Over recent years we have been told of the many merits of adopting a positive mental attitude in our golf and in particular on the greens putting.

However, all too often positive thinking lives dangerously close to the world of negative thinking. For example how many of us have set off down the 1st hole with a positive mantra only to find ourselves trudging off the 2nd green having missed yet another short putt?! In just a few holes we have gone from a positive to a negative mindset and an attitude of I definitely can to one of I definitely can’t.

So if we are going to dispel the power of positive thinking, what is the optimum mindset for putting, and what are the ingredients to achieve it?

First and foremost great putting performances take place in the present moment; a positive mindset of I can hole this putt firmly plants the mind in the future, thinking about an event yet to happen which is exactly where all the recognized mental experts of the game tell us we don’t want to be! On the flip side, the negative attitude of I can’t hole this putt sits firmly in the past dwelling on previous failures and misses.

Let’s consider the positive mindset in action, if you have a 10 foot putt and you convince yourself you are going to hole it; you can see the line, you feel confident and you hit the perfect putt on the perfect line at the perfect pace; does the putt DEFINITELY drop in the hole? The answer I’m afraid is that it definitely DOES NOT go in!

On the reverse side, lets look at a negative mindset in action, if you have the same 10 foot putt and by now you have convinced yourself that there is no chance in the world you could ever hole it, you can’t see the line and you don’t trust your stroke, does the ball DEFINITELY miss? The answer again is that it definitely DOES NOT miss!

The key then to keeping in the present moment on the greens is to adopt what I believe is the most powerful mindset; the mindset of POSSIBLE. Possible deals with reality which is critical if we are going to achieve our best putting performances. Possible is not overly positive nor is it negative, it sits somewhere between these two in a neutral position.

Faced with the very same 10 foot putt and regardless of how good or bad your putting performance is on the day, is it possible that you could hole this putt? The answer has to be an unequivocal YES…it is POSSIBLE!

Importantly possible is the truth and it deals with reality! The result of this neutral mindset will be a far quieter and uncluttered mind which in turn will lead to your peak performance state.

If you miss from 10 feet on the first 7 greens is it possible that you could hole out from a similar distance on the 8th green? YES it is possible!

Even worse, if you play 17 holes without a one putt on any green, is it POSSIBLE that you could single putt the 18th? YES it is possible!

So if you can keep the door of possible open during your next round you can be sure that you will putt to your very best of your ability on that day without the usual mix of up and down emotions that a positive mindset brings. Like any new concept in your game there will be no instant results BUT with work and perseverance the neutral world of possible has the potential transform your putting performances.

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