18 Great Mental Tips

By Derek Evers

December 02, 2013

Sam Snead

"Of all the hazards, fear is the worst."

Bobby Jones

"He [the golfer] must have the courage to keep trying in the face of ill luck or disappointment, and timidity to appreciate and appraise the dangers of each stroke, and to curb the desire to take chances beyond reasonable hope of success."

Arnold Palmer

"The whole secret to mastering the game of golf -- and this applies to the beginner as well as the pro -- is to cultivate a mental approach to the game that will enable you to shrug off the bad days, keep patient and know in your heart that sooner or later you will be back on top."

Nancy Lopez

"Golf is a difficult game, but it's a little easier if you trust your instincts. It's too hard a game to try and play like someone else."

Tony Jacklin

"When I'm in this state, everything is pure, vividly clear. I'm in a cocoon of concentration."

Mark Calcavecchia

"When I'm in a zone, I don't think about the shot or the wind or the distance or the gallery or anything; I just pull a club and swing."

Payne Stewart

"A bad attitude is worse than a bad swing."

Harvey Penick

"No matter how poorly you play, there is always someone you can beat. No matter how well you play, there is always someone who can beat you."

Mac O'Grady

"Of all the hazards, fear is the worst."

Al Geiberger

"A great round of golf is a lot like a terrible round. You drift into a zone, and it is hard to get out of it."

David Leadbetter

"Your final goal is to convert your athletic swing to pure instinct rather than conscious thought."

Gary Player

"A strong mind is one of the key components that separates the great from the good."

Hale Irwin

"You can talk about strategy all you want, but what really matters is resiliency."

Jack Nicklaus

"You can win tournaments when you're mechanical, but golf is a game of emotion and adjustment. If you're not aware of what's happening to your mind and your body when you're playing, you'll never be able to be the very best you can be."

Nick Price

"The zone is the ability to give 110 percent of your attention and your focus to the shot. When I'm on the tee, I'll see a divot in the fairway and try to run my ball over that divot -- and succeed. That's the zone."

Brad Bryant

"I practice visualization. The clearer you can visualize the shot, the greater chance your body has to producing it. If you don't have a real clear picture before you hit, the shot will come up fuzzy."

Ken Venturi

"All of us have an 'inner clock,' a certain pace at which we function most comfortably and effectively."

Bernhard Langer

"Be decisive. A wrong decision is generally less disastrous than indecision."

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