01/07/2026
Playing well in practice can sometimes make you score worse. Sounds backwards, doesnāt it? š¬š
When youāre flushing it on the range, itās easy to arrive on the first tee expecting that every shot should be good, but golf doesnāt work like that.
The best players in the world still hit poor shots. The difference is they expect to have to recover at some point. They donāt see a wayward drive as evidence that something has gone wrong. They see it as part of the game.
If one bad shot or one bad hole completely changes your mood, youāre inevitably going to add more shots because of your reaction more so than because of the original mistake.
The second thing to question is thisā¦
Is your biggest goal today a score?
If your mind is constantly calculating what you need to shoot, itās incredibly difficult to give the current shot your full attention.
Itās like trying to do an important / complex piece of work while thinking about the meeting youāve got later. Your attention is split, and the quality of what youāre doing usually suffers.
So yes, be excited that your ball striking is in a good placeā¦ but donāt expect perfection.
Expect that at some point youāll have to recover šŖ
And instead of chasing a number, chase things you can actually control that will help you play well:
ā¢ Make smart decisions.
ā¢ Commit to every shot.
ā¢ Stick to your pre-shot routine.
ā¢ Speak to yourself like someone you want to play golf with.
Ironically, when you stop trying to force the score, you often give yourself the best chance of shooting one š§ ā³ļø
