The infamous #3 at Delaveaga?  Or how about #10? Or #15?  We all encounter holes that carry negative scars.  In yoga philosophy, samskāras(Sanskrit), are the habits, patterns, and ruts we’ve created from the past that have become strong enough to influence our current circumstances. 

The samskāra of getting pre-annoyed and tense does not help the situation.  When unhelpful memories and negative samskāras creep into a challenging hole, stop the pattern of disaster by replacing the sabotaging self-talk with a helpful focus.   

For instance, create a pre-shot positive samskāra of TARGET and COMMITMENT:

• My target is the middle of the green. I’m committing to a smooth tempo.
• My target is the tree trunk right center of the fairway. I’m committing toa relaxed grip pressure.
• My target is the left edge of the cup. I’m committing to visualizing the ball going in the hole.

This practice of redirecting our mental habits to helpful patterns will create positive samskāras. 

Never be a prisoner of your past bad golf shots on a particular hole.  It was a lesson. Not a life sentence. Where you have to play the next shot should be punishment enough.