The foundation of great golf, as in great anything, is a sense of self-confidence. Without confidence, there is no realistic way to expect yourself to think in a positive manner. As you know already, the only thoughts which lead to effective golf shots are ones connected to a specific target, built on your own visualization of effectively accomplishing that shot. This is goal directed, positive thinking at its best.

The foundation of confidence is belief in yourself, and I would like to suggest that you create your own foundation of being The Greatest Golfer In The World. What I am suggesting here is that you say to yourself, "I am The Greatest Golfer In The World!"

You may not yet be the greatest golfer in the world, but I would like to suggest that you begin to think like one.

There is some inherent logic to thinking this way, and it goes as follows. First of all, when you tell yourself "I am The Greatest Golfer In The World", then in order to truly have confidence, you need some skills. What would the Greatest Golfer In The World say when unknowledgeable about a certain shot? The Greatest Golfer In The World would say, "I'm going to learn this shot, and then I'm going to master it."

In order to be the greatest, you must be masterful, but to be masterful you have to have knowledge. And, when you don't have knowledge, you either must learn that on your own, or turn to a teacher. We would all do ourselves well to spend money on lessons from master teachers, instead of continuing to buy the newest and best equipment. The best equipment in the hands of someone incompetent is useless. Therefore, to make use of the best equipment, we need to have the skills for which to use it.

Let's imagine for a moment, that you have a fairly masterful set of skills for putting, driving, stroking irons, and even for getting yourself out of a sand trap or deep rough. Then, imagine you're playing a round of golf. You're on a green which has a tricky putt, and ordinarily you might find your mind filled with doubts about the line, the speed, and/or the length of your stroke when you putt. A single doubt will certainly make it very unlikely that you will make the putt.

As you can recall earlier, when we think about the rough, the trees, the sand, or any other hazard, we usually and unconsciously find our way into that difficult place that we really wanted to avoid. Just thinking about an obstacle, tends to let us focus on it and then we go to it. The basis for many errant shots has to do with thoughts involving doubt. This issue has to do with the old idea that, "what the mind can conceive, the body can achieve." A variation on this concept is that what your mind will imagine, your body will carry out, automatically. This obviously becomes a problem when you focus on hazards and on things which can go wrong, because you'll then tend to carry out what you just imagined going wrong. That is how our minds usually work.

Instead of having some doubtful thoughts here with this tricky putt, I would like to suggest that you ask yourself, "What would The Greatest Golfer In The World to here?" Obviously, the greatest golfer in the world would find the best way to stroke that ball to get it into the cup. Therefore, you begin the thinking process for solving the problem.

In this particular situation, The Greatest Golfer In The World would stand about 10 feet behind the ball and squat, while appreciating the texture of the grass, the sheen of the grass, the moisture on the ground, the degree to which the wind is blowing one way or the other, and the general curvature from the ball to the cup. The Greatest Golfer In The World would essentially understand the lay of the land in order to decide the correct direction the ball will go on the way to the cup.

The Greatest Golfer In The World may even walk past the cup from the ball, and then walk around the flag, and walk back to the ball pacing it off while appreciating whether or not this other side was higher or lower than the first side. The Greatest Golfer In The World would appreciate this by just a sense of balance and feeling beneath the feet. While walking in a loop around the line of the putt, the greatest golfer would be appreciating whether the walk was uphill and/or downhill. The Greatest Golfer In The World is getting to know the lie of the green and the softness of the green, all the while creating some visual image in the mind to understand the context of how this ball might flow to the hole.

The Greatest Golfer In The World would stand back behind the ball at least 10 feet in order to get a realistic visual perspective of the lay of the land, and then would visualize the ball actually flowing along the target line, rolling up to and into the cup. The Greatest Golfer In The World might even imagine the ball striking the bottom of the cup, and while imagining the ball rolling would imagine the speed with which it rolls.

Drawing a line from the ball through the target line to the cup, while looking at the three feet in front of the ball where the line is drawn, The Greatest Golfer In The World would then walk around and set the blade of the putter square to that line, and then set the body around that putter head. The Greatest Golfer In The World would check that line again, and then pull the trigger, so to speak. There would be no movement of the head or lower body during the stroke, patiently awaiting the sound of the ball falling into the hole.

Perhaps the point is obvious already, but by being The Greatest Golfer In The World, you would then be solving whatever problem faces you throughout the round of golf. If you happened to miss a fairway and were behind some obstacle, as The Greatest Golfer In The World you would more than likely want to preserve your score. Therefore, most the time you would avoid hero shots. Instead, you would usually follow the rule: "Never lose more than one stroke to old man par on any one hole." This means, get the ball back in play immediately, and try not to lose more than a stroke. It's not a big deal to lose one stroke, but it would be demoralizing to lose more than one stroke because you just "had to" make that rescue, hero shot. Once you are demoralized, you become tense and are much more likely to keep making mistakes. Then the negative cycle takes over. The Greatest Golfer In The World would not allow this to happen.

The Greatest Golfer In The World will strive to be consistent, accurate, and thoughtful in planning movement around the golf course. Effective course management is at the foundation for great scores. The Greatest Golfer In The World would take one hole at the time, and not bother to anticipate any other holes. The Greatest Golfer In The World would be consistent with the pre-shot routine, and would take time to relax and breathe easily before walking into the shot. The Greatest Golfer In The World would visualize each shot and the target to which the ball is going, and would actually mentally execute the shot, before ever walking up to the ball.

