# Controlling Your temper and sticking to your gameplan!



## -Acero- (May 7, 2006)

This is a huge problem for me and keeps me from scoring the best i possibly can as soon as i make a few mistakes im always thinking about how i have damaged my score and get really frustrated.

For Example
Yesterday i was playing and one of the guys who i was playing with was getting all of the luck in the world he was hitting it 20 yards wide of the fairway hitting trees and coming back in to the centre ... missing bunkers by 5 inches and so on every piece of luck you can think of he had it and i was arguably playing better than him and getting no luck it was really really frustrating he broke my low score.

and when i'm playing rounds where i believe i cant beat my low score i seem too lose my intrest and competitivness.

Advise me People


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## Thumperfive (Apr 17, 2006)

take a deep breath and remember that luck works both ways - soon you'll be the one catching the lucky bounces and making that guy CRY with envy at your shots!


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## -Acero- (May 7, 2006)

I think it's more the fact that i know i can do better and i get pissed of with myself


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## CanCaddy (Apr 25, 2006)

-Acero- said:


> I think it's more the fact that i know i can do better and i get pissed of with myself


You could try reminding yourself that every time in the past that you've talked yourself into acting this way (pissed off), it has worked out badly for you in terms of your game. That might be enough to stop you from continuing to behave that way.

If that doesn't work, try to take a minute and visualize a time when you had a great shot and your luck was hot. Remember how that felt and then get back into your game right away.

I think we're our own worst enemies when we start analyzing ourselves


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## Matthew_22 (Apr 11, 2006)

I have always had a problem with putting too much pressure on myself, but until you learn to control it you will probably end up not improving at all.

I would recommend just trying to take some deep breaths and calm yourself down. If you hit a bad shot, just focus on how to hit the next one well.

If you find you have a few very bad holes that ruin your total score, maybe you should try and instead of adding up the total score, add up the amount of holes that you were happy with. This will also help you see where your inconsistencies are.

And if nothing seems to work, take a break for a couple of weeks. You will probably find that when you come back after the break you will probably have a clearer mind and will focus more on playing the game than the score.


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## fitz-uk (Apr 28, 2006)

Keep focused on the shot at hand. The only thing you should be thinking about is the shot you are about to play. Once you have hit the ball, clear that shot from your mind.

You need to realise that if you keep getting angry there will come a point when you wont bother to play anymore, learn to let the bad shots go - we all hit them from time to time. 

Try not to think about the other persons score, golf is all about your game, the people you are playing with can only beat you by playing well. If you are not concentrating on your game you can lose to them. Make them beat you if they can, but dont lose the game (if you see what i mean)


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## -Acero- (May 7, 2006)

CanCaddy said:


> I think we're our own worst enemies when we start analyzing ourselves


You couldn't be more correct


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## Thumperfive (Apr 17, 2006)

so true... you can end up almost paralysed with fear because you have so much going on in your head that you can't swing the club!


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## shivas irons (May 7, 2006)

My take on this is a little more involved. Yet it seems to me you are experiencing somewhat of a mini- crisis in the game we all experience so perhaps you'll be responsive to a more detailed post...

To play anger free golf begins with an overall mindset adjustment _*prior*_ to playing. Attempting to calm ourselves down once we're already angry is close to futile. Sure we can slow our breathing and do various short term, damage control exercises to expel the anger but come on. Does this really change your state for the better and improve your game? Unlikely. 

The key is to do mental preparation before you play. Actually visualize poor shots that you are apt to hit and bad breaks you might get ('cuz you will get them, that's golf) and see and feel yourself as being completely relaxed and centered. Looking at the result of the shot as an opportunity to blow your partner away with your recovery ability!

I'm very serious about this. I have been playing golf seriously for over 5 years and with no lessons and using only inner mind techniques I'm a 3 handicap and I've stopped throwing clubs!

To suggest that this post is all you need to expel anger forever would be naaive on my part. Yet the answer definitely lies in previewing your round _*before you play*_ and allowing your unconscious a new way to anticipate bad shots and bounces. I assure you, if you take the time to do this as a habit your playing partners will see how you play and your state of mind and how calm you are. This will rattle them! 

Have you ever noticed that when you're playing against someone who's angry you just know you're going to beat them because not only are you shooting better than them and beating them in score, they are beating themselves too with anger! So it's actually twice as easy to win!

Hope this is useful...

Wade Pearse
Developer of *Imagineering - Mastering Golf's Inner Game*


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## geline (Apr 23, 2006)

Hey, Wade/Shivas Irons, that was a great article that all of us can learn in this forum. Definitely, when one is angry, he/she can never think well. He/She is so emotionally wrapped up that hinders him/her to make the best move. So if you want to do your best, do control your emotions, you have to be grounded from anything that distracts you. Perhaps concentration also helps a lot.


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## white_tiger_137 (Mar 23, 2006)

> If that doesn't work, try to take a minute and visualize a time when you had a great shot and your luck was hot. Remember how that felt and then get back into your game right away.


Nothing wrong with visualizing a great shot, but you can't force a hot streak. They come naturally when you're not analyzing your game and there aren't that many consious thoughts going through your head.

Very interesting take on this, shivas. Seeing yourself as keeping your cool even after a bad shot is a pretty good idea. Just don't visualize yourself hitting a bad shot in TOO realistic of a situation. Ex. If you tend to hit slices, don't visualize yourself hitting horrendous wormburners out the right rough. After all, the body tends to do what the mind is thinking.


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## Prea (May 11, 2006)

When I get mad at my game I usually start to swing harder and therefore making my shots worse and worse, so I just try to calm down, take a deep breath, and swing nice and easy.


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## Thumperfive (Apr 17, 2006)

just don't let it get toyou -mindyou, it's worse when yo've got buddies out there mocking you - take the driver to them, I feel like it at times!


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