If you struggle with fear and doubt, try letting it go

Twenty years ago, when I was helping coach the NMSU men’s golf team, I prepared an “Aggie Golf Team Playbook.” It was about 25 pages, covering dozens of topics related to enhancing players’ mental and emotional game; it was quite popular. One section was devoted to “letting go,” which is today’s theme.

When we learn to swim, we let go of floaties. When we learn to ride a two-wheeler, we learn to let go of training wheels. Growing up means letting go of childish ways. Graduating from high school means letting go of friends we may never see again. Then leaving college marks the point in our life where we leave the security and comfort of campus and venture into the “real world.”  We have to give up some things to get better things. It’s one of those secrets to a successful life that even many adults don’t comprehend. So too in golf there are things we need to let go of in order to make gains in ability and outcomes. If we want to get better, we are always challenged to give up those behavior patterns that are holding us back, and let go of certain thoughts, habits, beliefs and actions that are no longer serving us.

The first thing to do is let go of fear.  What are you afraid of anyway? Looking foolish? Being seen as a loser, a choke artist? Almost always we make up the stuff we are most afraid of, like thinking our golfing companions are hanging breathlessly on every putt we hit. Start looking at golf as the game it is.

Along with letting go of fear we do ourselves a big favor when we let go of doubt. If you doubt that you will be able to play your best golf when you tee it up in a tournament, it is very unlikely that you will.  If you doubt that you can win your matches you probably won’t even give yourself a chance to win. Doubting yourself is born of insecurity – not trusting yourself and your ability. Releasing those doubts will be the first step toward newfound confidence. Be positive. I don’t mean getting out of touch with reality; I mean simply deciding to be optimistic, where you see the possibilities, not the pitfalls. Make it your business to know your own game and trust yourself to play it solidly when it counts.

In golf and in life it’s a good idea to let go of both compulsive certainty and uncertainty.  You can’t be absolutely certain about the line of a putt as you stand there and look at it. Only after you hit it can you be pretty certain, and even then it can even defy logic. But if you’re over the ball feeling totally uncertain about where the break is and where to hit it, you have no chance at all. Certainty and confidence are two different things. You should be decisive – you don’t have to be certain. Certainty implies all-knowing and all-seeing. When you’re on the golf course be decisive, be authoritative, be confident; make your best choice and learn from it. Don’t doubt your own ability or method, especially if it’s been working well for you. Don’t waver in your passionate resolve to play your very best golf whenever you step onto the golf course. Turn your uncertainty into commitment to do all the little things that champions do.

Charlie Blanchard is a guest columnist. He is a retired golf teacher and writer. He is credentialed by the PGA for playing ability. He can be reached at docblancard71@gmail.com.