How to Play Beyond Your Comfort Zone for Peak Performance
by Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D.

I receive many emails each week from golfers who can’t get out of a comfort zone. Playing with a comfort zone holds you back most when you have a good round going and are playing better than expected. What is a comfort zone? A comfort zone is based on an expectation of what you think is a good score. Many golfers become anxious or uncomfortable when they are playing either much better or worse than they expected. Hence, the word comfort zone is coined – A golfer is only comfortable playing within a scoring expectation.

Many golfers I work with are plagued with the classic comfort zone issue: they are so obsessed with what score they are shooting that they get sidetracked when things are going well. When you start playing well, do you focus on your score and project a finishing score for the round? Do you start to think, “If I par in from here, I will break 80 or 70 for the first time this season?”

Most often, this forward thinking approach will cause you to falter coming down the stretch and lose shots. Why? Because most golfers protect their score and play defensive golf instead of offensive golf as they try not to “back up” or make bogey. The first solution to stepping out of your comfort zone is to NOT focus on your score by adding it up after every hole.

Remember, the comfort zone effects start when you compare your current score for the round with a score you expected to shoot that day. Simply do not record your score on the scorecard and try not to add it up in your head after every hole. I know this is easier said than done because it’s easy to know where you are in relation to par or bogey golf. In addition, what makes this even harder to do is many club golfers want everyone to bark out their scores after each hole, which I will avoid as much as possible when I play tournament rounds.

I always said that you can’t shoot a good round on the first tee or score a 72, 79, or 85. Score must be secondary (or a result of) focusing your mind on playing the game one hole at a time. Instead of keeping track of your score, I suggest to my students that they record their performance stats or mental game stats such as the number of greens hit, fairways hit, target selection, commitment to good reads on the greens, for example. Later, you can easily compute your score for the round with this information.

The ultimate goal to become less score conscious is to make these “mini-goals” more important than your score. You must make the “process” more important because if you do well with the process and execution, you will shoot your best possible score. My motto is: “working the process brings desired results.” You have to go into the round not caring about score and instead focus more on how you will shoot a good score—hit each shot with confidence and focus, for example.

If by chance you realize that you are playing “better than expected” for the round, you have to take advantage of the good play instead of hold on and protecting your score. Protecting your score will likely lead to big numbers. Many golfers let the golf course intimidate them. They play away from the trouble always guarding against hitting the ball in the water, steering shots away from bunkers, and trying not to three-putt. This is defensive golf.

The mind doesn’t know the meaning of “don’t hit it there.” When you try not to hit the ball in the water right of the fairway, what are you thinking about? You’re focusing on the water, of course. The last image or picture you see before the club starts back is the water, and that translates into “don’t hit it right.” The body controls the swing, overcompensates, and the result is a shot hit way left or right, exactly what you were trying to avoid.

The best option is to challenge yourself to stay aggressive instead of holding onto your score. Don’t give into the “protect mode” when playing well. Instead, tell yourself you are playing well and can do even better things. Stay aggressive down the stretch by focusing on your opportunities for birdie or pars (depending on your playing ability). I recommend to my scratch students that they focus on a simple goal such as having 3 out of 4 birdie opportunities on the last four holes. This helps them stay aggressive and continue to press on and go lower.

It's probable that you, like many other golfers, are confined to a belief system that says “it’s not possible because I haven't proven it's possible—by doing it." This belief will always hold you back from breaking scoring barriers. Avoid making predictions such as “I most likely will shoot _____ today.” Next time you play, don’t set a target score either. Target scores are nothing more than expectations in disguise. Instead, focus on what you have to do to shoot your best round that day, one hole at a time, whatever that score may be!

Want more information to help you stay composed on the course. Check out Dr. Cohn's Golf Psychology Programs and The Composed Athlete program at Peaksports.com.