Commit

Commitment is one of the most important mental aspects of the game of golf.  A lot of people go through their routine, routinely.  Your routine is good for keeping calm under pressure and being consistent.  If you're not completely one hundred percent committed to your shot before you hit it, then you might as well not have done your whole routine.  When I say commitment, I mean believing in yourself.  Unless you have a caddy, you are the only person who is judging what to do on each shot.  If you don't truly believe your judgement is good, you won't trust yourself.  You simply have to believe that what you are doing is the right thing, no matter what.  Don't think you're the only one either, because pros still have commitment problems, too.  If you can learn to trust your judgement and commit to each and every shot in your round, you will notice you stop leaving those 5-foot birdie putts short or you won't chunk or flub any of those intricate chips.  You simply have to follow through with your mental plan for each shot.  When you are committing to each shot in your round, you should be following through with your line that YOU picked.  Trust yourself, you have most likely been playing golf for a long time and probably hit that shot a few times anyway.  It's not that hard.  Commitment leads to acceleration through the ball and more consistent shots or putts on your line.  Just believe in yourself.  After all, golf is just a game anyway.

Bonus picture of my almost hole in one:
(check the divot)

   @ Briery Country Club in Keysville, Virginia, USA
       

Trust

When playing golf, it is very important to trust yourself.  In order to hit great shots consistently, you must have faith in your own calculations and swing.  You take all the time through your routine to figure out how to hit your shot so you might as well at least trust your own calculations.  This trust may be the little extra you needed to finish your swing and get through the ball, or to simply be able to withstand pressure in a tournament.  Either way, you need to trust yourself.  Have faith in what you are doing.  One of my particulars in my routine forces me to trust myself.  After I pick my line from behind the ball, I step up to it and line my club and my body up to that point (which is usually only about 6 inches in front of the ball).  I try to not even look up at my target, but simply focus on that one point close to the ball.  I put all my trust into that line I picked and then proceed to hit the ball.  I found that if I don't look up at my target, I forget what I'm trying to do and I simply focus on hitting the ball solid and over that line.  When I do this, my trust is completely in my own line and I have no doubts because technically I don't know where I'm even hitting it.  So I suggest you find some trust in your routine, because it really helps and it will also make the confidence in your own personal golf game increase.

Putting

If there is one thing golfer's really want to know how to do well, it's putting.  Most golfers would say that putting is probably the hardest part of golf, but it is also the most mentally challenging.  This is because of the great amount of concentration needed to be a great putter.  The best advice about putting that I can give to you right now is to trust yourself.  I feel that trust is the key to putting and most of your other shots around the course.  If you can completely trust yourself on every putt in a round, you will find that number of putts is decreasing. 

Routine also comes into play with putting just as much as with every other shot on the golf course.  If you don't have a putting routine that's set in stone, I strongly suggest you find one.  Keeping your routine lets your mind focus on the task at hand.  It also makes each putt simply feel like muscle memory, like you have done it a thousand times.  When I am putting well, I am completely trusting and believing in every putt I stand over.  Once I finish my routine and I'm getting ready to begin my putting stroke, I try to completely trust and believe in the line I have chosen in my routine.  Then, it's just a matter of visualization (like I talked about in the last post) and letting myself make that putting stroke.  You simply have to KNOW that you are going to make that putt on that line that you have chosen.  If you start believing in yourself on the green, you will soon notice strokes falling off of your score.

Routine and Visualization

Today, I want to talk about one of the most important aspects to the mental side of golf, visualization.  If you have ever heard anyone tell you that you need to "see the shot" before you hit it, they are exactly right.  Yesterday I had to work and then go to class, so I only had about 45 minutes to spare at the golf course.  By the time I got out to the course, it was almost completely empty.  This is probably one of my favorite times to play, because I can really focus on what I want to do.  I only hit balls on three holes, but in this case it was quality over quantity.  I spent massive amounts of time on each hole, hitting four or five balls from each tee.  I can only stress the value of routine so much, but you all should know that having a routine and executing it on every shot is extremely important.  Your routine is what keeps you focused and consistent.  But what I really suggest you add to your routine is a short visualization of your shot.  In my routine, I added it just before I swing when I'm done setting up to the ball.  It almost forces me into "the zone" because I have to concentrate so hard in order to visualize my shot.  I try to actually see myself hitting the shot I want to hit.  I try to not visualize the perfect shot, but more along the lines of a preferred location for my shot to end up.  I like to get to the point that, in my mind, I can see myself physically swinging the club and hitting the ball.  Then I try to see the ball going through the air and landing where I want in the fairway or on the green.  My logic behind this is simple.  Visualizing your shot before you hit it makes it feel like you have already hit the shot.  If you can convince yourself that you have already hit the shot, your confidence will skyrocket.  After that, the rest is simple.  I simply let myself swing the club (again) and hit the shot I feel like I've already hit.  I feel that visualization adds a feeling of simplicity to any shot on the course.

I can't stress routine anymore than most of you have probably already heard, but......routine, routine, routine.  Your personal routine sets you apart from everyone else.  It is the best way I know to get back in "the zone" after walking to your ball from your last shot.  I strongly recommend putting a visualization step into your routine as soon as possible.  It will help you in the long run as it has helped me.  The best thing about visualization is only you can see it.  This personality is what can set you apart from other golfers and let you come out on top in even the most pressured situations.