Self Talk

What do you say when you talk about your own golf game to others? I ask this question from two comments I heard this evening while practicing on the putting green of a local course.

The first comment came from a young kid in his twenties who was also on the putting green. A buddy of his approached and started a conversation. I didn’t catch much but I did hear the kid say, “Yea, I really stink at putting.”

The second comment came from the tee box which is only 30 yards away. A guy was talking to another member in the group and said, “You obviously haven’t seen how bad I am at golf.”

So what does Self Talk have to do with your golf game? It’s only words, right?

Self talk has everything to do with golf. As long as you think your putting stinks, it will stink. As long as you think you are terrible at golf, you will be terrible at golf. We can never play beyond the deep rooted beliefs that we carry inside. You can never break 80 until you believe you can break 80. How do I know this? I’ve been through it.

Words are like windows that allow us to look directly inside another person. I could immediately tell what kind of golfers these 2 individuals are and all I heard them say was one sentence each.

I’ll ask you again. “What do you say when you talk about your game?”

Maybe your putting isn’t the best right now. Next time someone asks, tell them, “My putting isn’t where I want it to be but I’m working hard and making progress.” It’s truthful and positive at the same time. Words and thoughts go hand in hand. Let’s consciously go to work on both.

Remember our talk a few days ago about things getting created in our minds first before they manifest in reality? If your brain focuses on what a terrible player you are, that is what becomes reality. The opposite is a golfer who believes they can play better golf. As their belief grows internally, the scores improve externally. Two years ago I started working on my belief system that I could shoot under par on a consistent basis. Now I haven’t pulled it off every time but I’ve shot more sub par rounds in the last two years than I did in the 15 years prior. It all starts in the head.

Check back tomorrow and I’ll share a true story about just how powerful the mind can be in your game. You’ll be amazed!

See you then,

Mike Snyder