Mental Golf Lesson - Turn Up the Pressure

Turn up the Pressure

So we have shown you how to reduce the pressure on your game and approach, but sometimes when learning golf instruction or even out on the course you may be in a position where you want to add pressure to yourself or maybe your opponent.

Here’s what you can do for both scenarios:

1. Pressurise yourself to make par at worst.

If you are in a good position after your tee shot on a par four or after your second shot on a par 5 then pressurise yourself by saying to yourself “I am going for a Birdie” or better still ” I am going to Birdie this hole” this thought process automatically puts you into attacking mode and you have commited to go not just for the green but for the pin. This will end up in you having more birdie balls to go for.

This will lead you into commiting to a shot and more than likely you will find the green and have a birdie putt and at worse a chip and putt for par.

2. Pressurise your playing partner

This is both a good technique to pressure a player and also to play a little gamesmanship.

Some time ago a leading player, We’ll call him “Bobby” was renowned for deliberately playing his drive or second shot short of his opponents so that he could play first to the pin.

This tactic often led to his opponents making mistakes or playing shots which still then left them with the next shot and an extraordinary amount of pressure.

This is a fantastic tactic if you have a relatively good approach game.

Another way of pressuring your opponent is by excelling at one part of the short game, either chipping or putting. Any player who excels in one of these will naturally put pressure on his opponent.

Good luck with these

All the best

Richard