How often do you walk up to your ball, instinctively know the shot to play, then take a while to think about it, play “the percentage shot” instead, and mess it up? Or how often do you stand over your ball, really not committed to a clear shot, but because you “should” be ready, you play the ball anyway… and mess it up?

Great mental golf is not about thinking more, it’s about thinking less! Golf psychology aims to have your mind and body working as one unit. Your mind chooses the target, but your body swings the club – if they don’t agree you’re in trouble! So if your body tells you something, listen and ACT. This listening is not listening to words though – your body talks to you through feelings.

In your body you have the largest gathering of nerve endings around the area of your gut. As such, some say that this is where your unconscious mind is centred. Due to this mass of neurology, you have a huge amount of processing power here for everything you see, hear and feel. “Gut instinct” is therefore not simply a fluffy feeling that can’t be relied upon, rather it is often the MOST reliable source of information you have.

The only way to develop your instincts and make this inner communication clearer is to ACT. You need to follow up on what your gut is telling you - test it out during practice so that you can be confident under pressure.

For example, if your instinct for a shot says “4 iron low fade”, then put your rescue club back in the bag, get your 4 iron out and play a low fade. Your body may have picked up the wind picking up above the trees that you consciously may not have noticed. Similarly if the “percentage” short game shot would seem to be a chip and run with a 7 iron, yet your instinct says wedge, then again use your wedge. Your unconscious mind may have picked up the uneven moisture around the edge of the green that your conscious mind may not have noticed.

All good mental golf tips simplify golf. So I’d like to simply explain what a real “percentage shot” is. I teach all my players that the percentage shot is THE SHOT YOU CONFIDENTLY SEE WORKING. The more confident you are about seeing a shot, the more single minded instruction you give your body and the more your body will know exactly how to perform. As such, your gut will always tell you the shot the play, if you learn to feel and listen. Trusting your gut does not mean throwing common sense out of the window, rather turning down your internal dialogue to use your senses more. Feel comes from connecting, not thinking!

Please contact me and let me know how trusting your gut changes your game. I am currently giving away a series of six free audio mental golf tips to reprogram your golf psychology and let your instinct come through. Sign up for my newsletter now if you would like to receive these.

Love every shot!

Adam Sprackling

Mental Golf Coach