Eliminate Swing Thoughts: How to Stop Playing Golf Swing

It’s time to quit thinking and start playing golf.

I get it, every golfer wants to be the best possible player. I’m sure you want to make the most birdies, win the most money, and have the most fun.

But one of the many challenges of golf is that 99% of players are overthinking too much. Whenever you hear players interviewed after the round on the 18th green, you never hear them mention they were thinking mechanical swing thoughts.

Look back from 2000-2005 when Tiger was winning nearly every week. In every interview, it was always about picking a target and staying the moment. He also regularly mentions in interviews how he gets into the zone.

When trying to recount some of his victories and specific shots, he says he oftentimes has no memory of them whatsoever. While one could argue it’s because he’s won 82 times in his professional career, it’s actually because he’s so focused on the shot at hand.

He isn’t thinking about taking the club inside or clearing his hips on the way down. He’s in the elusive “zone” that top athletes experience when they’re operating in autopilot. All the training they put in during practice helps them find pure bliss in competition. 

In this post, I’ll help you learn how to control your thoughts to play better golf and get in the zone too. It’s time to stop thinking about the golf club in your swing and start playing to score your best ever.

What Most Golfers Do

As I’m sure you know, sometimes you are your own worst enemy on the course, especially if you’re working on making swing changes. And let’s get real, who isn’t trying to constantly improve?

The problem is that most golfers are thinking way too much which is limiting their best rounds of golf. Whether it’s first tee jitters, fear of hitting a snap hook, or an approach shot on the 12th hole, you can’t play golf when you’re thinking about 2-3 (or more) swing thoughts. It’s just not going to end well.

I love this Dave Stockton quote from his book, Unconscious Putting, that sums it up perfectly. He said, “When you drive a car you aren’t thinking about all of the mechanical things necessary to safely get your vehicle from point A to point B. You aren’t thinking about how hard to pump the brakes, or how many degrees to rotate the wheel to make a left turn.”

But as golfers who have read too much Golf Digest and listened to friends for swing tips, we’re always thinking about the mechanical things necessary. Instead, you need to learn how to get out of your head and focus on playing the game.

Golf is about hitting shots and being creative, it’s not about playing your swing. Playing golf swing creates tension, and tension kills your tempo and ultimately your golf swing. You need to remember what it’s like to forget about swing thoughts and just have fun.

Here’s how you can do it…

How to Minimize Swing Thoughts

The good news is that you’re not alone as this is an issue I’ve faced and nearly every other player. The more I’ve learned to minimize multiple swing thoughts and clear my head when standing over the golf ball, the more consistent I’ve started playing. That’s what I want for you – to have confidence when you stand over the golf ball.

Here’s how to do it…

Train Your Golf Swing So You Can Trust It

One of the reasons Tiger Woods and the best players in the world can get into these flow states is that they trust their game. They’re not trying to make changes before the round or mid-round. They’ve trained hard in practice so they can trust their game under pressure.

One reason you might be thinking so much when you’re playing golf is because you haven’t trained your golf swing yet. It’s not to say you need to get to PGA Tour levels before you can trust your game either. But it’s about producing a swing that you know the results 80-90% of the time, even if the club isn’t in textbook positions in your swing.

Your golf swing doesn’t need to produce the longest or the straightest shot, it needs to be a repeatable swing with semi-consistent results. Of course, you’re still going to have big misses at times, I mean it’s still golf!

Repetition is the mother of all skills. If you can create a repeatable swing then you can stop thinking and start playing when you’re on the course.

This is why it’s so important to train the right things on the range instead of endlessly hitting shots that ingrain bad habits. Remember, less is more on the range.

Work on drills that will help make your swing more repeatable and your scores consistent. Focusing on the swing fundamentals will pay you huge dividends.

Warm Up With Purpose

To help you remove swing thoughts during the round, it’s really important to get there early and spend time warming up. Again, the goal isn’t to make swing changes on the range, it’s to get warmed up and loose.

