, try meeting challenging conditions with a mentally tough mindset.
A challenge is something to overcome, rather than something to succumb to. The way to overcome challenges is to:
- Define the Challenge: What circumstances am I facing?
- Set your Mindset: How do I want to mentally respond to these challenges?
- Create a Plan of Attack: How do I intend to meet this challenge?
- Create a Back-Up Plan: If Plan A doesn’t work, what is my Plan B?
The key is to respond with resolve, not resignation. Before the first round of the 2025 T-Mobile Match Play, Brooke Henderson was informed of the weather forecast: temperatures in the mid-50s with occasional rain showers and winds gusting as high as 20 mph.
HENDERSON: “When we woke up this morning, my sister texted me the weather and I was like, ‘Oh, boy.’ So it was going to be a challenging day. Just tried to do the best we could and tried to play as smart as we could and adjust to all the conditions.”
Instead of reacting negatively to her circumstances, Henderson bundled up and created a plan of attack for the day, resulting in one of the most impressive victories over Leona Maguire.
When you approach unfavorable weather conditions as a challenge, you win the most important battle on the course, the battle of the mind.
Embrace the challenge. While traveling to the tournament, get into the right frame of mind by:
- Defining the Challenge
- Setting your Mindset
- Creating a Plan of Attack
- Creating a Back-Up Plan
When you are prepared for the challenges ahead, you will play with confidence and resolve.
Related Golf Psychology Articles
- How to Play Winning Golf Under Pressure
- Golf Mind Hacks: Stop Focusing on Winning
- Golf Psychology Tips to Close Out Rounds
- Subscribe to The Golf Psychology Podcast on iTunes
- Subscribe to The Golf Psychology Podcast on Spotify
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