Mistakes are part of golf. It’s literally a game built on managing failure well — you hit a small ball with a stick across hundreds of metres, with wind, slope, and nerves working against you. So, it’s no surprise that emotional regulation and mistake management go hand-in-hand in this sport. Learning how to manage your performance and sport psychology skills is critical for success.
What Is Emotional Regulation?
Emotional regulation is basically how we manage our emotions: how we influence what we feel, when we feel it, how strongly we feel it, and what we do with those feelings. If we don’t learn to notice and work with our emotions, they’ll run the show — usually by overwhelming us or pushing us into avoidance. And when we avoid, we rob ourselves of the chance to learn what those emotions are trying to teach us.
Mistake Management — It’s a Skill
Mistake management isn’t about avoiding errors altogether — it’s about how we respond when they happen. In golf, that might be a poor shot, a rushed decision, or a mix of both. Good mistake management is catching those quickly, learning from them, and adjusting moving forward. The more you make space for mistakes, the less reactive you are when they happen — because you’ve already told yourself it’s okay for them to be there. That’s where emotional regulation comes in.
How to Work With Emotions (Not Against Them)
So what can you actually do?
1. Understand the emotion – Where do you feel it in your body? What’s it urging you to do? What’s your facial expression or posture doing? Name the emotion.
2. Slow it down – Take a breath. Use breathing techniques or progressive muscle relaxation to calm the body.
3. Respond, don’t react – If the emotion isn’t overwhelming, try doing the opposite of what it’s urging (e.g. slowing down instead of rushing).
4. Validate if needed – If it’s too intense, simply acknowledge it’s there. All emotions have a purpose, even the uncomfortable ones.
Mistakes in golf are inevitable. But how you respond to them — emotionally and mentally — is where your power sits. If you can get good at sitting with those moments in
