The Problem of Fear

The Problem of Fear

The emotion called fear plays quite a large role in the game of golf.

For some golfers it becomes a problem as soon as they tee up in front of others, and all players are affected by fear when it comes to playing over water, particularly if you are required to play your best shot.

But the most severe of all fears is the one which prevents winning and this fear is the one which all golfers, including the pro’s, have to overcome if they are to come out of the pack and become champions.

The difference between the fear of winning and the fear of losing can be explained using the example of the difference between leading from the front and trying to win from behind.

To attack from behind is a far easier way to win because to win from the front is reserved for a very special group of golfers – the ones who can remain calm when others tremble their way to failure.

Fear is the destroyer of confidence, and it can only be overcome by positive thinking.

Unfortunately, many golfers are confused as to the meaning of this and so often play negative golf but it should be understood that to think positively is to think only of playing the correct shot and achieving the correct result because if you play the incorrect shot within your mind prior to ‘playing’ then it will almost certainly be the shot which you actually play.

Safe golf is playing to a good position on the fairway and then to a safe place on the green while playing within the limits of your own ability and not using the hit and wish method which is so often used at times of golf stress.

Strength of mind and good personal discipline can solve even the worst of golf problems, which are introduced by fear and they can be overcome if you try hard enough.

The most difficult to overcome is the putting ‘yips’ which have shortened the career of so many golfers but just look at what Bernhard Langer has achieved because the man is so strong mentally that he has shown us all that “where there is a will there is a way” and POSITIVE thinking overcomes fear.