Working on my Handicap – My Mindset!!

I enjoyed sports in my younger years.  It provided an outlet, a space just for me – a place of respite doing something I enjoyed whilst enhancing my physical and mental wellbeing.  I played team sports including indoor and outdoor netball, basketball, softball, touch rugby, and rugby league.  I enjoyed the camaraderie, competitiveness and growth opportunities of playing in teams.

Now that I’m … umm .. in my older years, I’ve moved from team sports to Golf.  Golf really challenges me … it’s definitely a Mind game.  When people ask me what my golf handicap is, my usual response is “my Mind”.  I was fortunate to have a coach who helped me to overcome the mental frustrations of shanking, slicing or air shots .. shame!.  He taught me the physical and mental skills and techniques needed to align all the necessary components to achieve an effective golf swing.  He also taught me ‘course management’ so I could understand the external environment and how it would affect my game – course conditions, contours, the weather, my equipment, and even my opponents.

Now that I understand the internal mental process and external environment and influences, I can confidently embrace the challenges inherent in a game of golf.  I don’t always get it right, but I can identify where I went wrong, and it’s usually because I’ve strayed from my normal pre-shot routine.  It’s the most important and consistent part of my game.

My challenge now is to re-introduce a pre-shot routine of sorts into my day and apply the same focus and consistency to my daily success habits .. meditation, journaling, mindfulness & gratitude.

My intention … to improve my handicap .. my “Mindset”