Why Frustration Hijacks Your Golf Game — And How to Stop It
By Barry Lotz, J.D., Ph.D., Director, PGTAA
Do you ever walk off the course after a tournament wondering, “How did a round that started so well unravel so quickly?”
As someone who has spent decades teaching the mental game to PGA TOUR players, elite amateurs, and thousands of PGTAA graduates worldwide, I can assure you: frustration is one of the most destructive emotions in golf. If it isn’t understood and trained correctly, it will hijack tempo, judgment, patience, and confidence.
Golf is a sport of uncertainty, subtlety, and emotional discipline. Small errors—one lip-out, one bunker splash, one misread left-edge putt—can trigger a chain reaction if your mind isn’t working for you.
A Common Mental Spiral
You’ve probably lived this scenario…
You shoot your best front-nine of the season.
You feel sharp and steady.
On the 10th, you face a 7-footer for birdie—a putt you’ve made hundreds of times.
You roll it perfectly… and it lips out.
Then the par putt lips out.
Now you’re irritated, tense, and tapping in for bogey.
Frustration floods the system. Shoulders tighten. Breathing shallows. Tempo changes. And suddenly the next hole feels twice as hard.
This is the moment where rounds are lost—not with the technical error, but with the mental reaction after the error.
Even the Best Fight This Battle
Even world-class players suffer from the “mental flare-up.” Chandler Phillips’ 2025 season demonstrates this perfectly.
Trying to retain his PGA TOUR card with only two events left, Phillips candidly admitted how emotionally draining the year had been:
“The amount of times I’ve missed the fairway this year by a yard and it’s just completely screwed me… It’s unbelievable. It’s not the course, it’s just me.”
You can hear the built-up pressure, the second-guessing, the frustration.
Yet he also recognizes the only mindset that works:
“You can’t think about needing a top-20 or making the cut. That’s never a good mindset. You’ve got to have the mindset of trying to win every week… There’s just one answer—go out there and ball out.”
That’s the essence of the Right Mind—stay present, stay committed, stay process-focused.
Frustration Is Normal. Letting It Control You Is Optional.
Frustration will show up. That’s a given.
What matters is whether you have trained your mind to:
• Reset after errors
• Control your internal dialogue
• Disconnect from score-driven thinking
• Redirect attention to your plan and process
This is the difference between golfers who play consistently well—and golfers who constantly “could’ve” and “should’ve.”
4 PGTAA Mental-Game Strategies to Neutralize Frustration
1. Give Yourself Permission to Be Human
You won’t eliminate frustration—not even the best do.
What you can do is prevent it from escalating.
Acknowledge it. Breathe through it. Let it move through you rather than fighting it.
This simple acceptance is one of the fastest ways to regain control.
2. Use a Strategic Reset (My “Breathe Through Your Eyes” Drill)
After a mistake, your mind wants to cling to the past shot.
This is where you must interrupt the pattern.
Use a three-step reset:
- One deep breath through the nose, eyes relaxed – releases tension.
- Verbal cue like “Next shot,” “Commit,” or “Process.”
- Visualize the next shot as you step into your routine.
This mental pivot puts you back in the present—back in control.
3. Control Your Self-Talk Before It Controls You
Your brain listens to every word you say internally.
Shift from reactive thoughts to productive ones:
- “Smooth tempo.”
- “See it, feel it, trust it.”
- “Commit to the line.”
- “I’ve handled this before.”
These cues are simple but powerful—they anchor you in execution instead of emotion.
4. Focus on Strategy, Not Score
Frustration surges when golfers chase numbers, positions, or outcomes.
Your job is to:
- Execute the plan
- Trust your routine
- Stay committed to this shot—not the last one, not the next one, not your score
When you play strategy-first golf, frustration loses its power.
Final Thought
Golfers are emotional beings. The goal isn’t to ignore emotion—it’s to master your relationship with it.
Frustration is part of the journey, but it doesn’t have to dictate your performance.
With the Right Mind, the right breathing patterns, the right internal cues, and the right perspective, you can turn emotional volatility into emotional resilience—and elevate every aspect of your game.
