Your practice sessions are really important. They are your rehearsal period and will dictate to a certain extent how you play in competition. It makes sense to use your practice time wisely! Your practice sessions will provide the foundation for your confidence levels. If you see yourself working hard and achieving in your practice sessions you will approach competition feeling far more prepared and in control and consequently more confident.

Although golf is known as a chivalrous game with numerous rules of etiquette to follow, there are times when it is hard to restrain your emotions and once "golf rage" takes hold - it is hard to overcome!

Using a pre-shot routine ensures that the sequence of events leading up to each shot are consistent. A consistent approach is likely to lead to a consistent outcome!

Making the time to either look back or reflect on a past performance can have huge benefits for any golfer. Questioning and examining golf experiences or performances can help you learn from them and may enable you to deal with similar situations in the future far more effectively. This type of practice is called ‘self-reflection’.

We all have an ongoing inner dialogue running through our minds - a stream of conversation or chatter. The majority of this self-talk will be comprised of ordinary, everyday thoughts such as, “I must remember to put the rubbish out today” or “I wonder what the weather will be like on Sunday” and so on.

In this article I will explain how committing to an effective goal set-ting programme can help you to realise your golfing ambitions!