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From Frustration to Focus: Managing Emotions to Improve Your Golf Game

Writer's picture: Antonio L Merrick-HamiltonAntonio L Merrick-Hamilton

Golf has always been more than just a game to me. It’s been my sanctuary, a place where I could escape the pressures and pains of everyday life. But there were times when even the golf course couldn’t shield me from the emotional turmoil that I carried with me. I want to share my story of how depression, life challenges, and home life made it hard for me to focus on the course, and how I turned my frustration into focus to improve my game and my life.


When I first started playing golf regularly, I was in the midst of a deep depression. My life was filled with constant stress and overwhelming responsibilities. As a single father, the pressure to provide for my children, Autumn-Lynn and Aaliyah, was immense. Despite my efforts, I struggled to find stable employment, which only added to my anxiety and feelings of inadequacy.

On the golf course, my mind was often cluttered with worries. I’d stand over the ball, ready to swing, but my thoughts were consumed with the challenges waiting for me off the course. This mental clutter made it nearly impossible to focus, and my game suffered as a result. Instead of being a place of solace, the golf course became another battleground where I fought my inner demons.


The anger and frustration of not being able to provide for my children the way I had in the past followed me to the golf course. Each missed job opportunity, each rejection, felt like a personal failure. This anger seeped into my game, causing me to make hasty, unfocused swings. Bad shots piled up, each one a reminder of my perceived failures. The golf course, which was supposed to be my escape, became a reflection of my struggles.


I remember days when I’d hit shot after shot into the rough or miss an easy putt, and I’d feel a surge of anger. I wasn’t just angry at the game; I was angry at myself, at my situation, at the world. This anger created a vicious cycle of distraction and poor performance. The more frustrated I became, the worse I played, and the worse I played, the more frustrated I became.


There were moments when I thought about giving up on golf altogether. After a particularly rough round, filled with one bad shot after another, I sat in my car and thought about quitting. Not just golf, but everything. The sport that I had turned to for relief was becoming another source of pain and frustration.


But in that low moment, something inside me shifted. I realized that giving up wasn’t an option. I needed to find a way to manage my emotions, both on and off the course. I began to see that the frustration and anger I felt were not just obstacles; they were signals that something needed to change.


I started to approach golf with a new mindset. Instead of letting my emotions control my game, I began to use the game to manage my emotions. I practiced mindfulness, focusing on the present moment and the feel of each swing. I learned to accept bad shots as part of the game and part of life, rather than as personal failures.


By Antonio Merrick

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