# Positive Attitude Really Helps



## CraigC (Sep 25, 2011)

One very important tip, especially for beginners, that I have not seen adequately addressed here concerns one's mental attitude toward golf. For many of us, again especially for beginners, the golf that we see is on TV or a playing partner that is trying to help us learn the game. These golfers are better than we are!!! Do not try to think that you should be hitting the ball the same way, or get the results, that they do. 

The key to a positve attitude is to play against yourself. Do not compare yourself to other people. Do not play against par. Set reasonable targets for yourself. Maybe in the beginning that is triple-bogey or double-bogey. On a par 72 course, that would be 126 or 108 for an 18 hole round. When you are hitting that, lower the target by half a stroke a hole. Keep lowering the target as you improve. Everyone has bad holes, but if your target is double-bogey, feel good about that 7 on the par 5. Don't beat yourself up that you didn't get a "par".

Another concept that assists in developing a positive attitude is to play with a "handicap". A handicap is essentially a number that identifies generally how you have played in the past. The intricacies of a handicap are too involved for this post, but essentially a handicap of 30, may mean that you get 30 strokes off your score to get your "net score". 30 off of a round that you just shot of 102 would give you a "net score" of 72, which at many courses is "par". Having a handicap and comparing how you have played to a "net score", gives you immediate feedback as to how well you just played compared to how you have played in the past.

You do not have to be a member of a "club" to get a handicap. There are many websites on the internet that will provide one for you for free. Others may charge a token, small fee but give you many reports on your play that will help you improve your game. Check them out. And, if you are playing golf without an established handicap, get one. You'll feel a lot better about your golf game when you start looking at your net scores.


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