Category Archives: mindfulness

Golf and Your Mental Game: Self Compassion and Acceptance: Fear and Loathing on the Golf Course

In a perfect world you make a bad shot and you accept it then you move on with a clear head and attitude to your next shot. Moving on to that next shot not suffering mentally takes practice and discipline. Unfortunately, many golfers I encountered as a golf Marshall have difficulty accepting a bad shotContinue reading “Golf and Your Mental Game: Self Compassion and Acceptance: Fear and Loathing on the Golf Course“

Golf and Your Mental Game: Are You a Walking Zombie?

Are you a golfer that starts analyzing your next shot as soon as your shot has landed? Are you mulling that over as you walk up to the ball? Have you become a walking zombie clued out to your surroundings? If so is your single minded focus doing you any good? Are you on autoContinue reading “Golf and Your Mental Game: Are You a Walking Zombie?“

Golf and Your Mental Game: Taking a Restoration Break

Just because you are on the golf course should not prevent you from taking a “restoration break” whether your game is humming along beautifully or is in flames! You most likely already do this at work or at home during doing chores or trying to beat a deadline. A restorative break is fuel for yourContinue reading “Golf and Your Mental Game: Taking a Restoration Break“

Golf and Your Mental Game: Golf as a Necessity or a Luxury?

I say Bravo to you for being on the golf course. Why? Because I think you are setting aside several hours to (hopefully) enjoy yourself. Let’s call this an example of self-care. You have carved out time to play a game you love or perhaps are addicted to? Do you prefer being a “corporate hero”Continue reading “Golf and Your Mental Game: Golf as a Necessity or a Luxury?“

Golf and Your Mental Game: Should You be Playing Golf at All?

Nourishing activities are those that restore energy and depleting activities make you worse. Assume you are on the golf course and you begin to notice the depleting moments outweigh the nourishing moments. If you are leaving a golf course in a worse mood than when you arrived should you ask yourself should you be thereContinue reading “Golf and Your Mental Game: Should You be Playing Golf at All?“

Golf and Your Mental Game: Taking a Moment

This golf season working as a Marshall I saw quite a lot of reactivity to bad shots. Often it sets in before the ball has landed because the golfer knows trouble almost immediately after making contact with the ball the shot is a bad one. I wonder if we can step back and say somethingContinue reading “Golf and Your Mental Game: Taking a Moment“

Golf and Your Mental Game: That Voice in Your Head That Never Shuts Up

Do you hear that voice in your head that is often judging, nagging, criticizing or analyzing? Can you silence this voice at least momentarily? Indeed you can and its through meditation where by practice you realize that voice is nothing but a barbarian at the gate and you are left in a rare moment ofContinue reading “Golf and Your Mental Game: That Voice in Your Head That Never Shuts Up“

Golf and Your Mental Game: Golf Can Be Like Being Caught in a Traffic Jam!

Yes we have all been caught in a traffic jam. It can be a hopeless and frustrating situation as you can’t control the traffic flow. Again it is along the lines of react vs. respond. I realized this a few years ago returning home after a long week at work. How could I have chosenContinue reading “Golf and Your Mental Game: Golf Can Be Like Being Caught in a Traffic Jam!“

Golf and Your Mental Game: Reacting vs. Responding

In an earlier chapter we talked about the wounded hunter who gets grazed by an arrow and is dealing with his pain but adds on a string of self-criticisms that augments the hunter’s suffering. Perhaps the golfer and the wounded hunter might want to look at the story as the difference between reacting and responding.Continue reading “Golf and Your Mental Game: Reacting vs. Responding”

Golf and Your Mental Game: Observe

So you have a great shot on the 18th. On a par 4 your first shot is at the edge of the cart path. A great pitch over the creek three feet from the pin. Or perhaps your second shot hit the pin and dropped in for an eagle. Boy you are IN THE MOMENTContinue reading “Golf and Your Mental Game: Observe”