3KeystoaWinningMindsetBY MEIGHAN JULBERT Do you struggle to take your per- formance from the range to the course? Are you unable to recover from bad shots or poorly played holes? Physical training and hours spent practicing are a given in the world of junior golf. What is often overlooked is the mental approach that a golf- er takes when on the range, in a practice round or in a highly competitive tournament. Most golfers wait until there is a problem before seeking out a solution to im- prove their mental approach, but that doesn’t need to be the only option. The most talented professionals in the world train their minds before these problems even occur, helping them to find a more direct pathway to success. Just remember these three simple keys and you too could see positive results. CREATE, DON’TWAIT The junior golfers of today spend hours trying to per- fect their game in its entirety. They dissect and record every mistake they make, in order to fix them the next day on the range. The hope is that this will give them the best opportunity to be successful on the course. So they practice to fix a specific weakness– not to mas- ter a way to overcome it. However, the course is not designed to enable perfection; it’s built to test you on your ability to handle mistakes. The world’s best golfers use practice sessions to create situations where they might struggle, and then systematically work through those challenges.These include the easy putts that you “should” make, the hole that was a birdie yesterday, the extra effort to get it on the green after a string of bad shots. These moments are the ones that will define you as a golfer. Create your success; don’t just wait for it to happen. BETHEWEAKESTLINK INYOUR CHAIN Do you like to win? Let’s face it, if your answer is any- thing but yes, you might be in the wrong sport. But win- ning is not everything when it comes to developing your game at a young age. If you only play with opponents you can beat, all you’ll ever do is win – but to what end? Winning today matters, but competing consistently for the future matters even more. If you choose to chal- lenge yourself by playing with people who are better THE MENTAL GAME than you, you might lose, but your overall level of play will improve. Seek out challenging opponents and, if theywin,maybetheyarebetterthanyoutoday,butthey might not be better than you tomorrow. HAVE PATIENTENDURANCE The most important skill the world’s best golfers have? Patience. They aren’t seeking out the next quick fix, but instead are patiently putting in the hours to build their strengths as a golfer. You won’t improve your golf game substantially in one week. It takes time. Create a plan that is built on your strengths and consistently prac- tice and review your progress to develop your game. The golfers we work with at The MindSide keep a daily record so that they can track their improvements and implement strategies that help sharpen their mental approach to golf. You are not running a 50-yard sprint; you are running a marathon, which requires patience and endurance. Meighan Julbert is a Mental Skills Consultant at The MindSide and works with competitors on improving their mental approach to the game. Visit www.themindside.com or connect with Meighan on Twitter and Instagram @meighanjulbert.