![\"ian](\"https:\/\/www.shipsticks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/ian-poulter.jpg\" "\\"ian")
Veteran PGA Tour pro Ian Poulter<\/a>, for instance, advises you to keep your head clear. \u201cI just don\u2019t let things affect me during a round of golf,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\u201cI don\u2019t carry a shot from the previous hole. \u00a0It has no need to enter my brain, because that\u2019s just wasted energy. A great or poor shot means nothing.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n That said, you can size up your first putt, as you\u2019re coming up to the green. \u201cIf you roughly know the line of your putt, you can gauge where the putt will move as you\u2019re walking up and approaching the shot,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Fellow Tour veteran Ricky Barnes admits that he has a lot of crazy thoughts run through his mind during a round. But all the time, \u201cI\u2019m trying to stay relaxed,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cIf your shot is good, then under-react. If it\u2019s bad, don\u2019t over-react. That\u2019s a great mindset, and something my caddie and I have been trying to work on the past year. I don\u2019t play my next shot ahead in my head. Maybe walking up to the ball, I\u2019m trying to assess it, or feel the wind\u2026walking up I\u2019m taking everything in.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n Barnes adds that if you get over the ball and don\u2019t like the way the hole sets up or is shaped, or feel uncomfortable with the club you\u2019re about to use, then change the club to something more comfortable.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned the more years I\u2019ve played as a pro, to do that,\u201d he says. \u201cThe worst thing is to say afterwards \u2018I knew that was going to happen,\u2019 as opposed to knowing you made a physical error. You can take physical errors, but mental errors are tough to swallow.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n LPGA Tour player Ryann O\u2019Toole<\/a> is a self-described perfectionist. As a result, she claims she\u2019s perfected her pre-shot routine, to control the way she thinks before and after any shot. However, she also realizes that other factors are uncontrollable.<\/p>\n \u201cLook at the things that you can control,\u201d she says. \u201cCan you control if the ball hits something on the way to the hole? No. Can you control if a putt lips out? No. So make that key.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n In other words, keep your cool when something bad happens to your game.<\/p>\n Finally, if the wheels fall off during a round, heed the advice of LPGA Your pro Sandra Gal<\/a>: \u201cFirst, try to figure out why it happened. It\u2019s mental. Next, be thankful for what you have and that you\u2019re playing golf. That appreciation makes you happy and gets you back to hitting better shots.\u201d<\/p>\n