In the book Golf Rx, Dr. Vijay Vad talks about many things dealing with golf, one of which is the mental game. In the chapter "The Mental Game: What To Do When The Wheels Fall Off", Dr. Vad talks about when a golfer hits a bad shot they tend to project their minds ahead. Meaning they get out of the present and out of their rhythm because they're frustrated, this causes them to rush and to make more mistakes. Dr. Vad also says that golfers need to quiet the self-chatter, because when you get nervous the inside conversation you have with yourself tends to get louder, faster, and more negative. He goes on saying that golfers need to create distractions to get their minds off the bad shot they just hit. They can do this by; staring at the trees, singing their favorite song, or picking up a conversation with playing partners. Dr. Vad continues in this chapter that when your over (about to hit) a shot, take a deep breathe. When confronted with a stressful situation the body releases serum cortisol, which tenses up muscles and gives one rapid, shallow breathes. The final thing the Dr. Vad talks about in the chapter is how not to blow a gasket. Dr. Vad says that: "It also helps to be aware of your tendencies, both emotionally and physically, when things start to unravel. This way, you can catch them before they get the better of you..." (93). By that Dr. Vad means when you think you're about to imploded due to anger, he wants players to recognize the signs and stop the anger before it can manifest. He gives some of examples of how to coup with the anger and try to diminish it, if it does veer its ugly head. One way is by taking a five-count right after a bad shot has been hit, this can help one disassociate himself with the shot. Also calling a mental time-out. A mental time-out is just a way of getting your mind off golf mid-round, golfers can do this by picking up a conversation with partners about a new movie release, eat a power bar that you've been saving, or even stretch, all of this will take a golfers mind out of his round giving him a well needed mental break.

I completely agree with Dr. Vad. First off, golfers who project in the future of the round get out of their, if you will, 'happy place'. This causes them to be unbalanced not only physically but also mentally. When I play golf I tend to go off into the future of the round and the final result is a bad round where I fell apart when I got ahead of myself. Dr. Vad says that positive self-chatter is important, even though I know that I always blast myself for bad shots and not congratulate myself on good ones. Basically I forget the good and remember the bad. The breathing thing Dr. Vad talks about is a good calming down exercise when one needs to get off of cloud nine or needs to get his head out of a thunder cloud. Staying calm is a must in golf because you can't play when your pissed off or perturbed, trust me I have had my fair share of bad rounds due do course anger management. Also golf is a fun sport, if you let it be, but when you get angry it becomes more like a crap job that offers bad pay. Which is no fun for anyone.

Vad, Dr. Vijay. Golf Rx. New York, NY: Gotham Books, 2007. 91-100. Print.