If you struggle taking a good range warm-up to the golf course, you aren’t alone. Pros deal with the same type of phenomena.
It was one of the topics sports psychologist Julie Elion discussed on the latest episode of GOLF’s Subpar podcast, where she also talked about her work with pro golfers (including U.S. Open champ Wyndham Clark) and amateurs, as well as her new book, “Mastering Your Mental Game,” which will be available next week.
Striping the ball on the range only to completely lose that feel on the golf course is a common problem for golfers. Elion says, for recreational players, the key is to dig deep, try to figure out their best competitive state and choose goals (which she also discussed on the podcast). She said it’s important to “realize you are who you are and be present with it.”
“If you can keep repeating something about how you want to feel and go with that, I think that’s going to serve you better than getting angry at that first drive hooked,” she said. “I have a lot of people over the years who have first-tee jitters, from pros to myself, so I try to help prepare mentally knowing you might feel that. Then, how are you going to respond to that? So you are already prepared that those feelings are coming out. OK, so how are you going to deal with them?”
To further explain her point, Elion said she works with one pro who battled first-tee jitters, even in things such as pro-ams. Her recent homework to him was simple: start your pro-am by hitting a bad shot on purpose.
“Intentionally hit it in the water and then deal with the feelings,” she said. “And then that first tee on Thursday, he was already prepared for the worst that could happen, which was to put it in the water. And he was ready, and it worked.”
For more from Elion and to learn how a strong mental game can help you, listen here or watch below.