Even if you’re hitting it poorly, don’t take swing thoughts to the course. I’ve played tons of great rounds with bad warm-ups. Remember, one doesn’t correlate to the other.

The point of getting there early and warming up is to build confidence. I suggest that you create a routine that makes you feel confident. It could be only hitting 10-15 balls, chipping and putting. It could be 50 balls and 20 3-footers.

Whatever it is, find a pre-round routine that works best for you so you’re loose on the first shot of the day. Make sure it emphasizes confidence in your game before heading out!

Focus on Non-Mechanical Swing Thoughts

While I’d love to tell you don’t have any swing thoughts at all on the course, I know that most people need at least one thought to have an anchor. So if you’re going to take a swing thought with you to the course, make sure it’s non-mechanical.

For example, instead of thinking “I need to take this more outside on the takeaway” think about tempo and feel.

Here is a list of some various swing thoughts to spark your imagination.

Good Tempo

Having good tempo is a simple swing thought that helps you generate power, improve your ball flight, and make a massive impact on your golf swing.

Tempo is one of the few things that all good players have in common. While amateur golfers have an inconsistent tempo that produces all kinds of shot patterns.

Some of my best rounds my only swing thought was tempo as it works for every type of shot. Otherwise, you might end up with a swing thought for your full-swing, pitching and putting.

This is just too much to try and think about when playing. Remember, you can’t play great if you’re thinking consciously of your game and swing.

Chest to Target

If you’re someone who doesn’t get your weight to your lead foot, think “chest to target.” This should help you feel your chest rotate through the target and end up moving your weight for a better impact position.

Smooth Transition

Another great swing thought is “smooth during transition.” This is a good swing thought as some players rush the downswing and hit it thin or fat as a result.

When you’re thinking, “I’m the smoothest player in the world” you’re grooving yourself throughout the round. This one swing thought can have a big impact in making sure you time your swing properly to improve ball flight and hit each club with precision.

Stay Relaxed and In the Moment

Like Tiger said in the earlier Youtube clip, “I have these blackout moments. I know I was there but I don’t remember hitting the actual shot. It’s like my subconscious mind just takes over.”

The reason he’s able to do this is that he stays extremely relaxed, even when he’s competing on the world’s biggest stages. His dad’s best friend was an army buddy and psychologist who helped him learn relaxation techniques such as hypnosis and deep breathing exercises.

Read our full article on how to breathe in golf.

I suggest doing your own internal work to find ways to help you stay relaxed on the course (and in life). Instead of thinking “don’t have swing thoughts”, work on staying relaxed through the round. Incorporate a deep breath in your pre-shot routine, take deep breaths walking between shots, and read up on meditation or hypnosis.

If you’re serious about playing your best golf, you need to learn how to control your emotion and ability to stay calm after a bad shot. This will help you think less about your swing and stay more in the moment. Another benefit is this will help to prevent the late round collapse due to fatigue.

Focus on Pre-Shot Routine

If you’ve ever played golf in a tournament, you know that your mind is 10X more active than a normal round. You’re trying to play great golf but sometimes your swing thoughts are running wild. To help keep your mind focused on each golf swing, your pre-shot routine needs to be dialed in.

Think about it, the top athletes in the world all have a pre-shot routine; NFL kickers before lining up a field goal or NBA players when shooting free throws. This routine keeps their mind relaxed and helps them get in the zone.

Elite golfers do this too as it helps their golf game and minimizes mechanical thoughts. As sports psychologist Dr. Valiante said,

“The best thought is always somehow related to either 1. A specific target, or 2. A visual about the shape of a specific shot. This, of course, depends on the particular type of brain the individual has. Some people see targets, some people see shapes.”

Look at your pre-shot routine now…does it incorporate one or the other already? If not, figure out which is more natural to you. Is it the target or shape?

