When was the last time you ever saw anyone with a bad attitude that was successful? Do you ever see successful people that are pouting or saying things happen to them?
No the successful people are the people who see a problem and find a solution. So which person are you?
Are you the person who goes out and plays and says “Oh my short game just isn’t that good. I need new clubs” or, “Man I suck at chipping, I’ll never be good at it.”
Or are you the person that says “I’m not the good at chipping right now. But I’m going to start practicing 2 days a week and find a way to get better.”
The difference between successful golfers and high handicap golfers is their attitude. It’s how they think and how they react.
The key to golf is to know you are going to hit a good shot, but accept the fact that you might now.
Golf is a game of false confidence, that builds into real confidence. Fake it till you make it.
The quickest way to do that is to tell yourself you are a good chipper or putter, or whatever you are struggling with. Then practice it. Then what you are telling yourself will start to become reality as you see your chip shots rolling closer and closer to the hole.
The next way to do this is to have a good pre-shot routine. All a pre-shot routine is, is a set of motions and actions and thoughts you perform before you hit a shot to get you in a comfortable and calm state.
So for example, my pre shot routine for chipping is this.
I look at the ball and determine the lie. Is it good or bad. Then how much green I have to work with. Can I hit a low chip or do I need to have a higher lofted club.
Then after I decide that I choose my club appropriately.
Then I step behind the ball and look at where I want the ball to land. Then I look at that spot I want to land the ball and take two to three practice swings. Then I lift my hat off and put it back on. Step up and hit my chip shot.
That gets me in a comfortable state and my chip shots are a lot more consistent when I do this then when I just hit a shot.
Your pre-shot routine is your own thing you can develop, but it needs to get you a comfortable state of mind and outline your plan of action.