The post-shot routine: Why the next shot starts before you walk to the ball
Alyssa DeNofa, M.Ed., CMPC
Golf is the only sport where you have to manage your emotions about a mistake for the entire walk to your next shot. A missed free throw is over in two seconds and then you’re back on defense. A bad golf shot can live in your head for a few minutes — long enough to turn one poor swing into three.
That’s what a post-shot routine is for. It’s not about “staying positive” or pretending the bad shot didn’t happen. It’s a structured way to process what just happened, take what’s useful from it, and put it down before it walks with you to the next shot or tee box.
THE FOUR STEPS
I teach golfers a simple four-step routine to run after every shot — good, bad, or in between.
Feel — give yourself 5-10 seconds to actually feel whatever comes up. Frustration, relief, excitement, embarrassment — whatever it is, let it exist instead of stuffing it down. Suppressed emotion doesn’t disappear; it leaks into the next shot and possibly even the rest of the round. Naming it and giving it a few seconds of space is what lets is pass through instead of building up.
Analyze — now shift from feeling to information. The key question isn’t “was the outcome good or bad” — it’s “was the process good or bad.” Did you commit to the shot? Did you execute the routine you trained? Did your swing feel like it should? If yes, “WHAT WENT WELL?” If no, “WHAT WAS MISSED?” A great process can still produce a bad outcome, and a lucky outcome can hide behind a broken process. This step is where you separate the two.
Acceptance and Gameplan — accept the shot for what it is — it already happened, and no amount of frustration changes the ball’s position. Then turn forward: what’s the gameplan for the next shot? This is where analysis becomes useful instead of just being an autopsy.
Done — close it out. Literally — some golfers use a physical cue (stepping over something on the ground, taking a breath, tightening and releasing a glove, shaking out) to signal the routine is finished. Whatever the shot was, it’s now behind you. Move to the next shot or the next hole with a gameplan and a clear head.
WHY IT HAS TO BE A ROUTINE, NOT A MOOD
The reason this works is that it’s the same four steps every time, regardless of how the shot went. Golfers who only have a “recovery plan” for bad shots tend to skip the routine on good shots — and then get blindsided when adrenaline or overconfidence creeps in two holes later. Running the same routine after shots (just like you do before shots with a pre-shot routine) builds consistency into how you manage your mental game, not just your swing.
BRINGING IT ON THE COURSE: THE MENTAL CADDIE
Knowing the four steps is one thing. Actually running them, shot after shot, for four hours, is where most golfers fall off — especially mid-round when frustration is highest and the temptation to skip straight past “feel” and “analyze” is strongest.
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Download the printable (or screenshotable) post-shot routine {here}