The Greatest Golfer In The World is very clever, creative and thoughtful. If it means executing a shot by hitting the ball backwards away from the direction of the hole in order to set up a more effective shot into the green, then so be it. The Greatest Golfer In The World would shoot backwards, to get in position to play the most effective shot. There is no ego when playing like this, there is only carrying out a realistic plan within the scope of what you know how to do.

The Greatest Golfer In The World would be playing the golf course, and would not be competing against the other players. It would not matter to The Greatest Golfer In The World whether the other golfers are using drivers, and/or other clubs, because The Greatest Golfer In The World only plays within the self. That means, weighing and measuring each shot within the mind, comparing what is faced with the knowledge that has been acquired. If it means using two clubs longer than the other players, then that is fine. The Greatest Golfer In The World plays within the self, and never with others, never in comparison. Instead, The Greatest Golfer In The World decides the target, and selects the club to get there, playing one’s own personal game.

The Greatest Golfer In The World is also very logical. A plan is set for each hole, and then a plan for each shot, realizing that one depends upon the other. The Greatest Golfer In The World will choose the best club to get the job done, not because of any desire to hit the longest drive, or even the straight shot, but only to hit the target. When you hit your first target, then you are in good shape to have a shot at hitting your second target, and then the third and so on. Masterful golf is about hitting your target, and accomplishing your goals. The Greatest Golfer In The World will use the best skills as best as can be for that particular day.

On a day when The Greatest Golfer In The World goes out without being fully rested, the swing is made even slower and more rhythmical, and taking one extra club to make the shots. There is no struggle with fatigue, but rather it is worked with! Golf is not about struggle, is not about overpowering a situation. It is an opportunity to go with the flow of how you're feeling, of how strong you are that day, and how relaxed and/or tense you are. Sam Sneed used to talk about dancing with the partner that you have brought with you to the course, so to speak, thereby working your own slight changes in your swing for that day. If you're fading the ball that day, work with your fade, just as if you're hooking the ball that day, you work with your hook, and do not struggle with it.

The Greatest Golfer In The World spends time before a round breathing easily, relaxing the muscles, and just as important, stretching out the muscles. Being loose and stretched out is actually more important than practicing drives before a round. There is a synergy between one’s physical state and emotional state, and therefore, the more relaxed you are, the better your decision-making, the freer you swing, and the more likely you are to achieve your goals.

If there is anything to strive for within the game of golf, becoming The Greatest Golfer In The World can be your objective acquiring the proper attitudes and behaviors. With each improvement of attitude, style of approach ot the game, and behavior, your game will naturally improve. Let's look at the list of qualities which described The Greatest Golfer In The World. Here they are:

• Plays with self-confidence.
• Uses positive thinking before and throughout the round.
• Plays with mastery and uses one’s own best shots.
• Becomes highly focused when focus is needed.
• Focuses on solution finding, not on what's wrong with the day or round.
• Plays target golf throughout the round; focus remains on landing on the target.
• Works a round with a plan in mind.
• Plays each hole according to the plan, or adapts when things go wrong.
• Remains patient, even when there are variations on what happens as compared to what was expected.
• Plays the course and not the opponent.
• Remains within the self, and does not try to keep up with the opponent in terms of distance.
• Spends time relaxing before the round starts.
• Takes sometime during the round to stretch and remain lose.
• When there is a mistake, immediately puts it out of the mind and does not remain focused on it.
• Let's go of thinking about both the great and not so great shots.
• Keeps a focus on the now. There is only one shot at each moment.
• Walks away from each hole affirming something that was done correctly.
• Plays with a sense of trust in his swing, equipment and judgment.
• Makes a commitment to carry out the course plan and that shot.
• Never gives up, even when something discouraging happens.
• Always uses a pre-shot routine, for driving, iron play, sand play, chipping, pitching and putting.
• Goes with the flow of the swing for the day.
• Gives the personal best with every single shot.
• If self-doubt creeps into thinking, walks away from the shot and starts all over again beginning with the pre-shot routine.
• Reviews only the best shots of the day. Mental practice is only for what is done well, rather than thinking about and hence rehearsing what went wrong.
• Realizes that golfing is still a game, and the purpose is to have fun.
• In competition, the purpose is to win.

This is the package describing the most important attributes of The Greatest Golfer In The World. What you can do immediately is to begin to think like The Greatest Golfer In The World, keeping in mind the above attitudes. You can review them before the round and afterwards; but the best time to review them is at night before going to sleep.

During the course of a round, what you can start to do is to ask yourself, "What would The Greatest Golfer In The World do right here, right now?"

When putting for example, and asking this question, you then may imagine how The Greatest Golfer In The World would go about making a commitment to get the ball in the hole. The Greatest Golfer In The World is very much like a child; a child would think about getting the ball into the cup, without prejudice, predilection, and self-doubt. Life is really quite simple for The Greatest Golfer In The World, because the focus is staying with the course plan, hitting the ball to the target spot, and getting the ball there.

During your next round, remind yourself to ask this question with every single shot. Just observe afterwards what your decision-making was in terms of the outcome of that round.

Then, after that round, change the question just very slightly to:

"I am The Greatest Golfer In The World.

What is my plan from here, and what is my target?

What am I going to do now to hit my target?"

After you have answered these questions, go through your pre-shot routine with every single shot.

Remember to review the list of attributes of The Greatest Golfer In The World every night until you play a round. It only takes about 30 seconds. Try this out for three months, and just notice what happens to how you think and how you feel when you're on the course!