Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game

by Joseph Parent

May I have the courage to accomplish what I can, May I have the patience to accept what I can’t accomplish, And may I have the wisdom to know the difference between the two.

Golfer’s Serenity Prayer

when the going gets tough, we quit, don’t give it our all, get careless. The subconscious logic is: If I didn’t really try, I didn’t really fail. We might feel bad about losing a match, but it’s far less painful than feeling bad about ourselves.

Practice with a purpose, practice with a plan, practice with patience. If you’re working on something, have the patience to feel confidence in it before you take it out on the course. Train it until you trust it, and trust it before you try it.

I introduced two fundamental principles of course management: Play a shot you’re comfortable playing, and give yourself the easiest next shot.