Trust Your Swing Part 4 How to Stop Letting One Hole Ruin the Round
How to Stop Letting One Hole Ruin the Round
Settle in. Let’s talk golf.
You warm up.
You loosen up.
You hit the bottom of the bucket and you’re flushing it.
Tempo feels good.
Contact feels clean.
Confidence builds.
You take a smooth ride in the golf cart.
You and your golf team crush your pre-round Monster energy toast.
“This is the day. We’re going low!”
Then you step onto the first tee.
And either:
You chunk it five feet.
Or you absolutely pound one 250 yards…
…into the fairway next to yours.
“FORE!”
And just like that, the thoughts kick in:
“You are awful, man.”
And that single sentence quietly sets the tone for the next 17 holes.
The Real Damage Isn’t the Shot
It’s the story you attach to it.
One bad tee shot turns into:
“I always do this.”
“I practice every day and still suck.”
“I shouldn’t be this bad.”
Now you’re not just playing golf.
You’re defending your identity.
The Pros Do This Too
Watch Scottie Scheffler.
Watch Rory McIlroy.
They hit bad shots.
They show frustration.
You see the body language.
Maybe a few words mouthed under their breath.
But then something interesting happens.
By the time they walk to the next shot…
They’ve reset.
The next swing has full commitment.
High apex.
Pure strike.
Soft landing.
Five feet from the hole.
They eagle it.
They don’t carry the last swing into the next one.
That’s the difference.
What We Do Instead
We replay it.
We relive it.
We exaggerate it.
We build it into proof that we’re “not good.”
And suddenly the round isn’t about this hole.
It’s about protecting our ego.
The Reset Walk
Here’s what I try to remember walking between holes:
They’re not beating themselves up.
They’re preparing.
They’re breathing.
They’re planning.
They’re getting ready to crush the next hole.
The walk between shots isn’t dead time.
It’s reset time.
My Personal Reset Script
After a bad shot, I let myself react.
But only briefly.
Then I say something like:
“You’re a golfer. Now act like it!”
Yes – sometimes it’s:
“Time to put your big boy pants on!”
Because here’s the truth:
Golf doesn’t reward sulking.
It rewards composure.
The Shift
Instead of:
“I’m awful.”
I move to:
“That shot’s over.”
Instead of:
“I can’t believe I did that.”
I move to:
“What’s the next target?”
Instead of protecting ego…
I move toward commitment.
Trust Your Practice
You didn’t magically forget how to swing.
You didn’t lose your ability between holes.
You warmed up.
You practiced.
You’ve hit good shots before.
Trust that.
Trust your routine.
Trust your reps.
Trust your swing.
Be Where You Are
This one hits me hardest.
We are standing in some of the most beautiful places on earth.
Fairways lined with trees.
Blue skies.
Sunrise tee times.
The sound of a flushed iron.
The feel of a perfect strike.
And we let one bad swing steal all of it.
That’s a shame.
Golf is frustrating.
But it’s also a privilege.
Be in the moment.
Even the messy ones.
The Mental Framework
One hole does not define the round.
One swing does not define the hole.
And one mistake does not define you.
The only shot that matters is the one in front of you.
Everything else is memory.
The Next Shot
Your next shot doesn’t have to be perfect —- just intentional.
Reset. Commit. Swing.
What’s your biggest spiral moment on the course?
First tee?
After a triple?
When someone new is watching?
Drop it in the comments – we’ve all been there.
Real Talk. Play Better.
Effort builds results.
