Professor Aidan Moran

7 of 10 Handling Mistakes and Setbacks

Every day, golfers experience frustration, anger and embarrassment on the course as a result of the missed opportunities, mistakes and other misfortunes that they encounter on the course. For example, on any given hole, you could miss-hit a tee shot, find a bad lie in the rough, or miss a short putt – getting one bad break after another and saying “poor me, it’s just not my day!” If you’ve had similar experiences, then here’s a simple question. Do you currently have any practical techniques for responding to mistakes and setbacks in golf? If not, how can you expect to play well?

Remember - it’s not what happens to you on the course that matters, it’s how you react to it that counts. Research shows that in order to achieve success in golf, you must be able to learn from your mistakes and setbacks and be able to put them behind you quickly and efficiently so that you get on with the job at hand. If you don’t do this, one of these misfortunes could trigger a negative spiral in your mind whereby your mistakes lead to frustration … which, in turn, leads to more mistakes, more frustration and ultimately, a very disappointing round.

Written by Professor Aidan Moran. Aidan is Director of the Psychology Research Laboratory in University College, Dublin. Aidan’s work for the last twenty years has included one to one coaching on mental toughness with top players including Major winners. Narrated by Sara Dylan.

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