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- Mastering Golf Habits
Hey Fellow Golfer -
Thank you for reading this week’s More Pars Than Bogeys Newsletter. If you find it valuable, could you forward this email to a fellow golfer?
Thank you.
You can click here to read the online version of this week’s newsletter.
And be sure to catch up on this week’s podcast episode:
P.S. If you’re interested in learning more about how mindset coaching and hypnotherapy can help you get unstuck from the proverbial bunker of poor performance on (and off) the course, click here to schedule a coaching discovery call with me.
Ever walked off the 18th green, shaking your head, wondering, “why do I keep making the same mistakes?”
Why do I rush my pre-shot routine when I know it hurts my game?
Why do I tighten up over short putts, guiding them instead of stroking them?
Why do I let one bad hole spiral into a full-on meltdown?
It’s not just you.
It’s how your brain is wired.
Your brain craves efficiency. Instead of making a brand-new decision every time you stand over a shot, it falls back on habits - some that help you, and some that sabotage you.
That’s why you often default to old patterns even when you know you should slow down, reset, or commit fully.
Your brain isn’t working against you - it’s just following the path of least resistance.
The good news? Just as your brain has hardwired bad habits, you can train it to replace them with better ones.
In today’s newsletter, you’ll learn why your brain prioritizes habits (and how to use this to your advantage), the difference between a behavior and a habit - and why it matters.
I’ll also introduce you to the habit loop and provide a blueprint to change your behavior - and habits - to help you play to your potential.
Let’s tee off!
The Difference Between a Behavior and a Habit
A behavior is a conscious action - a decision you actively make in the moment.
A habit, on the other hand, is an automatic response that happens with little to no thought.
For example:
Behavior: You decide to take a deep breath before hitting a pressure putt.
Habit: You instinctively take a deep breath before every putt without thinking about it.
The key difference?
A behavior requires effort and intention, while a habit happens automatically because your brain has wired it into your subconscious.
It’s worth repeating that your brain prioritizes habits because they conserve energy - instead of constantly making new decisions, it relies on ingrained routines to operate efficiently.
This is why breaking bad habits is so tricky: once your brain automates a pattern, it takes conscious effort to rewire it.
The good news? You can train your brain to replace bad habits with better ones through intentional repetition - turning deliberate behaviors into automatic, high-performance habits that support your game.
To make this road easier to travel, you must understand why your brain prioritizes habit formation and the key ingredients that comprise a habit.
Why Your Brain Prioritizes Habits (And How to Use It to Your Advantage)
Ever feel like you’re on autopilot during a round?
That’s not by accident - your brain prioritizes relying on the habits you’ve formed to conserve energy.
Your brain is always looking for ways to be more efficient, so instead of making every decision from scratch, it builds habits to handle repetitive tasks automatically.
Think about your golf routine:
Do you consciously think about every step of your putting setup?
Do you remind yourself to grip the club a certain way every time you take a full swing?
Do you actively think through how you walk to your ball after every shot?
Probably not.
Over time, these behaviors become second nature through repetition, meaning your brain no longer has to use as much energy to execute them.
This is why bad habits are so hard to break. Your brain isn’t trying to sabotage you - it’s simply following the most well-worn path to conserve energy in case you need it later on to survive a life-threatening situation.
If you’ve spent years reacting negatively to poor shots, rushing through your pre-shot routine, or overthinking on the greens, your brain is just reinforcing a pattern that feels efficient - even if it’s hurting your performance.
By understanding how your brain prioritizes habits, you can stop working against yourself and start using this built-in system to your advantage. The question isn’t whether you’re building habits - it’s which ones you’re reinforcing.
The Habit Loop: Why You Keep Making the Same Mistakes (And How to Fix It)
Every habit - good or bad - has the same structure:
Cue
Routine
Reward
Allow me to break down a common habit into its constituent parts.
Habit: Rushing through your pre-shot routine
Cue: The group behind you is waiting, and you feel pressure to speed up.
Routine: You quickly step up to the ball, barely setting your alignment, and make a rushed swing.
Reward: You feel like you’re keeping up the pace (pleasing others) - but your shot suffers.