Once you’ve answered that question, focus on your target or visualization with a swing thought. To learn more about creating a pre shot routine, click here.

Only Think About Target

The main part of your pre-shot routine is about feeling or imagining the shot. But it’s also about the target, not where you don’t want the ball to go. The problem is that so many players focus on where they don’t want the ball to end up.

Sound familiar?

Most players are thinking about “don’t hit it in the water” or “don’t hit it in the sand.” And more times and not, that’s exactly where they hit it.

Why?

Because the subconscious mind doesn’t understand negatives like the word don’t. It also doesn’t understand the difference between real and imagination.

This is why is so crucial to spend the majority of your pre-shot routine priming your mind to think about the target, not the hazards.

Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want.

Learning how to keep your conscious mind focused and busy with where you want to send your ball, enables your subconscious mind to perform the physical movement. The more you’ve trained it, the more you can trust it. The more it will feel effortless and free of distraction.

If you are not asking yourself, “What is my target?” before every shot, you are not giving yourself the best chances to shoot the lowest scores.

Upgrade Your Mental Game

I’m confident all the tips above will help you during the round. But let’s not forget about what you can do outside of golf to play your best when you tee it up.

One of the reasons we have so many mental swing thoughts when you play golf is because the mind is naturally active. According to Healthline, the average person has more than 6,000 thoughts per day. While I’ve other studies that estimate 2-3X that amount.

The point is, our minds are always thinking as it’s a survival mechanism and does everything possible to keep you alive. Yet, most of us aren’t taught how to control our mind and manage emotions in childhood, high school, or even in college.

Needless to say, the more you can learn to monitor your thoughts and manage your mind outside the course, the easier it is on the course. Two of the best ways to take control of your mind are through meditation and hypnosis.

Golf Meditation

Meditation is a great place to start as the benefits are nearly endless from a regular mindfulness practice. According to Very Well Mind, “The potential benefits of mindfulness include lowering stress, decreasing depression, improving memory, and strengthening your relationships, among other things.”

Lower stress alone can make a massive difference in your game. Not to mention, all the other benefits that can help with life off the golf course.

Click here to learn more about meditating and how it can impact your golf game.

Golf Hypnosis

While meditation is more popular and common, another trick I’ve used to quiet the mind (on and off the course), is hypnosis. I’ve learned about this practice both with a certified hypnotherapist and learning to use self-hypnosis as well.

If you go into it with an open mind, I think you’ll be quite impressed with the results. Click here to learn more about hypnosis to play better golf.

Just remember, the more you master your mind, the more you can minimize harmful thoughts that limit your potential.

Putting Swing Thoughts

We’ve been talking about golf swing thoughts thus far, but let’s not forget about putting either. I’ve found that most golfers experience even more mental chatter when they have a putter than a full swing.

Why?

Because all of a sudden there’s a hole near you, expectations go up, and you likely want to make every putt. A lot of players put extra pressure on themselves on the dance floor and this leads to less than stellar performance. Instead, you need to maintain a care-free attitude and not try to force putts into the hole.

Here are some of my biggest putting swing thoughts: 

• Accelerate: All good putters accelerate through the ball while so many amateurs decelerate and leave putts short (this is especially true with short putts). Simply thinking “accelerate’ during your stroke will help improve your odds of holing more putts.
• One-two: Putting is simple but we make it harder on ourselves. If you need a good putting thought, thinking about one-two. One being the backstroke, two is the way through. Don’t overcomplicate putting!
• Keep my head down. Another common trait with great putters is keeping their head down throughout the stroke. This mantra “keep my head down” will ensure you give your ball the best chance to find the cup by hitting it solid. When you look up early, you affect the contact and can miss a lot of putts right.
• Focus on where the ball will enter the hole. On short putts, never just look at the hole but instead where the ball will enter the hole. With downhill putts, I like to imagine the ball rolling just over the front lip. With uphill putts, I’ll imagine the ball hitting the back of the cup to ensure I hit it firm enough. And with flat putts, imagine the ball pouring into the cup with perfect speed.

