Thinking Beyond the Box in Golf
Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D.

To perform to your full potential, you must change how you usually think about your golf game and how you perceive yourself. You must understand and overcome the barriers that impede your performance. In short, you must play beyond "the box."

People in the business world coined the term "thinking beyond the box" to describe the type of thinking that is needed to tackle tough problems and to generate innovative ideas and strategies. Social conditioning and predictable thinking in the business world produces comfort zones that stifle creative thinking. By thinking outside the box, businesses seek to move employees out of comfort zones and predictable thought processes to make breakthroughs in creativity.

You also have to learn how to think beyond the box and move outside of your comfort zones to achieve greater golfing success and continue to shoot low scores. Thinking beyond the box starts with identifying the barriers to success that hold you back from shooting lower scores. It also means looking at your game from another perspective, thinking differently about how you play, and changing old habits of thinking and behavior. Let's examine a couple ways you can play outside the box after shooting a personal low round.

The first idea is to change your scoring self-image. Often the labels we give ourselves become limiting beliefs. Examples of ways we use labels include: "I'm an average putter," "I'm an OK player," or "I always shoot in the 90's." These labels form your golfing self-image. Once you break an important scoring milestone (90, 80, 70, etc.), a new scoring self-image has to form. Just breaking 90 once will not help you form a new self-image. To continue to shoot in the 80's you have to accept low score as the norm and not the exception. This means you have to believe on any day that you can score in the 80's. Otherwise the label "I always shoot in the 90's" will limit your ability to continue to break 90 repeatedly.

The second idea is to reward yourself for success. Persons that disqualify their achievements and don't reward themselves or accept compliments are at risk for low self-confidence. You have to step back and think out side the box about your performance. Don't make excuses and attribute a low score to luck or an easy course. You should take pride in your accomplishment. Review each round and replay the good shots you hit and putts you made to break 90, 80, or 70 for the first time. Start by recalling what you did well first. Instead of berating yourself for what you did wrong, ask yourself what you did well after each shot, putt, or chip.

Note: This article is based on Dr. Patrick Cohn's new book Going Low: How to Break Your Individual Scoring Barrier by Thinking Like a Pro.

Dr. Patrick J. Cohn is a leading golf psychologist who consults with Tour Pros and amateurs. He is the author of Peak Performance Golf, The Mental Game of Golf and The Mental Art of Putting. For more information call (888) 742-7225, visit: www.peaksports.com, or e-mail Dr. Cohn at pcohn@peaksports.com.