“I don’t think this is the right club (doubt, obstacle #4), but I’m going to HIT IT ANYWAY (negligence,obstacle #5).“
This is the fourth of an eight part series on the ‘Golf Obstacles’ inspired by Patanjali’s Yoga Sūtra.

Negligence/Carelessness (Sanskrit: pramāda): For golf, this obstacle often shows up as the undisciplined mindset of the ‘hit it anyway’ attitude. Maybe our alignment doesn’t feel right or we are trying to get the shot over with because people are watching. Instead of backing off and reassessing our focus, we ‘hit it anyway’. These shots rarely turn out successfully. 

We also recklessly indulge in our anger after a shot. We hastily make an incorrect drop from a hazard because we are still irate with ourselves for hitting it in the water in the first place. Or we haven’t taken enough time to analyze our options, which leads to more wasted strokes.

Negligence can also creep into our practice sessions when we mindlessly ‘hit and rake’ on the driving range (hitting a shot and then instantly ‘raking’ the next ball in without mindful evaluation or even going through a pre-shot routine). Our short game practice can get neglected because it’s not as fun as blasting drivers at the range.

Irregular practices, without discipline, will lead to the deeper scars of bad habits in our games. Paying attention is important. Don’t let neglect and carelessness become a disturbance. More to come. . .

Dodie Mazzuca is the author of “Golf Sutras: Lessons for Transforming the Mental Game with Yoga’s Inner Wisdom” and founder of Golf PROformance. She teaches golf and Mindfulness for Golf programs in Santa Cruz, CA.