I don't believe in luck. Not in golf, anyway. There are good bounces and bad bounces, sure, but the ball is round and so is the hole. If you find yourself in a position where you hope for luck to pull you through, you're in serious trouble.
You know I need that cockiness, the self-belief, arrogance, swagger, whatever you want to call it, I need that on the golf course to bring the best out of myself. So you know once I leave the golf course, you know that all gets left there.
Golf is difficult to get your personality over because you are such a bottle of concentration.
To be consistently effective, you must put a certain distance between yourself and what happens to you on the golf course. This is not indifference, it's detachment.
The most important shot in golf is the next one.
You just don't have the time to worry about what others are doing. You just want to take care of your own business. You are focused on that tee shot on the 10th tee and making it to the finish line. It's one of the most stressful moments in professional golf, but you have worked so hard to get to that point, that it really is fun.
When you lip out several putts in a row, you should never think that means that you're putting well. When you're putting well, the only question is what part of the hole it's going to fall in, not if it's going in.
Before you take your address, while you're still reading the putt, imagine the ball tracking on the line you've chosen and falling into the cup. If you don't believe you can make every putt, why bother trying?
Enjoy the game. Happy golf is good golf.
If you're thinking clearly and are content about where your life is - to where you can just think about the present, think about the now - that's what you need to do to hit good golf shots. I know there are a lot of distractions, but when you're thinking clearly, you're more free. You've got to have that freedom on the golf course.
The golf ball has no sense at all, which is why it has to be given stern lectures constantly, especially during the act of putting.
Remember you have to be comfortable. Golf is not a life or death situation. It's just a game and should be treated as such. Stay loose.
In golf, as in life, you get out of it what you put into it.
There is no room on the golf course for anger or self-pity.
The hardest thing in golf is trying to two-putt when you have to, because your brain isn't wired that way. You're accustomed to trying to make putts, and when you change that mind-set, your brain short-circuits, especially under pressure.
I don't know how many times I've been 114 yards from the hole and made double bogey. Well, I hit a great drive, but it doesn't matter. It's only the next shot that matters.
No putt is too short to be despised.
I honestly believe that with a strong mind, you can literally 'will' the ball into the hole.
I've been in some seriously bad places playing golf and it's just part of the game. You're going to hit bad shots, you're going to be in bad spots, and each course, when you learn it, you learn where not to go.
Dr. Parent has been a great influence on my mental game. ZEN GOLF is the best book at connecting golf and the mind together. It's for everyone, it really helps, and you're really going to enjoy it.
I never pray to God to make a putt. I pray to God to help me react good if I miss a putt.
People always say golfers don't smile. But there is so much psychology in golf so we have to be a bit robotic.
Aggressive play is a vital asset of the world's greatest golfers. However, it's even more important to the average player. Attack this game in a bold, confident, and determined way, and you'll make a giant leap toward realizing your full potential as a player.
Don't just play your way around the course. Think your way around way around the course.
The mental aspect of golf is what makes golf such a great sport.
