We all know that feeling we got when we were new golfers. Both excited and anxious to take on the course, we tend to forget the practice swings and lessons from the range. From here, we just lost our mental game of golf.

Golf is more than just swinging, perfecting our posture and retaining muscle memory. It’s also about developing your character, discipline and mental toughness. There are five ways to improve this.

1. Confidence

Aside from proper training and muscle memory exercises, we golfers spend time in the range to improve ourselves. Once we improve, we have confidence in our abilities. To attain confidence, it is essential to set realistic goals. I mean to say that we must level the expectations we have of each practice or game within the level of our abilities. By doing this, you will be in control of your emotions, your thought patterns and your game. If you haven’t perfected that swing yet, expect yourself to perfect it on the course, but not win the game.

2. The Meta Drive

Why do you want to win at golf? This question opens up the big picture of golfing. Having a purpose on winning accelerates your mental drive to play well even when under pressure. When you want results bad enough, your drive will also support your body to adapt to any situation. Any person with a meta drive, or a strong sense of purpose, understands that the goal is worthy enough, and all failures are just a setback.

3. Systems Nominal

When playing under pressure, we tend to forget everything we practiced on the range. Most golfers get discouraged at this point. The alignment for the shot goes out. Grip pressure tends to be lax. Remember to check your alignment and stance with a pre-swing routine to refresh your muscle memory and posture. Hold tight and sense the weight of the club head and ensure its movement is limited when you swing and hit shots.

4. Distractions

Distractions in a golf game could put us off-course with our shots. Tell yourself that you are in control of the game. Ask yourself your intentions of landing the ball on a bunk or the green. Visualize how the shot should look like and how you are going to do it. Be clear with yourself first how you’re going to land that ball on the other side and the physical process needed to do it.

5. Coping With Failures

We are often discouraged when our first shot lands in the water, earning us a penalty. We also get discouraged when we see our competitors’ game level. Training your mind to accept that you will give out your best for this game, but if you lose, your skills just need a little more sharpening. With this in mind, breathe in at a count of four, and breathe out after a count of four to calm yourself down and play your game.