Anxiety can be an all-consuming event. Imagine yourself on the first tee, mentally going through your routine, checking your stance, gripping the club for the first drive that day, going through all your mental checkpoints and suddenly you begin to feel anxious and nervous. You visualize your first drive carrying the ball into the woods, or just entirely out-of-bounds.
Before you know it, you are concentrating on your anxiety and stress and no longer focus on your approach to the ball or any of your other pre-swing routine steps. What you are feeling is normal. Baseball players, football players, basketball players and all sports enthusiasts experience stress and anxiety.
Suggestions to help you move past this emotional feeling:
- You can take the Buddhist approach by using meditation, calming views of clouds passing by, relaxed breathing for a calming effect.
- Begin preparing for this bout of anxiety before you even get to the golf course. Practice focus and concentration.
- Practice calming breathing techniques. Slowly inhaling and slowly exhaling.
- Grip your club and squeeze and release several times to release the tension in your hands and arms.
- Relax, shake all the stress from your shoulders and continue breathing.
- Feel confident, relaxed, in control and take that swing. Follow-through just as you mentally practiced, relaxed, in control and confident.
Other techniques to consider:
- Be prepared for your day of golf.
- Check your golf bag to ensure you have tees; your clubs are clean, you have bottled water or whatever you drink to refresh yourself on the course.
- Ensure you are organized before stepping on the course.
- Don’t add additional stress related problems to your possible anxiety attack.
- Be yourself and relax
- Visualize success before you step up to tee off
- Take control and suppress your emotions. Everyone knows golf has its good and bad days. Concentrate on the good and suppress the bad.
- Trust yourself and your ability to perform, relax into your environment.
- Turn on your autopilot, you are in control, and you feel the stress and anxiety leave.
- Continue with your positive thoughts and follow-through.
You have control, just breathe slowly and take charge as you probably play better than you think and with practice, you will improve and feel better about the results.