The Mental Scorecard 

November 01, 2025

On-Course Mindset Practice | by Marshal Athletic Club

 

Focus

On-course practice technique to help players learn to deal with their emotions better, detach from results, and develop a stronger overall mindset will playing. 

 

One of the hardest things for athletes is to unlock their mental ability so their physical capabilities can shine through. One of the greatest thing about golf is it is a chance to test yourself. Whenever someone hits a poor shot they can get very upset, which makes sense when you know you can do better. Acting this way is counterintuitive because in the end getting upset makes you keep playing this way. 

You end up becoming tense, and that will keep you from playing freely. Then every time you make a mistake you will keep building more and more tension and mentally you won’t be able to reset. 

Especially during a competitive round, it’s so important to keep the mental in check. You want to have that fire and drive to work for you, rather than against. The only person you really need to beat is yourself. You need to get out of your own way and allow yourself that freedom to play without judgment. This leads to better shots, less mistakes, and eventually better scores. 

 

THE SCORECARD

 

Go out and play 9 holes where you don’t keep score. These are the only things you keep track of.

Then on your back 9 continue to keep track of these along with your score. See how much your score improves from what you’ve been shooting. 

The biggest thing we want to work on is removing “good” or “bad” and replace that with observation and problem solving. Use positive and constructive self talk to see how you can do better and refocus on the next shot. 

That's how you become elite at this game.