Mastering Your Nerves on the Putting Green
As we all know, once we reach the putting green, the stakes can be high and nerves can be a golfers worst enemy. Below are a couple of tips to help you keep calm and composed, which in turn will immensely help your game.- Don’t forget to take a breath! Nothing helps clear your mind and relax your muscles then a long deep breath. If you’re on the putting green and can feel yourself getting nervous and jittery, take a moment. Step back, close your eyes briefly, and take a long breath in, hold it a moment, and release. Repeat this until you begin to feel your body relax and your mind clear. You’ll notice that the grip on your putter will feel more light and natural and your focus will be clear.
- Focus. It is vital to clear your mind, centre it, and focus on reading the line in front of you. It’s not about what might be on the line if you make or miss the putt. Focus on the dynamics of what will make the putt work. Success is understanding the details of the putt. How much is it going to break left or right, how up or downhill it might be, the grain of the grass and so on. By really immersing yourself in the task at hand and the studying the green in front of you, you can actually forget the pressure and instead utilise the nervous energy toward something that will benefit you.
- Although the following tip may sound like the opposite of the above tip, it can be beneficial too. Relax and let you mind wonder. Find a spare moment and let your mind think about something other than golf. It can be what you’re going to have for dinner, the stock market, or whether you should finally take the plunge and buy that new Tesla. It really doesn’t matter what, as long as it has nothing to do with golf. This short mental break from the situation you’re in will help relax you and relieve some of the pressure that’s been building within you.
Maintaining the correct light grip pressure on your putter is a technique that can be practiced and perfected. However it is dependent on how well you can control your nerves and emotions. The tips above will help you to keep your mind and thoughts in a healthy place, and ensure that your putter grip doesn’t get too tight when the pressure kicks in.
Now that you’ve got the tools to master the monkey mind, get onto that practice green and master your stroke. Good luck!
If you have any of your own tips for focusing on the turf, let us know below.
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- Gently rest the putter head on the putting green directly behind the golf ball.