In any human activity, a positive mental attitude is crucial for optimal performance. Golf is no exception. Any serious player, including professionals, understands the importance of maintaining a clear mind when swinging the clubs and hitting the ball.

How often is it said that golf is a sport where the mind plays a decisive role? Why is it that sometimes, when overwhelmed by any circumstance, executing a shot seems like a monumental task, a shot that on many other occasions has presented no problem whatsoever? Why does the hole sometimes resemble a basketball hoop and other times, on the contrary, look like a marble run? How can one avoid the pressure that always arises during any championship?

The answer to all these questions lies in the mind, in its control, in its undeniable power over the execution of any action. Therefore, it is necessary to know certain methods of mental preparation, especially those related to relaxation, to recognize the symptoms and sensations that indicate the readiness to execute a strike, to learn to control anxiety, and so on.

At the same time, it's crucial to maintain the right level of focus at all times to avoid excessive relaxation—or complacency. It's also essential to understand your true goals and recognize that setting overly ambitious or impossible ones can have very negative effects on your game.

Furthermore, it should be noted that mental preparation begins before going to the golf course, develops, of course, during the game itself, and continues once the facilities have been left.

This general introduction to the power of the mind during golf practice will be developed during the next issues of this publication, delving deeper into the most important issues, but it is worthwhile for all players, the greatest and the youngest, to consider that golf, in addition to the clubs, is also played with the mind.