Overthinking about what you must do during your golf swing is a failure of many a golfer whether a beginner, good amateur or top tour player.
Thinking is beneficial when planning your strategy for each hole but overthinking your actual swing during a round will become detrimental when you can't shut down those conscious thoughts just prior to striking the ball.
Overthinking is when you put too much time into conscious thinking about how you are playing a shot, swing mechanics, second guessing, projecting outcomes, mentally reviewing past shots, or over-analysing what you need to change from other missed shots.
Over analysing becomes a mental interference when your thoughts start to cause your body to freeze.
Overthinking starts way before you tee it up on the first tee.
When I played in the hope of a nice cheque, I just had one main swing thought which I kept throughout the round.
Those I see thinking too much normally end up with a bad score.
Even PGA Tour golfers can fall into the trap of overthinking and need effective strategies to counter over-analysing.
One simple way to relax your thoughts and stop overthinking is to relax your mind and body.
This can be accomplished by taking several deep breaths prior to your shot.
Deep breathing slows down your heart rate, diverting your mind from the physical response of anxiety and freeing your mind to focus on what is right in front of you.
The next step is to redirect your focus away from your 49 swing thoughts and all the possible disastrous potential outcomes.
A solid consistent pre-shot routine will help you focus on the shot at hand and minimising your fear of potential outcomes. Simplify your pre-shot routine and once you make a decision, stick with it.
Out of Bounds: Remember that once you get over the ball, all the decision making is complete and it's now time to become an athlete instead of a thinker. This means you have to move from decision-making to execution.