Week 17: From bad to great

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The secret to overcoming a terrible hole is remembering how to forget.

Have you ever let a quadruple-bogey unravel your game? It is an easy trap for a golfer. It starts with a drive that sails off the fairway. To make up for the errant drive, the golfer tries a tough shot out of the woods and barely moves the ball twenty feet into the rough. Then, an ambitious shot from the deep grass goes nowhere. By the time the ball finds the cup, the golfer is four shots over par for the hole and his confidence is rattled for the rest of the day.

Negative thoughts often can be a bigger enemy to an athlete than his competition. If you hit a bad shot, suddenly the prospect of hitting another failed shot dominates your thoughts. Here are a few tips on how to prevent a bad hole from ruining a good game.

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Maintain your sense of humor

The best way to deal with a bad hole is to laugh about it. Even Tiger Woods does not hit every ball perfectly. If you can show you have a sense of humor about your imperfections, it does not make you less of a competitor; it makes you the type of golfer people want in their foursome.

Slow yourself down

Give yourself a few moments to let go of a bad shot or a bad hole. If you feel anxious about your performance, you are more likely to speed up your play, which will lead to bad form and more mistakes. Take a deep breath and let it out. Feel the stress leaving your body. The more relaxed you are, the better you will play.

Think ahead, not behind

The last shot has no bearing on the next shot. Concentrate on what is in front of you. Take a look at the distance and layout of the hole. Think about the direction and speed of the wind. Start making a plan for where you want to put the ball on your next shot and visualize it. The more you occupy your mind with the task at hand, the more distant the bad hole becomes.

Run through your routine

Every good player has a checklist of things that they run through before they prepare to swing. Does your grip feel right? Check. Are your feet properly aligned? Check. Is your posture upright? Check? Find comfort in your routine and it will be as if the last hole never happened.

Practice your focus

The next time you are on the driving range and strike a ball poorly, use that as an opportunity to practice your focus. Concentration is something you can develop just as you would your driving and putting skills. Instead of mindlessly teeing up the next ball. Use one of your irons next instead, as though you were playing a regular round. Pick a target where you want the ball to land, and try to hit it there. The more you practice recovering from a bad swing, the more you will be able to stay in the moment on the course as well.

Be confident

If you draw confidence from your last good shot, then your confidence will leave you once things go bad. Instead, be confident in your swing. The ability to hit the ball well is always there, regardless of the last bad hole. If you derive confidence in your ability to perform instead of your most recent performance, you will find yourself playing a more consistent game.

Mental lapses aren't the only thing that can ruin a good golf game. If you continue to struggle with knee pain during a long round, you might be suffering from osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. If you are living with OA, various treatments do exist, such as ORTHOVISC®, which provides up to six months of knee pain relief. Made from ultra-pure natural hyaluronan, which is found in healthy joints, ORTHOVISC® is injected into the knee joint where it acts to replace your natural joint fluid, to help cushion, protect, and lubricate your knee.

ORTHOVISC® is a proud sponsor of PGATOUR.com. Talk to your doctor to see if ORTHOVISC® is right for you. Or visit our Web site at www.orthovisc.com for more information on how to maintain your knee health to help you keep playing the game you love.

Follow us on Twitter for up-to-date information on maintaining joint health and the prevention/treatment of knee pain due to sports-related injuries or the early symptoms of osteoarthritis.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

ORTHOVISC® is for patients who do not get adequate pain relief from simple pain relievers like acetaminophen or from exercise and physical therapy. ORTHOVISC® is not for use in people with known allergy to hyaluronate preparations, to gram bacterial proteins, with infections or skin diseases in the area of the injection site or joint. Common side effects include joint pain, back pain, headaches and pain or redness at the injection site.

This is a paid placement by DePuy Mitek, Inc. The opinions expressed above are those of DePuy Mitek, Inc. and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the PGA TOUR.