As a golfer, you must learn to coexist peacefully with the possibility of bad shots and missed putts, however occasional, in order to master the game. Since consistent golf is an oxymoron, your challenge is training your mind to respond positively to the stress you create through errant shots, in a way that leaves you with enough positive energy, focus, and creativity to recover and play to your highest potential.

One of the ways to do this is by recognizing whether you play "reactionary" or "responsive" golf. Reactionary golf will have you react to each misguided effort with a generous investment of intense negative mental and physical energy. A mild expression of this kind of game is when you mentally beat yourself up the moment a shot goes awry. Often, you will take the residue of your physical and mental reactions into your next shot, where the reaction will be compounded. The most extreme side of reactionary golf is when you throw or break a club in anger.

Responsive golf, on the other hand, is when you play a more mentally controlled game. As a responsive player, you choose to respond to the situation in a manner that helps you let go of the mishap and move on. You do not react, you respond. You accept what has happened, and are already fully focused on devising a solution to minimize the damage to your score. Remember the saying; "It's not how you played the good holes, but how you handled the bad ones that determine a great round."

Armed with an understanding of these two distinctly different types of games, take the time to discover which one you play, and then proactively implement changes in your mind that will help you break through to a lower score.