Instruction
Build long-lasting confidence for every round
Photo Credit: Keith Allison
We’ve all experienced that feeling — you’re playing well and in contention for a win or your best score and out of nowhere, a wild shot appears which awakens self-doubt and then snowballs into a complete loss of confidence. Instead of seeing the target, you begin to only see the trouble and play not to make mistakes. Your hands start to shake and your legs go weak. Your previously clear mind starts racing and focusing becomes difficult, leading to poor decision making and confusion. You lose confidence in your swing and feel like the ball could go anywhere.
When this happens, the results on the course can become disastrous. Just take a look at his quote from someone who knew a little something about the game:
Confidence is the most important single factor in this game,” Jack Nicklaus once said.
So how do we overcome the fear and self-doubt that can rear its ugly head at any time during a round and quickly restore natural balance? As a mental game coach, I get asked this question often. This article will show you how to prevent any loss of confidence and keep your emotions in check.
Choose to be confident
Is confidence solely based on past performance? No, I don’t believe it is. Yes, when we play well we have more positive memories to recall in pressure situations, but what most amateurs don’t understand is that you have complete control over whether to be confident regardless of past performance. If you believe that confidence is based only on past performance, then you’re basically saying that you’re only as good as your last round, which puts an awful lot of pressure on your game. It’s basically saying that unless you’re playing well, you’re not building confidence. Performance-based confidence is called “external confidence” and it’s not the sort of long-lasting confidence which will get you to your full potential.
Enduring confidence is built from the inside out. It’s process based, not results based. It’s called “internal confidence” and it’s all about having faith in what you already have, not how well you hit the last shot or played during your last round. To continually develop internal confidence and bounce back from the knocks that the game of golf brings (to us all), try the techniques below. All have been proven to work by players of all levels, but try each of them and decide what is best for you.
Become totally absorbed in your routine
The pre-shot routine is great for restoring calmness to your game. If you practice a good routine, it should be a meticulous sequence of positive steps. Concentrating on these steps will distract you from any fears and doubts, keep you in the present and thinking positively.
Positive self-talk
You’ll be very surprised at the power of self-talk and how it can affect your mood. Next time you hit a bad shot, think about what your best friend or spouse would say to you instead of beating yourself up over it. Always tell yourself you are a good player, even if you aren’t feeling like it at the time. Remind yourself that we all make mistakes, which if you learn from them (after the round), will take you to the next level in your game.
Develop an attitude of gratitude, not entitlement
I remember Dr. Gio Valiante talking about working on this with Justin Rose ahead of his U.S. Open win last year. What this means that you develop the attitude that golf owes you nothing and you’re not entitled to play every shot well. Instead of getting frustrated by bad shots, immediately think of something you are grateful for to lift your spirits and put the game in perspective.
Recall positive experiences
When you need to turn it around, recall times when you were playing really well and picture the shots you hit. The idea here is that you lift your mood with positive imagery. Fred Couples says that before every shot, he pictures the best shot he ever hit with whatever club he’s holding.
Reframe negative emotions
Nerves and doubt are a great opportunity to improve your mental fortitude and create a positive experience. To begin with, nerves should be welcomed as it’s when you’re nervous that you’ll play your best. Nerves heighten your senses and give you a little extra juice than when you’re cozy in your comfort zone. Next time feelings of doubt and fear arise, consider it an opportunity to prove to yourself that you can roll with the punches and overcome adversity like the best players in the world.
Acceptance
As a part of your pre-shot routine, include a phrase that sets the expectation that “although you have a positive intention for it, even the very best miss the target from time to time, and if you do, you’re a good enough player to recover.” This could also be something like, “Is this possible?” and respond to yourself by saying “Yes, I believe it is.” Even saying this to yourself will make missing the fairway or green easier to deal with. Nothing is certain in golf and that’s why we love it.
Modelling/Notice your posture
Good players have a swagger about them on the course. They project confidence in their demeanor that positively affects their mood. Imagine your favorite tour player and emulate his swagger and confidence as he walks between shots. Notice whether you are looking down at the grass in defeat or holding your gaze up at flag level with a feeling of self-belief.
Play your “go-to” shot
If you’ve practiced correctly, you should know your “go-to” shot that you can comfortably pull off no matter what the situation. For example, it might be a high fade. So when you’re feeling under pressure, go to this shot.
