Why Do I Always Hit My Provisional Ball Down The Middle?
On difficult driving holes the #1 killer to hitting our tee shot severely offline is "tension". Maybe the hole is longer than most or has a water hazard or O.B stakes or heavily wooded and narrow causing us to over think the shot at hand. So many negative results ringing in our mind and past shots have us in a place that a good swing is not the focus.
The key is to distract your mind not to look at all the things that could go wrong or what has happened in the past and focus on making a relaxed swing like we do when hitting a provisional ball. Lets also recognize when we hit a provisional ball it may not be as great as we think, but we know it is much better than the first tee shot that went severely offline.
How do we get our mind to cooperate and block out the negative result?
#1 is a solid pre-shot routine. Without it your mind has free will to wander to the negative. How do you make a pre-shot routine is simple, at the driving range. Practice your way into a great routine that is comfortable to you. Your mind needs to be fixed on this routine to take it away from thoughts of negative results. Make no mistake every PGA Touring Professional has a pre-shot routine and you should too!
Secondly, lowering expectations by not focusing on hitting a perfect shot and make a relaxed swing. Right, easier said than done. Confidence is a state of mind that can be achieved by selecting the club that has a higher percentage of making a relaxed swing. Lets face it, no one swings the driver easy. It is the one club designed for maximum distance and that in it self can be the root of the problem. Remember the definition of insanity, doing the same thing and expecting a different result. It is very difficult to make a par without hitting the tee shot in play, so look to change out that driver for a 3-wood or something that you feel more confident with and you will start to enjoy the game more. Remember the goal in golf, to shoot the lowest score possible on each hole.
