In Golf Straight is Great

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How many times have you played golf with someone who is in the process of taming their slice, or reigning in their draw which has become a little too exaggerated?  I, like seventy percent of golfers, have a pretty natural and instinctive slice and so my golfing mantra is often "know thy slice".

 

I played the other day with a very nice gentleman who has a single digit handicap and a very smooth rhythm to his game.  He was working on reducing the amount of draw he was currently applying in his long game.  I was working on keeping my clubface and swing plane square and trusting my set up enough to aim my drives straight down the middle instead of down the left edge so as to leave room for that pesky slice.  As you can imagine we frequently found ourselves on opposite sides of the fairway!

 

A good friend who is a professional golfer frequently comments that the most difficult shot to create is one which is absolutely straight, as opposed to shaping that ball flight into a fade or draw.  Nevertheless a straight shot is something that many golfers crave.  Straight really is great.

 

When you are out there on the course playing in a tournament you have to play with the game that you have got; that's not the time to work on changing your shots.  The key at this time lies in knowing your own game and playing within it.  And so the slicer aims the ball to the left and the hooker sends the ball to the right (unless of course you are a leftie). This works admirably well, so long as you don't overcompensate.  In golf just a very slight change in club head positioning at impact can make a very big difference in where the ball ends up.

 

Whether you are working to change your game or working to play within your game there is one common vital element which has to be applied; you have to trust yourself and commit to your shot.  Without trust or commitment no golf ball will go where you wish it to go.  It just will not happen. 

 

You have to trust that you have aligned correctly, trust that you have chosen a good shot and then commit one hundred percent to that course of action.  This applies whether you have decided to play within your slice, fade, hook or draw or if you have decided to correct your natural shape and hit the ball straight.  No matter what shot you have chosen, trust and commitment have to be applied or you are not giving that shot a chance.  

 

Visualization helps a golfer to build a positive expectation of the shot which he or she has chosen. To imagine the ball flying in accordance with your chosen shape, direction and trajectory and to see that ball landing where you wish in your mind's eye empowers you with positive emotions which in turn make that shot a whole lot easier to create.  Imagination paves the way for reality.

 

To play golf well takes a strong and powerful mindset and also a good imagination.  We all have the mental abilities which good golf demands; all we have to do is to choose to apply our minds correctly to this wonderful game.

 

Roseanna Leaton, avid golfer and specialist in golf hypnosis mp3s and author of the GolferWithin golf mind training system.

 

P.S.  Discover how to strengthen your golf focus, keep your ball in the fairway and win more of your golfing tournaments.  Check out my website now.