I started journaling in my daily life roughly a year ago. I would journal before bed as a daily reflection and to prepare for the next day. It quickly had a profound effect on my mental health.

It didn’t take long to realize journaling needed to be implemented in my golf game. I had read about great players, including multiple major winners using journaling as a tool to bring out the best in their game. I was always reluctant, being unaware of the research and science of the benefits.

I had been using a golf performance app designed by Karl Morris (Mind Caddie) for note-keeping after my rounds. I then started using the journaling portion of the app. After more research, I changed to a classic physical journal to handwrite in.

Sitting down and spending time writing in a journal is massively beneficial for multiple reasons. In short form, here are the biggest reasons why journaling can be beneficial to your golf game and mental health, which in my opinion, are correlated.

1. Makes you mindful and present

When you sit down and write in a journal, it makes you present in the moment. The act of writing on paper with a pen makes you focus your attention on what you are currently doing, writing. This can be used as a distraction for your brain to take a step back and view what you are journaling about from a different perspective.

This brief break from your influenced thoughts also gives you time to reflect. Imagine reflecting on your round when you are more clear-minded, not fresh off a bogey on the last hole. Creating this habit also trains your brain to be mindfully present in the moment, a skill that can be trained and will undoubtedly improve performance.

2. You can become what you think

People often become what they tell themselves. If you constantly tell yourself you are a poor putter, then you will become one. As Harvey Penick once said, “Make sure you go to dinner with good putters.” The energy of players’ attitudes around you will undoubtedly contaminate your thinking. Start the habit of changing the story.

For journaling, I have found it helped to write down the three best shots I hit during that round. Our brains naturally focus on the bad shots, as that has more of an impact on our thought process. Taking the time to write down the good shots reverses that natural thought process and can change your brain over time to what you have done well.

3. Programming commitments

The typical day ahead of you rarely goes as planned. In golf, you are almost certainly going to be faced with obstacles. Whether it be an unexpected change in weather, playing with a slow playing partner or just physically not feeling up to par, setting a commitment will help you weather the storm.

Before your round, write down a commitment you can maintain throughout the round. Examples include, “I will be a good playing partner despite what happens on the golf course today” or “I am going to do a great job of learning from my bad shots today”.

With this commitment in writing, it will serve as something you can control during the round and can revert back to mentally. Focusing on the controllable areas will steady the ship when things go awry. Focusing on outcomes you can’t control can put you in a mental tailspin.

4. Accountability

Holding yourself accountable for the day is a great tool to keep yourself in check. For daily life, processing what you did well and didn’t do well will promote self-awareness, giving you clarity on changes that need to be made. After your golf round, this time of reflection will serve as how well you held your “commitment” on the round.

As for my end of the day journaling, I have a section titled “Well/Not Well/Improvements Needed”. This usually contains one or two sentences where I have to self-reflect on those areas and how I can improve. Once this part of journaling becomes a habit, you will find yourself not wanting to have to write down the “Not well” part of the day. This indirectly forces you to be mindful and take a better approach to daily situations.

5. Facilitates a swing change

Making a swing change is difficult for even a professional player. The best way to go about it? Focus on building a new brain circuit on top of going to the range trying to build “muscle memory”.

A new movement first starts in the brain, so we should focus more on creating a strong memory of that movement. The best way to do this is simply write down in your notebook what you are working on. This can include distinct feels on the motion. To take it a step further, develop the habit of writing it down before bed, as the research shows before sleep is the optimal time to learn.

From reading biographies about philosophers, presidents, CEOs, Athletes, and top performance experts, journaling has always played a role in their lives. Only needing paper and a pen, anyone can do this at anytime. Start small with your golf journal, form a productive habit and see where it takes you.

Work Cited

Morris, Karl. “The Mindfactor Course”. Holiday, Ryan. “The Daily Stoic”. Nichol, Gary “The Lost Art of Golf”. Dr. Julie Smith, “Why Has No One Told Me This Before”

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