Focus on Your Process, Not the Outcome
Has your level of play plateaued? Are you searching for a way to break out and achieve the next level of performance?
You put a lot of time and effort into your game. When you put in the time, you expect some return for your effort.
Why do some golfers have difficulty achieving breakout performances?
This is the area of concern by a golfer who responded to our Golf Mental Game Survey:
“I work hard in practice, but I feel stuck. My score never gets better. How can I break through my current level of play and reach my potential as a golfer?”
It is frustrating when you know you have the ability. You put in the work and you continue to shoot the same score. You spend hour after hour trying to nail down a near-perfect swing. Even the extra attention to technique doesn’t seem to make a difference. You wonder, “Is there anything I can do that will get me to the next level?”
It is frustrating to put in so much work and not see the results. You feel stuck and you lose confidence in your ability to break out.
Breaking through to a new level is a three-step process:
- Hard work – Your progress will be stalled without sufficient mental and physical work.
- Patience – Nothing happens overnight. You need patience to continue putting in the effort and understand that your work will eventually pay off.
- Mental game – You should focus on the process not the outcome. The process will lead you to where you want to go.
Break-out performances can be difficult and frustrating for Tour professionals as well.
Tyrrell Hatton had a breakout performance winning the 2020 BMW PGA Championship by 4-strokes. The victory helped Hatton break into the Top-10 for the first time since turning Pro in 2011.
HATTON: “[Winning this tournament] was a career goal for me to break inside the Top-10 in the World Rankings. So to win here and achieve that in the same week is very special, and of course I’m looking forward to the Masters. I’ll take confidence from this win into the remainder of the season.”
Hatton has learned a lot throughout the years that led to his breakout performance at the 2020 BMW Championships.
HATTON: “Well, I think in previous years, I just got in my own way… [It’s been] a real learning curve for me that I just have to stay patient; a lot can happen in 18 holes, and I feel like that lesson kind of served me pretty well from that point to win.”
Hatton’s success was directly related to the 3 aspects of breakout play: effort, patience and positive focus.
The path to breakout play requires that you immerse yourself in the process. Committing to the process will take your golf game to the next level.
How to Achieve Breakout Play:
Stay focused on the process. Focusing on outcomes will leave you stuck and frustrated. Avoid comparing yourself to other golfers at your level. Try to improve your game one day at a time, one percent at a time.
Keep putting in the work… Stay patient… And focus on the mental and physical aspects of your game that will contribute to your eventual success.
Need help with the mental game? Please contact us for details about our one-on-one mental game coaching.
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