The Mental Similarities of Playing Golf and Trading

Golf clubs theoretically are put away from summer play. With the drought like conditions in Chicago this summer, I took advantage of the weather and played golf and played more golf. Living in the Chicago land area all my life I have learned that when the sub zero winds blowing off of Lake Michigan aren’t whipping in your face, take your clubs out. If you play golf, I am sure that you understand.

To ease my guilty feeling about playing so much golf, I decided to write an article on the mental similarities of playing golf and trading. The more I played, the more ideas I got. The best of both worlds.

Below is a summary of my thoughts and hard work on the golf course on the similarities of Golf and Trading;

1). Before you take your first swing, you evaluate the course conditions. Is it windy or still, where the tee box is aiming you, is there a dogleg in the fairway, location of hazards that might come into play, is the ground soft or hard, is the hole going to play long or short, and the pin placement.

1). Before you make your first trade, you evaluate the market conditions. Where did the market close the day before, what is the pre-opening call, what is in the news, what economic data is coming out and what are traders looking for in these numbers, where are the support and resistance areas.

2). You tee up the ball, get your direction and keep your eye on the ball. You need confidence in your shot.

2). You get your entry/exit points and keep your eye on the numbers. You need confidence in your execution.

3). You need to focus on every shot. Is the ball in the fairway, first cut, sand, or in the woods? Your position will determine your next shot.

3). You need to focus on every trade. Is your trade in the money or out, are you on the right side of the trend, is the market volatile? Your position will determine your next trade.

4). No “Hail Mary’s”. You have a bad shot or a bad trade; you get yourself back into play and take the penalty.

5). The objective of golf is score well. Maximize your good shots and minimize your bad shots. Make money if you are the betting type.

5). The objective of trading is to make money.  Maximize your good trades and minimize your bad trades. Make enough money to play golf.

You want to “play” the course and “trade” the market. Be aware of how each is set up, don’t try and beat either. The golf course and the market will tell you what to do, you just need to: “LISTEN”.

Continued on... Golf and Trading Page 2