Mental Game Coach - How do you choose one?

Choosing a mental game coach is an important element in your long term success as a golfer. Their philosophy and perspective on the mental game shoud share your own. Finding a coach who truly understands that the game of golf is played from the inside out is your first step.

Each coach will have his/her own particular gifts that they bring to the table. While a well rounded coach will have a full range of tools and skills to offer you, they will all have a unique angle and approach to helping you get the most out of your mental game.

Consider the following points when choosing a mental game coach:

Do they walk the talk? Are they full of "book knowledge" and "well schooled" yet lack real world experience? A pile of letters beside their name like "MBA" and "PhD" doesn't necessarily mean they are qualified to teach you anything.

Watch for these when choosing a mental game coach

What makes them unique? How do they stand out amongst the crowd. There are countless highly skilled mental game coaches to choose from. But what separates them from every other coach?

Are they solution focused? This is a critical distinction and you would do wise to investigate this area very closely!

Do their coaching suggestions and recommendations involve any of the following comments: "Don't focus on the negatives - don't think about the last shot - getting angry is hurting your game - don't think about the consequences of your shot."

If you hear these kinds of so called "recommendations" run, don't walk, in the other direction! This is negative reinforcement and will dramatically slow your progress down. You won't know why but for some reason you just can't seem to make it to the next level.

In my humbly biased opinion this is not mental game coaching at all. Anyone can tell you "what not to do". After all, this is why you're considering a coach in the first place: you already know what you want to stop doing!

Note: I have a full section in the Minding Your Game Coaching Course that covers this area in detail. This separates a truly resourceful and skilled coach from virtually every other coach in the business. More about my background here.Do they guarantee results? If a coach is willing to guarantee that their services will help you create the results you are after then you have a winner! Needless to say this demonstrates a remarkable confidence and commitment in their skillset.

This list is not exhaustive yet it is a great filter to think through when deciding on a coach. Take the time to match each coaches' offer and abilities with these questions and you'll be in the best possible position to make an informed and intelligent choice.

In case you haven't read Part I of this topic read mental game coach.

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