Adjust your risk appetite
When you’re deciding on the shot to play, think about the riskiness of it in terms of a red, amber and green. If you’re not feeling so confident, it might be a “red” shot, in which case you’ll make your target a little more conservative than you would on a “green” when your confidence is high.
I’d love to get your feedback on these techniques, so please leave comments! If Jack Nicklaus is right (and he does know a little about golf) then through building internal confidence, you’ll get closer to your potential with every round.
There may be no more painful affliction in golf than the “yips” – those uncontrollable and maddening little nervous twitches that prevent you from making a decent stroke on short putts. If you’ve never had them, consider yourself very fortunate (or possibly just very young). But I can assure you that when your most treacherous and feared golf shot is not the 195 yard approach over water with a quartering headwind…not the extra tight fairway with water left and sand right…not the soft bunker shot to a downhill pin with water on the other side…No, when your most feared shot is the remaining 2- 4-foot putt after hitting a great approach, recovery or lag putt, it makes the game almost painful.
And I’ve been fighting the yips (again) for a while now. It’s a recurring nightmare that has haunted me most of my adult life. I even had the yips when I was in my 20s, but I’ve beat them into submission off and on most of my adult life. But just recently, that nasty virus came to life once again. My lag putting has been very good, but when I get over one of those “you should make this” length putts, the entire nervous system seems to go haywire. I make great practice strokes, and then the most pitiful short-stroke or jab at the ball you can imagine. Sheesh.
But I’m a traditionalist, and do not look toward the long putter, belly putter, cross-hand, claw or other variation as the solution. My approach is to beat those damn yips into submission some other way. Here’s what I’m doing that is working pretty well, and I offer it to all of you who might have a similar affliction on the greens.
When you are over a short putt, forget the practice strokes…you want your natural eye-hand coordination to be unhindered by mechanics. Address your putt and take a good look at the hole, and back to the putter to ensure good alignment. Lighten your right hand grip on the putter and make sure that only the fingertips are in contact with the grip, to prevent you from getting to tight.
Then, take a long, long look at the hole to fill your entire mind and senses with the target. When you bring your head/eyes back to the ball, try to make a smooth, immediate move right into your backstroke — not even a second pause — and then let your hands and putter track right back together right back to where you were looking — the HOLE! Seeing the putter make contact with the ball, preferably even the forward edge of the ball – the side near the hole.
For me, this is working, but I am asking all of you to chime in with your own “home remedies” for the most aggravating and senseless of all golf maladies. It never hurts to have more to fall back on!
Over the last couple of decades, golf has become much more science-based. We measure swing speed, smash factor, angle of attack, strokes gained, and many other metrics that can really help golfers improve. But I often wonder if the advancement of golf’s “hard” sciences comes at the expense of the “soft” sciences.
Take, for example, golf instruction. Good golf instruction requires understanding swing mechanics and ball flight. But let’s take that as a given for PGA instructors. The other factors that make an instructor effective can be evaluated by social science, rather than launch monitors.
If you are a recreational golfer looking for a golf instructor, here are my top three points to consider.
1. Cultural mindset
What is “cultural mindset? To social scientists, it means whether a culture of genius or a culture of learning exists. In a golf instruction context, that may mean whether the teacher communicates a message that golf ability is something innate (you either have it or you don’t), or whether golf ability is something that can be learned. You want the latter!
It may sound obvious to suggest that you find a golf instructor who thinks you can improve, but my research suggests that it isn’t a given. In a large sample study of golf instructors, I found that when it came to recreational golfers, there was a wide range of belief systems. Some instructors strongly believed recreational golfers could improve through lessons. while others strongly believed they could not. And those beliefs manifested in the instructor’s feedback given to a student and the culture created for players.
2. Coping and self-modeling can beat role-modeling
Swing analysis technology is often preloaded with swings of PGA and LPGA Tour players. The swings of elite players are intended to be used for comparative purposes with golfers taking lessons. What social science tells us is that for novice and non-expert golfers, comparing swings to tour professionals can have the opposite effect of that intended. If you fit into the novice or non-expert category of golfer, you will learn more and be more motivated to change if you see yourself making a ‘better’ swing (self-modeling) or seeing your swing compared to a similar other (a coping model). Stay away from instructors who want to compare your swing with that of a tour player.
