It is very common among golfers on the driving range or putting green to ask themselves questions following a typical warm up session including, "How am I hitting my irons today?" "What's the driver doing?" "How is my putter feeling in my hand?" "How is my touch around the chipping greens?"
Many golfers find themselves evaluating their game in this same way during competitive rounds. Many golf experts would consider this both helpful and positive for a players' game because it allows them to make reasonable minor adjustments when on the course. However, the challenge comes for most players to make sure they are not misinterpreting the information that is being gathered.
To clarify this point, it is helpful to understand the difference between two concepts: trait and state. A trait is essentially a characteristic that is relatively permanent. Regularly people use the term in reference to things like one's personality traits or behavior traits. Simply put, it is something that one does on a very regular basis- with or without consciously doing it. On the other hand, when one speaks of a state, it is more related to an immediate, but temporary condition. We speak about someone's state of mind or mood state in reference to something we experience in the here and now.
What does this have to do with golf? Far too many players- even the best in the world- pay too much attention to the immediate state their game is in. In the moment of the swing feeling a little off or a few putts not going in the hole, many players focus on the state of that part of the game. "My putter's off today." "Something is wrong with my driver." "I'm chunking everything with my wedges." There are typically two major problems with this- 1) Players have a tendency to over think and become mechanical with this type of analysis and 2) A player's confidence suffers during that examination. Players forget to remind themselves about their traits as a good putter, driver of the ball, or ball striker.
Let's use an example. After missing a few putts on the practice green before a round or a few during a round, rather than paying too much attention to the state one's putting is in, it is much more productive and helpful to remember the foundation upon which you stand- your traits- as a putter. "I make putts all the time in practice, they'll start to fall." "I've been working hard on my putting and hit some great putts that just didn't go in, just stay patient." "I'm a good player, relax and get to the next shot and things will be fine."
As a general rule, when things feel shaky in the moment, it is much better to remember the work that has been put in to develop one's game, the capacity to hit good shots, and previous situations where things didn't feel great and turned out OK. This type of emphasis on the traits of one's game will keep most players confidence high, and prevent the tendency of paying the wrong kind of attention to what's going on in a round and allowing and letting that negatively impact confidence in that moment.
