Sports psychology or mental training for golf begins with understanding how to build mental toughness. If you have any interest in seeing first hand the impact that mental toughness has on sport performance, go no further than the PGA or LPGA Qualifying tournaments or “Q-School”. A great many of the conversations that the players have are a rehashing of their performance this past year on the PGA, LPGA, Nationwide, or mini-tour circuits.

Professional players repeatedly talk to one another about “trying too hard”, “not letting it happen out there”, “playing tentative” and many other frequently used mental game phrases. The players who do well in Q-School are the ones that will follow some basic rules about the mental game. Each of these also has application for the every day golfer:

1. Keep each shot in perspective. There is no rational reason to be unnerved by a bad hole or two. There is no particular shot in any tournament that is “life or death”.

2. Breathe. Even the best in the world get tense in this type of situation. That tension can increase a player’s tendency to hold his breath in anticipation of a shot or a putt. This then impacts muscle tension even more, and potentially affects his ability to swing the club smoothly. Deep breaths = slower heart rate and less physiological tension.

3. Remember that you cannot control things. Anyone who plays this game knows that something unexpected happens in nearly every round. A great tee shot lands in a divot, a club you’ve been hitting well all week suddenly starts getting shaky, or a two-foot putt is missed. The successful players will recognize that they have control only over their preparation and reactions, and not over anything else.