[birdie_man]

O...another thing that helps me is just accepting that you might not be able to have your best game that day instead of trying to force it if you don't have your swing. My general rule is that if I feel like I am trying too hard then I need to throttle back a bit rather than try to push forward. Maintenance of score rather than being agressive and trying to push forward. Read 'The Double Connexxion', by Carey Mumford if you want to read a good book.

You have to take into account how you're feeling, how you're swing's feeling, anxiety, etc. etc. etc. Some days are just 3/4 punch shot, "get it in play and up around the green" days. A punch shot is easy once you get it down.

I don't know how much you practice on the range but that will help hugely with confidence in your swing.

Vijay says something like: "Confidence doesn't come from winning- winning comes from confidence. Confidence comes from practice."

Also- sometimes, even when I have my mechanics right I just do not have it. Today on the golf course, I was bombing it off the tee (swinging, not hitting) until I hit a few hooks. I then started to get anxious (which really is normal considering my swing is still in a state of change and uncertainty). Then, when I tried to figure out this new swing, the wheels started spinning and I started to get tense.

But that's what happens when you are uncertain in some way- whether it be with mechanical understanding or from a lack of practice (and therefore trust). I realized that I have not practiced enough to trust my mechanics...and I still need to gain a better understanding of them to be absolutely sure they're right and that I can execute them. If I was serious about the round I would've just hit (as in the TGM definition of HIT...vs. SWING...) everything for the rest of the round because I have that pattern more engrained. Still working on my 'swinging' pattern, deciding which I want to be my main pattern, and where/whether I can integrate both of them at the same time.

Still studying...