The process of breaking down a bad habit into its constituent parts offers a goldmine of awareness that can catalyze effective action to make positive changes. It also creates an opportunity for further awareness of why you do what you do.
Powerful, to say the least.
Once you understand what triggers a habit, as well as the reward it brings you (I use that word loosely), you can change an aspect of the loop to produce a more productive outcome.
Here’s an example:
New Behavior: Take a breath when you feel pressure to speed up your pace of play
Cue: The group behind you is waiting.
New Routine: Instead of rushing, you take a deep 4-7-8 breath, commit to your target, and complete your full pre-shot routine.
New Reward: You hit a more focused shot, feel in control, and reinforce the habit of playing your game - not someone else’s.
To help you choose an effective new behavior, it’s essential to get clear how you desire to feel in these triggering situations.
For instance, rather than feeling rushed in the situation described above, I have an imagination you’d rather feel calm and in control instead. With this knowledge, you can then focus on an action that brings feelings of calm and control.
Your habits control your performance more than you realize.
The more aware you are of these subconscious patterns, the easier it is to replace them with habits that serve you.
Now, we’ll focus on how to productively begin to change the behaviors (and habits) holding you back from your potential.
If you’re serious about taking your game to the next level - on and off the course - click here to schedule a Mindset Coaching Discovery Call to learn how I can help you make playing to your potential a habit.
The Science of Behavior Change
Every round of golf comprises a collection of habits: some serve you, while others sabotage you.
Rushing your pre-shot routine? That’s a habit.
Reacting negatively after a poor shot? That’s a habit.
Losing focus on the back nine? Also a habit.
Understanding the mechanics of behavior change is key to breaking and replacing bad habits with better ones.
According to Dr. BJ Fogg’s behavior model (he’s the author of the highly-recommended book, “Tiny Habits”), behavior change requires three elements:
Motivation to Change: Do you actually want to change your habit? Do you have a clear why behind it? If you’re trying to eliminate negative self-talk but don’t recognize how much it’s costing you strokes, your motivation will be weak.
Ability to Change: Is the change realistic? If you’ve spent years second-guessing every shot, expecting to silence that voice overnight is unrealistic. But if you start by replacing one negative thought per round with a constructive one, that’s a step in the right direction.
A Prompt to Initiate Change: What’s your trigger? If you want to improve your focus, you might use deep breathing before each shot as your cue. If you want to reinforce confidence, a simple phrase like “trust it” in your pre-shot routine can serve as a powerful anchor.
You can think of behavior formation as a formula:
Behavior = Motivation x Ability x Prompt
To change your behavior, you need to change one of the elements of the formula.
For example, if you want to build a habit of slowing down before every shot, you could consider the following:
Motivation: Lower scores, more confidence under pressure.
Ability: Can you take a deep breath before every shot? Absolutely.
Prompt: A physical cue like gripping the club as a reminder to breathe and focus.
The more deliberate you are about reinforcing a behavior, the faster it sticks as a habit.
Work with a golf hypnotherapist and mindset coach to unlearn the beliefs, programs, and behaviors that are no longer serving you so that you can play to your potential.
Click here to schedule a Mindset Coaching Discovery Call to learn how I can help you make playing to your potential a habit.
Your Next Step
Every newsletter will conclude with a suggested action step and further resources on the topic we discussed.
After reading today’s newsletter, take 10 minutes to think of the three habits most holding you back from playing to your potential on the course. Break each down to its constituent parts to gain greater awareness of why you do what you do (the reward) and then commit to updating this loop for a more productive behavior.
Check out one of my transformational guided hypnosis audios for further visualization support here.
If you have any questions, feel free to DM me on Instagram (@thegolfhypnotherapist) or send me an email directly: [email protected]
After reading today’s newsletter, I want you to take the time to complete each step in my goal-setting process. Then, share it with me via email or on social media.
Thank you for reading today’s newsletter.
If you found it valuable, share it with a fellow golfer ready to take their game to the next level.
Until next time,
Paul
P.S. What did you think of today’s newsletter? Reply back / drop a comment below to let me know.
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