This is where the Golf Analysis Wheel can help you. Commonly used by coaches, it helps you consider each area of your game in turn and assess what aspects needs more attention.

The Golf Analysis Wheel is a powerful tool because it gives you a visual representation of the where your golf game is right now, compared with the way you’d ideally like it to be.

How To Use The Wheel

1. Print the “Golf Analysis Wheel”

2. Take time and review each of the wheels segments.

3. Mark your level of satisfaction out of 10 regarding each element of your game on the wheel. It’s up to you how you score but remember…..be honest with yourself.

4. Once you have completed the wheel imagine what would happen if you put the wheel on a car a drove down the road with it. For most of us golfers we will be in for a bit of a bumpy ride!

On the positive side it highlights immediately where you must apply the priority of changes to your game. i.e if your short game scored a 2 and other elements of your game are 6 or 7’s then your priority of attention must be on your short game. That’s not to say that you should not continue to work on other aspects of your game.

It’s important that you repeat this process every month in order that you continue re-evaluate the areas for improvement.

You can learn to master the fundamentals of the inner game.

The key question is what do you really want to achieve in golf? Desire will only survive with so many other things clambering for your attention if you nurture it, and stay focussed. This is achieved through clear goals and commitment, an essential part of every great golfer’s mindset.

Success will come only when you do the right things, repeatedly and patiently.

You can make a decision now:-

“Commit to a continuous programme of improvement and honour those commitments”

“Your written goals need to include those that are big enough to get you out of bed in the morning and those small enough to take action today”

Desire (Goals)

The energy to sustain the character required to be a winner (including courage, commitment and patience) comes from a strong desire, so we start with the key question,

What do you really want?

Also, desire needs to be cultivated, nurtured and monitored to survive, we do this through goals.

Goals provide direction, desire gives energy and passion.

The commitment starts from writing the goals down, and talking to your coach about them. If you set goals your subconscious will attract things that will support the goal.

To help you with your goals download our worksheet:  Planning A Set Of Goals

‘If you don’t set a goal you’ll drift’

‘Would you tell me please, which way

I ought to go from here?’

‘’That depends a good deal on where you

want to get to,’ said the Cheshire Cat.

I don’t much care where…’ said Alice.

‘Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’

said the Cat.

Adapted from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland

Have clear goals, believe in yourself,

and then with your Coach

discover how to make it happen

Let’s start with one element of mastering our thoughts – ‘Outcomes Thinking’.

On noticing a difficult situation, accept it completely, or deal with it. Don’t make it into a problem. Nurture ‘Complaint Free’ golf (future article). Simply reframe a problem frame into an outcome frame by asking, “what do I want here?” or “what do I want instead?” It’s important to realise this is not putting on rose-tinted glasses or applying spin, rather it’s just simply stating what you want to have happen.

A simple and profoundly powerful concept is that your mind cannot process negations or don’ts very well. Don’t think about a blue apple! Now it’s vital to think (often visually) of what you DO want (outcomes thinking), sending messages to your muscles as an example. Any so called problem could be expressed in terms of outcomes. “I want to relax” rather than “I wish I wasn’t so tense” or stay focussed rather than don’t worry. Positively stated language creates positive images and therefore a more resourceful performance state (at least one element of the performance state.) Because, amazing as the body is, it can’t tell the difference between a thought and a real situation – it responds as if it were happening in the real world. With the resultant muscle tension for example, great to protect yourself from danger, disastrous to a free flowing swing.

So what do we do? Start noticing thoughts (usually showing up as that little voice in your head).

First realise they are not YOU! Make sure they are framed in what you want to happen (outcomes thinking) and later with other Golf Monkeys, learn how to master them and stay truly in the now.

“Would you tell me please, which way?
I ought to go from here?”.
“That depends a good deal on where you
want to get to,” said the Cheshire Cat.
“I don’t much care where…” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,”
said the Cat.

Adapted from Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’

Bad news first, ideally any preparation for this would need to already be in place i.e. to not do anything different that you would apply to any game, except where you are adding additional interference by thinking more about it.

Good news, I’m determined to live in the real world and give you something really useful to recognise most of you don’t have sound mental routines and habits in place and this match is one that you might start thinking about preparing.

1. First notice how you are thinking about this and wherever possible ‘stop it!’ that’s ‘less’ except for the list below is always better, just notice the thought, clench your fist to represent it and while releasing hand say ‘let it go’ and make a commitment to give it your full attention when you arrive at the course (called timelock).

2. Definitely have a plan for this round and strategy for the opening shot(s). Write out a shot plan for the first two shots of each hole, pars 4 & 5 (par 3s you need to know the pin position and for some of us even see that as a lay up in some conditions).

Sit down quietly and only put down shots you can feel confident about (honestly)
Stick to it, only change would be if conditions or how you feel dictate you go safer.

3. Obviously remove unwanted distractions (clear your mind) from the day. Get ‘everything!’ ready well in advance right down to spare battery for your range finder.

4. Have one specific purpose e.g. commit to every shot, commit to plan, whatever happens, commit to shot ritual. Focus on the process, not the score.

5. And lastly, generally have normal routines (e.g. practice, warm up, arrival time, sleep previous evening etc.) again in an ideal world you would have built ‘habits’ around how you (as a unique individual) prepare to perform in your version of the zone.

So in summary, think less, stick to your plan and if in doubt always focus on your breathing.