What gives you the most amount of confidence as a golfer?
Self-confidence is the most critical mental skill for any athlete. However, many golfers believe confidence is something either you have, or you don’t. They watch elite golfers play “lights out” and assume these golfers are just naturally confident.
When you see confidence as a personality trait or in-born characteristic some athletes have, you may assume that your low confidence is just a part of who you are, “I was just born with low confidence.”
You will then use poor showing as evidence that reinforces your belief. You will enter tournaments and feel your only chance of finishing at the top is if you are lucky.
The truth is that confidence is built. It requires action on your part. Confidence requires you to take an active role in building.
Think of confidence in terms of building a brick house. Each row of bricks involves work. Every time you lay a row of bricks, you build the house higher.
Confidence is built similarly. Each step you take to develop your confidence pays dividends.
There are many strategies you can utilize to develop confidence in your game.
* You can build confidence in your putting game by visualizing yourself reading the greens correctly, standing confidently over the ball, and sinking challenging putts.
* You can grow your confidence by preparing and practicing at a high level so you have trust in your swing and your ability to make shots.
* You can build confidence by reminding yourself of your strengths and reliving past rounds where you managed pressure, overcame adversity, or played at your peak.
* You can build confidence by maintaining a positive inner dialogue even in challenging situations such as bad weather or playing from behind.
No matter how you choose to build your confidence, you need to commit to the process daily.
After leading her team to a comeback at the 2023 Solheim Cup, LPGA golfer Carlota Ciganda commented on how she has built her confidence, including her use of visualization and its effect on her game.
CIGANDA: “I do try to go and visualize all the good rounds I had this year, what I was thinking, feeling… So I think it is just, yeah, believing in myself and believing how good I am. You have to see some good shots and some good results. I know I am capable of going low in any course.”
When you have confidence in your ability and see yourself playing at your peak, you become more confident that you can replicate those results.
It’s important to keep in mind that peak performance requires peak confidence.
Confidence requires action. If you dedicate yourself to building confidence each day, you will build stable confidence. Stable confidence doesn’t fluctuate from shot to shot, depending upon the result.
Stable confidence is a skill you can rely on. When you build steady confidence, you will still believe in your skills and ability to recover, even after you hit a bad shot or make a mistake.
Be sure to take control of your confidence before rounds instead of being a back seat driver with your confidence.
Related Golf Psychology Articles
- Focus on What You Can Control as a Golfer
- How to Control Your Temper in a Golf Round
- How to Control Your “Nerves” in Golf
- Subscribe to The Golf Psychology Podcast on iTunes
- Subscribe to The Golf Psychology Podcast on Spotify
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