Confidence, Golf and Being in The Zone

Sports Psychologists will tell you that a confident golfer is much more likely to succeed than one who lacks it. If you think positively, you'll get positive results in your golf. But what exactly is confidence and how do you attain it? When does confidence turn into complacency? Can you fake it or fool yourself into being confident?

Confidence is about knowing you have the skills to achieve the task in hand without being unreasonable about your objective. Being realistic about your objective doesn't necessarily mean you're being negative.

For example, with the thought, 'I've never hit the ball beyond 300 yards, so it isn't going to happen now'. It means knowing your capabilities and not asking the impossible, because you'll only be disappointed. Setting impossible goals and failing to meet them isn't going to build confidence. Of course, this doesn't mean you can't work on improving your drive, but do it intelligently by getting the right help and advice.

Complacency is when you assume you have the golfing skills - and also assume that's all that it takes to succeed.

Your confidence will grow as you learn how to make the ball go nearer to where you want it to go more often. Being in The Zone and being conscious of exactly what you're doing with your body will allow you to take more control of the myriad of variables involved in making a successful shot. Anything that remains outside of your awareness is an 'unknown' and therefore beyond your control. Too many 'unknowns' leave too much to chance and erratic performance, and that doesn't make for a confident golfer.

You can invariably tell when a player is confident simply by observing their body language before they even play the shot. They stand tall with relaxed shoulders and they are the picture of poise with a free flowing, easy manner. Reverse all that and you'll see an anxious individual. A confident player has faith in their skill and ability to apply it, and hence will have no anxious thoughts seeping into their muscles.

If you're feeling confident, your posture exudes your mood and you'll look and feel good. If you look and feel good it can help to feed your confidence. It's a self-perpetuating process. But what if you're not feeling on top of your game? Can you kick-start a much needed confidence boost? I believe you can.

Let yourself stand tall and feel the ground beneath your feet and the strength in your spine. By altering your stance you'll change what you're feeling. The sensation of a strong, supple and poised body not only helps to make us feel better, it also promotes free movement that will help with your golfing technique.