FAQs

Do you have more questions about golf swing thoughts to get the most out of your game? If so, keep reading to play better than ever!

What are the best golf swing thoughts?

We’ve covered a lot in this article which you can reference above. I did my best to include a solid list of golf swing thoughts to make it easier for you to take to the course. But every golfer is different so try out different ones and see what works for you. 

How do I stop swing thoughts in my golf swing?

The mind is built to stay active so it’s easier said than done to get out of your head. I’m confident the tips throughout this article will help you quiet the mind on the links. Here is a quick recap of the biggest tips:

• Quiet the mind outside of golf with mindfulness, hypnosis, and other techniques like journaling. Sometimes a brain dump in a journal can be a good way to clear your head and go into the round with a blank slate.
• Train your golf swing on the driving range so you can trust it on the course. The mind tends to get very “chatty” when you have a lot of shots that you haven’t practiced on the range or short game area. Do your best to hit all types of shots and play out scenarios on the range to 10X confidence and not doubt yourself on the course.
• Keep your swing thoughts simple and easy. Leave mechanical swing thoughts on the range so keep things simple during the round.
• Set the intention to play golf instead of focusing on your golf swing when you head to the course.
• Keep breathing throughout the round to stay relaxed and not set your mind into panic mode from a lack of oxygen.

Should you have swing thoughts when playing golf?

Ideally, I would say no – eliminate them and just play golf. But most people like having some sort of thought during their round. Remember, the conscious mind can only focus on one thing at a time so keep your swing thought simple and easy to remember.

What is a good swing thought?

If you’ve played golf at a high level you know a good swing thought is a simple one. It’s not thinking about all the training aids you use on the driving range or all the drills with your coach. It’s a simple feeling in your swing that helps you get move the golf club effortlessly and produce your best shots under pressure.

Every golfer is different; what might work for one person might not work for another. That’s why it’s important to try out different thoughts on the range and when you’re out playing a round.

How do you gain confidence in golf?

Confidence is fragile in golf and even a few bad swings can sink your confidence. Conversely, a good shot can make you feel like you’re invincible and ready to make it as a professional golfer.

To gain more confidence, first understand that it comes and goes even for the best players in the world like Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, and others. That’s just golf.

But, here are five things to keep in mind so you have more swagger on the links:

• Understand that hitting bad shots is part of golf. Don’t get any ideas that once you’re a scratch golfer or pro you automatically don’t hit bad shots. Instead, do your best to not react negatively and anticipate some tough swings at times.
• Add a big breath into your pre-shot routine. Before walking to your golf ball, take a big breath to relieve stress and clear your mind for the shot. This can help minimize unnecessary chatter and put a great swing on the ball.
• Make practice difficult. The more you can make practice feel like a round, the easier it is to have confidence in challenging scenarios on the course.
• Get to know your swing on the range. It’s crucial to swing your swing and understand your specific misses in practice. That way when you’re on the course, you can play great golf and have a familiarity for your own unique game.
• Remember your good shots. After each round, write down at least three good shots you had (or more) to create a positive memory for the future. That way if you’re going through a slump or lacking confidence, you’ll have a ton of positive memories to look back on.

Next Steps on Removing Swing Thoughts

Hopefully, this will answer the old golf question, “What do I think about before I hit my shot.” It’s a frequent question that holds players back from playing their best game.

While practicing on the range is important ever forget the importance of staying relaxed and training your mind. As Steve Elkington said, “The mind is your greatest weapon. It’s the greatest club in the bag. But it’s also your Achilles heel.”

The biggest thing to takeaway is to stay relaxed during the round. When you stop breathing regularly, you get tight and let your conscious mind try to bring in swing thoughts. Take deep breaths, focus on the target, and let it go.

If you must correct some bad shots mid-round, here are some ideas on how to do that without getting wrapped up in playing golf swing.