Advice for My 15 Year Old Son....

[bsugolf09]

i agree completely. fantastic book.

[chatfieldgolf08]

one thing i will suggest from my experiences is try playing match play style with your son. I play that with my dad all the time now and i think it has really helped the mental game. For me, knowing that each hole is an individual part of the game is key. In match play it gets you to think of every hole starting at zero. it really focused my game the last year or so. in my local club championship i shot one round of 76, and that was with a triple and a double on the back nine. but i dont remember the fact that i had a triple or a double. i remember the fact that i was able to rebound and shoot -1 on the other holes. I think giving match play might be a good idea.

[gators78]

[quote name='Golfer1659' date='18 May 2010 - 11:02 AM' timestamp='1274194965' post='2450035']
Two Words: Golf Psychologist


With my parents help at the time (10+ years ago) we seeked out the best golf psychologist in the area. And did we find one, he worked with pros in all different sports and he made the biggest change in my golf game. It brought me to the next level. Learned Xen meditation techniques, on course golf/mental management and a routine that kept me in check at all times with EVERY shot. I recently worked with a junior golfer that was consistently shooting mid 70's (good round 75- bad round 82), after recomending him to Dr Ferraro he is now shooting consistently 72-74. Its amazing how strong the mind can be and with the right guidance of a professional to utilize it to strengthen your golf game.

Here is his website:

[url="http://drtomferraro.com/default.htm"]http://drtomferraro.com/default.htm[/url]

Note: Since you are so far, he is capable of doing over the phone sessions.
[/quote]


Having not too long ago gone through the turmoil of HS golf I have a few words to offer up to possibly help your son. It almost always comes down to taking everything one shot at a time. Its a tough lesson, but if you had a good strategy, played the proper course management (teed up on the proper side of the tee box to avoid OB, take the right yardage on layups, etc) and just made a bad swing, well that's golf, it happens.

If you hit a bad shot, was it because you were scared of hitting it OB? Did you forget to walk off the yardage? Did you play a risky shot when it wasn't called for? Once you can answer those questions you'll have a better understanding of the course management skills needed to play.

I would also highly suggest against a golf psychologist. Having gone through junior golf, college golf, and now the real world I can tell you it is 100% better to deal with it on your own and find your own way. It's a lot of money and frankly your son will face many more challenging situations in his life that he'll need to deal with. It's always helpful to have a few mentally calming techniques, but any of those can be found in a Rotella/Valiente book.

Set goals for the short and long term, have a plan on the course and a good preshot routine, execute the strategy, and hey whatever the results at least you're not in school:partytime2:

[Relaxxx]

I'm 16, and I used to have a similar problem that your son has, except I WOULD get mad and throw clubs and cuss and stomp around like a child. I just could not recover from a bad shot, or even a bad putt.

Know what I did?
I sat down one night, and I kept thinking over and over that getting mad or upset over a golf shot did not help my score. I know that makes perfect sense to an adult, but try and get that through the head of a 15 year old. It doesn't work.

You have to make him understand that one hole, or one shot, or one whatever, does not dictate how the rest of your round will turn out. My lowest round EVER came from a double bogey on the first hole. I birdied the next three holes after that. One shot or hole will NEVER dictate your round unless you let it.

Davis Love III once shot 65 after a triple on the first hole. Your son may say that's because he's good or because he's a professional. Well. Your son sounds very good at golf, and how do you think DLIII became a professional? He didn't let one hole dictate his round.


Never. Ever. Ever. Ever. Give up.

[Hookem Horns]

Tell him to read " Extraordinary Golf " by Shoemaker. Great book. Changed my game so much. It teaches you how to think around the golf course. How to overcome nerves and deal with bad holes, nervousness and fear. I'm a professional and had the same problem. This fixed my game and my scores and fears have vanished. Go pick it up. It's definitley worth the $15.00

[CallawayLefty]

Whatever you do get it fixed. I can't even tell you how much regret goes along with being a headcase. I probably could have played college and beyond had I not been a complete nutjob in high school. One bad shot and I was out of it. I did both bad things: (1) get very hot and (2) lose focus. I've fixed (1), but still struggle with (2).

[Guest]

It sounds like he just gets a lot of "stuff" goin through his head, Bob Rotella makes books about the mental game of golf and they helped me a lot so maybe you should look into that