Natural Instincts

Natural Instincts’

Have you ever thought why you act the way that you do both in life and on the golf course?

The answer is simple; it is your natural instincts, similar to pigeons being able to ‘home’ without being taught and sea turtles returning to the beach on which they ‘hatched’ despite the absence of the parents.

Psychologists will tell you that we were all programmed to act via our genes following the actions and behaviour of our forefathers millions of years ago.

These actions are today referred to as ‘fight or flight’ by the experts.

Imagine the following situation from millions of years ago:

You are a caveman hunter in the jungle and you hear the sound of rustling in the undergrowth.

What do you do?

If you remain still and prepared to ‘fight’ and the noise is a deer or a warthog, you and your family could eat very well that night.

However, if the noise is a lion or tiger then you could become the hunted and the meal for the night.

If on the other hand you decide to run (flight) you may well go hungry tonight but you will still be alive to hunt for food tomorrow.

In all aspects of our lives today we will all make the’ fight or flight’ decisions when faced with difficult situations.

How does this apply to golf I hear you say?

Consider the following example of a golfing scenario:

Playing a par 5 of less than 500 yards you have hit a good drive and have a 200 yard second shot to the green over water.

What do you do?

Those of you with the basic instinct to ‘fight’ will think that fortune favours the brave, take out a fairway wood and have lash at the green.

However if you have the ‘flight’ mentality you will lay up short of the water hazard and try to get your birdie the conventional way whilst almost certainly ensuring that the par is safe.

Why way of thinking is correct?

The answer is both are correct providing that you have the confidence to play the shot that you have chosen and that you are playing within your abilities and capabilities.

The only time that there is a ‘mental conflict’ is when an attack minded golfer plays the percentages or when a defensive golfer tries to attack the golf course.

Remember that in pressure situations you should trust ‘your’ natural instincts because they have taken millions of years to develop.