‘Emotional Intelligence’
Over recent years Dr Karl Morris of the European Tour has worked with Darren Clarke and other prominent golfers on the philosophy of ‘emotional intelligence’
Just what is this ‘emotional intelligence’
Those of you who follow top-level golf will recognise Darren Clarke as an exceptionally talented golfer but who is fiery and hot tempered.
In essence at time his head used to come off after a few bad shots or bad breaks and this reflected in his score.
The old adage that you should keep your head while others are losing theirs is a display of emotional intelligence or signifies your emotional IQ.
Remember that high emotion out on the golf course usually reflects in high scores.
We are not just talking here of the high emotions caused by bad shots but also but those caused by attempting to play like Tiger Woods after a few good pars.
What you need to do is exactly the same as Captain Kirk in Star Trek and remain in the ‘Neutral Zone’ and do not make your highs too high and your lows too low.
Here are five techniques which will help you to raise your emotional IQ:
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Mentally draw a line 10 yards in front of your ball and as you pass it your last shot is over, finished, done and history.
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Enjoy the time that you have between shots.
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Fully exhale after each shot to clear the air and the mind.
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Be aware of the tempo of your swing and walking pace and avoid doing both too fast, particularly after bad shots.
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Hum or sing to yourself between shots because it slows down your active mind and helps put you back into neutral gear.
If you can practise emotional intelligence on the golf course and improve your emotional IQ you will the improvements in your score.
Will it stop you hitting bad golf shots?
The answer is no because golf is a difficult and complicated game but it will stop you hitting bad shots because of the way you think or due to the fact you lose your head on the golf course.