3. Learning theory basics
It is not a sexy selling point, but learning is a process, and that process is incremental – particularly for recreational adult players. Social science helps us understand this element of golf instruction. A good instructor will take learning slowly. He or she will give you just about enough information that challenges you, but is still manageable. The artful instructor will take time to decide what that one or two learning points are before jumping in to make full-scale swing changes. If the instructor moves too fast, you will probably leave the lesson with an arm’s length of swing thoughts and not really know which to focus on.
As an instructor, I develop a priority list of changes I want to make in a player’s technique. We then patiently and gradually work through that list. Beware of instructors who give you more than you can chew.
So if you are in the market for golf instruction, I encourage you to look beyond the X’s and O’s to find the right match!
Most pros take months, even years, to win their first tournament. Lottie Woad needed exactly four days.
The 21-year-old from Surrey shot 21-under 267 at Dundonald Links to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three shots — in her very first event as a professional. She’s only the third player in LPGA history to accomplish this feat, joining Rose Zhang (2023) and Beverly Hanson (1951).
But here’s what caught my attention as a coach: Woad didn’t win through miraculous putting or bombing 300-yard drives. She won through relentless precision and unshakeable composure. After watching her performance unfold, I’m convinced every golfer — from weekend warriors to scratch players — can steal pages from her playbook.
Precision Beats Power (And It’s Not Even Close)
Forget the driving contests. Woad proved that finding greens matters more than finding distance.
What Woad did:
• Hit it straight, hit it solid, give yourself chances
• Aimed for the fat parts of greens instead of chasing pins
• Let her putting do the talking after hitting safe targets
• As she said, “Everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots”
Why most golfers mess this up:
• They see a pin tucked behind a bunker and grab one more club to “go right at it”
• Distance becomes more important than accuracy
• They try to be heroic instead of smart
ACTION ITEM: For your next 10 rounds, aim for the center of every green regardless of pin position. Track your greens in regulation and watch your scores drop before your swing changes.
The Putter That Stayed Cool Under Fire
Woad started the final round two shots clear and immediately applied pressure with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes. When South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim mounted a charge and reached 20-under with a birdie at the 14th, Woad didn’t panic.
How she responded to pressure:
• Fired back with consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th
• Watched Kim stumble with back-to-back bogeys
• Capped it with her fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 18th
• Stayed patient when others pressed, pressed when others cracked
What amateurs do wrong:
• Get conservative when they should be aggressive
• Try to force magic when steady play would win
• Panic when someone else makes a move
ACTION ITEM: Practice your 3-6 foot putts for 15 minutes after every range session. Woad’s putting wasn’t spectacular—it was reliable. Make the putts you should make.
Course Management 101: Play Your Game, Not the Course’s Game
Woad admitted she couldn’t see many scoreboards during the final round, but it didn’t matter. She stuck to her game plan regardless of what others were doing.
Her mental approach:
• Focused on her process, not the competition
• Drew on past pressure situations (Augusta National Women’s Amateur win)
• As she said, “That was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win. So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this”
Her physical execution:
• 270-yard drives (nothing flashy)
• Methodical iron play
• Steady putting
• Everything effective, nothing spectacular
ACTION ITEM: Create a yardage book for your home course. Know your distances to every pin, every hazard, every landing area. Stick to your plan no matter what your playing partners are doing.
Mental Toughness Isn’t Born, It’s Built
The most impressive part of Woad’s win? She genuinely didn’t expect it: “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win my first event as a pro, but I knew I was playing well, and I was hoping to contend.”
Her winning mindset:
• Didn’t put winning pressure on herself
• Focused on playing well and contending
• Made winning a byproduct of a good process
• Built confidence through recent experiences:
- Won the Women’s Irish Open as an amateur
- Missed a playoff by one shot at the Evian Championship
- Each experience prepared her for the next
What this means for you:
• Stop trying to shoot career rounds every time you tee up
• Focus on executing your pre-shot routine
• Commit to every shot
• Stay present in the moment
ACTION ITEM: Before each round, set process goals instead of score goals. Example: “I will take three practice swings before every shot” or “I will pick a specific target for every shot.” Let your score be the result, not the focus.
