The state of our self-confidence is often reflected in the way we play golf. Did you know that there are three types of self-confidence? What is yours?

False confidence

False confidence will never help you. Having false hopes about our abilities will end up in having unrealistic chances with usually disastrous consequences. Trying to impress others by overestimating our abilities cannot be successful. Truth, in this case, comes out very soon.

Conditional confidence

This type of self-esteem depends on concrete results. We are dependent on the condition that our good game will continue. If we continue to play well, our confidence grows to the point that we feel and believe we can play anything. The problem comes when the game is not going according to our ideas. Then we start doubting our skills. We begin to ask ourselves questions, “What’s wrong with me today?” And this is the point where our downward spiral begins. When we feel that we are going to play a bad shot and it also happens, our confidence is low the next time we need to hit the ball. Conditional confidence is very unstable.

Unconditional confidence

Unconditional confidence is based on our general feeling of satisfaction. We believe in ourselves and in our skills and we are aware of the level of our game. We do not expect every shot to be perfect. It means that we can deal with any outcome. When our confidence is unconditional, our personal evaluation is not dependent on how well or poorly we hit the ball. We consider our own skills and abilities as perfectly fine and difficulties as a temporary experience. We do not assume that there is something wrong with our swing and do not try to fix it either (fix mode). Trying to understand what disturbed the intention to play the intended shot is an ideal approach, which will quickly put you back into the game.

Unconditional confidence requires a great of insight that does not depend on an actual result. The greater insight we have, the more able we are to manage small or larger hesitations that often appear while playing a few holes or several rounds. We deal with difficulties with humour because we know that difficulties come and go similarly to success. Nothing we encounter can intimidate us. And this is a sign of real confidence!