Being more consistent is a goal shared by all golfers. The first step to consistently playing at your best is to learn to feel confident. If your swing is a by-product of how you feel, then cultivating that feeling is crucial.
What do you mean by consistency?
The best players in the world understand that golf is a game of “misses”. Obviously, the standards vary greatly depending on one’s skill level, but realizing that perfect shots are out of your control lets you set realistic goals.
The caliber of your mishits determines your score. Put an end to your quest for perfection!
Golf is the only sport where a player’s confidence tends to decrease the more they play, in contrast to the majority of sports. How long have you been a player? In comparison to two years ago, do you now have more confidence?
Realizing that the game is unfair by nature and that the odds are stacked against you is the first step in developing confidence. Golf is played on a variety of surfaces in ever-changing weather. Compared to one tennis racket, the player must use fourteen clubs of varying lengths and lofts while attempting to sort through the many (often contrasting) swing theories regarding how to swing a club properly.
The unpredictable nature of cause and effect is arguably the game’s most frustrating feature. There are no guarantees, regardless of how many lessons you take or how much you practice. The chances of success are higher when you stop berating yourself, but how you played the day before, the hole before, or even five minutes ago has no direct bearing on the upcoming shot!
For the first two or three years, most golfers take lessons and notice a steady improvement. They keep getting more and more assured. An enthusiastic student may now receive a golf instruction book and/or video from a well-intentioned friend. The learning curve now steeply declines, and the confidence of the aspiring student frequently falls.
It takes confidence to think you can carry two hundred yards over water, assuming you have the necessary technical skill. How often have you missed two consecutive shots before launching the next drive into the middle?
Forget about what other golfers will think of you or how you look. Coquetry is a positive trait in golf. Why wait for the next flawless shot to feel confident when you have the choice? Pick a club, choose a target, and just hit the ball, dammit!