Why good shot planning is key in Mental Golf

Good on course shot planning is an essential part of my Mental Method for improved performance under pressure.

It´s pretty logical if you consider that 99 % of the time we play medal (stroke) play, and every single shot we hit gets added up. Furthermore, most golf courses are filled with obstacles and it only takes a couple of planning errors to ruin a round.

One of Jack Nicklaus´ strongest attributes was that he always planned rigorously and conservatively on the course. Coming down the stretch he would only go for difficult pins when he needed birdie to win. He was so good at "golf course management" that Gary Player once stated that Jack: "had the greatest mind the game has ever known".

I found an interesting article, recently, where Jack is quoted, and is a worthwhile read on this key subject of on course management.

I teach that conservative and rigorous golf shot planning is key for two reasons:

1. The first is that if we plan our shots with care we will, for sure, shoot lower scores. Period.

2, The second reason for good planning has to do with controlling our mind.

If we plan badly and the consequence is an out of bounds, the water, or an unplayable in the trees, we are going to get angry, or frustrated, at the prospect of losing valuable strokes.

When this happens we immediately switch over to thinking with our conscious mind. And as we have discussed many times, the conscious mind is bad at golf, and does not allow us to be properly synchronized in body and mind for good shot making.

If, on the other hand, we are able to plan well, we are able to "feel" in control and the process of "staying" in the Present Moment of our unconscious mind is more easily achieved.