After years of careful observation I have identified two mental afflictions. The symptoms are markedly different, but they seem to share at least one thing in common- they are a peculiar to golf.  I will try to define them here for the betterment of the sport and mankind in general.

Obstacle Illusion
-noun ob•sta•cle  [ob-stuh-kuh l]  il•lu•sion   [i-loo-zhuh n]
1.    something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality.
2.    the state or condition of being deceived; misapprehension.
3.    Psychology. a perception, as of visual stimuli (optical illusion), that represents what is perceived in a way different from the way it is in reality.
4.    Golf.  an mental fixation on an feature on or around a golf course causing a player to assess incorrectly that said feature poses an obstruction or will hinder efforts. (note  illustration)
"I have no shot. Those trees in the middle are totally jamming me up."

Obstacle Delusion
-noun ob•sta•cle  [ob-stuh-kuh l]  de•lu•sion   [di-loo-zhuh n]
1.    a false belief or opinion: delusions of grandeur.
2.    Psychiatry. a fixed false belief that is resistant to reason or confrontation with actual fact: a paranoid delusion.
3.    Golf. A mental fixation on a desired outcome causing a player to ignore or overlook features that will (barring miracles) hinder efforts or be an obstruction.

“Trees are 90% air. I’m gonna get all over that flag stick.”

It's all in your head. Go for it shooter!

-JJ