Obstructions to a Zone Mindset

Off-course Concerns

?It’s not only what happens on the golf course that affects your game, but what you bring with you that influences your focus and performance.? Sometimes, life concerns are so important that they overwhelm our ability to focus and play the way we would like.? Let me tell you a few stories.

?Terry is a long-time friend.? We played hundreds of rounds together.? Unfortunately, he started experiencing problems in his marriage.? It affected him greatly and he couldn’t keep his mind off his problems when playing golf.? It got so bad that one day, he literally talked right up until the time he swung the club.? Feeling for him, I calmed him down and said we could talk after the round.? This seemed to help as his focus improved and so did his performance, not that it wasn’t a struggle at times.?

?Any problems we experience in life can overwhelm our ability to focus while playing golf.? The only way to mitigate life’s challenges from affecting our performance is awareness, intention, and the right tools.? Just like with other obstructions to a Zone Mindset, we must control our thoughts, emotions, and reactions.

?Dave had the opposite problem.? He just received a huge promotion and raise at work.? His excitement carried on to the golf course.? He couldn’t stop talking about his good fortune.? It not only affected his focus and performance, but that of his playing partners as well.? As excited for him as they were, they were also miffed because they were not playing as well as they liked.? They had to quell his excitement.? While it helped their games it had no effect on Dave’s game.? He couldn’t stop thinking about what he would do with the extra money.

?The final story relates an experience I had when invited to play in a four-ball charity event.? I knew two of the players, but just met Donald for the first time.? Donald is a realtor whose phone was constantly ringing from client’s calls about their deals.? Donald took every call, sometimes they were long conversations and moved away from the rest of us so as not to affect our game.? Donald prided himself in his competitiveness and so was annoyed with himself for not playing as well as he knew how.? He never made the connection between his constant phone interactions, his focus over the ball and his performance.

?These are just some of the stories that I have had privy to over the years that demonstrate how off-course concerns affect focus and performance.? I’m sure you could think of many others.? If you want to play your best golf, you must divorce yourself from your personal life when stepping on the hallowed ground of the golf course.

?Knowing the steps to creating a Zone Mindset and how to use the Accessing the Zone Routine to clear your mind, calm your nerves, and relax and energize your body in those moments when you find it difficult to focus will help you play your best golf more often.?

?Please contact me here or at [email protected] to ask questions, make comments or learn more about any of the techniques offered to help you play the best golf of your life.