The Real Lesson
Woad collected $300,000 for her first professional victory, but the real prize was proving that fundamentals still work at golf’s highest level. She didn’t reinvent the game — she simply executed the basics better than everyone else that week.
The fundamentals that won:
• Hit more fairways
• Find more greens
• Make the putts you should make
• Stay patient under pressure
That’s something every golfer can do, regardless of handicap. Lottie Woad just showed us it’s still the winning formula.
FINAL ACTION ITEM: Pick one of the four action items above and commit to it for the next month. Master one fundamental before moving to the next. That’s how champions are built.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” on RG.org each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more Tips!
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Brooks
Jul 10, 2014 at 6:17 pm
I think another great way of developing confidence is to take a few mulligans and/or practice shots during a round (only, of course, when the course is wide open and you’re not holding anyone up).
For example, I like to take a mulligan when, say, I chunk a mid-to-short iron into the water on an approach shot. I re-group, drop another ball down, and hit the shot I “should” have hit in the first place. If I’m keeping score, I’ll write down the score I made with the second shot and place an asterisk next to the number. I forget the first shot and try to remember the (hopefully) good shot I hit next. I know the number on the scorecard is inaccurate, but I’ve improved my confidence moving forward.
Or, if I don’t hit a drive far enough to hit a reachable par 5 in two, I’ll lay-up with my original ball and then drop another ball around the area where I would hit a good drive. If I hit a great hybrid/long-iron shot onto or near the green with my “practice” shot, I’ll have a positive thought the next time I hit that club, or the next time I hit a similar shot on that hold; if I flub the “practice” shot, I forget about it–after all, it was just “practice.”
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joselo
Feb 25, 2014 at 4:53 pm
i’ll definitely try these. great article!
Jesse
Feb 20, 2014 at 5:30 pm
Im with you Martin, former +1 hdcp and now cant break 80. Every aspect is good but driving i cant keep it in play so i usually lose 3-4 balls off the tee a round but still make 3-5 birds. So frustrating.
Martin
Feb 20, 2014 at 8:03 pm
Thats probably my biggest problem too, to many lost balls from tee… How can I regain confidence. I train a lot, try to stay fit, but…its a difficult game…
Martin
Feb 20, 2014 at 8:37 am
But when you have been in a slump for three seasons like I have (one time I have been breaking 80 the last three seasons, often I have to struggle to stay under 100).What should you do then? I can hit descent shots on the range (and the swing really looks ok when I am filming), but when I get out on the course its like nothing is left and I get afraid. I stop rotating, I use my arms too much, I strengthen my grip, I dont shift my weight to the left in the downswing etc. I try to hit fades because I am so afraid of the snap hook, on the range I always try to hit draws. I am totally confused to be honest. If I didnt have my shortgame (I am a good chipper and pitcher and no problem hitting good shots from the sand) I wouldnt have a chance to make pars or bogeys, I have up and downs for double bogeys! On the course I am still good at one thing thats part of the long game, and that is hitting shots from the woods or other complicated lies. Honestly I dont know what to do. I love this game and I dont want to accept that my true index now is 25 or something, when it used to be between 3-4..
Cyd
Feb 20, 2014 at 8:53 pm
Strive to play with a quiet mind
David Smith
Feb 21, 2014 at 12:55 am
I would suggest what Syd said, forget everything about your slump, forget your score and try to remember when you played just to play. Your mind calms and you have no worries and everything seems to flow. I even added Yoga to my exercises and it’s helped a TON with controlling your thoughts and getting into the moment, I know it may sound silly, I thought the same too, but I am telling it helps!
Cyd
Feb 19, 2014 at 9:45 pm
Hal Sutton talked about this a little on Golf Channel academy last night.
Sutton talked about having a quiet mind.
Sutton mentioned that it seemed the greatest players always had the quietest mind. They didn’t let the bad shots get to them, did not allow their minds to run away out of control.
The hard work is done, all the thinking and the stressing. Playing is a a time to let the mind go quiet. There will be a time again, after the round, to analyze, ponder, stress over, and work on those things you did wrong or those shots that went astray.
During the round is no time for that!
Strive to play with a quiet mind. Even if that bad shot or shots appear, shake them off and play with a quiet mind
Steve
Feb 19, 2014 at 6:12 pm
Very helpful article. Recommend “Play Your Best Golf Now” by Nillson and Marriott, for a host of mental game tips.