Thoughts on the Mental Game of Golf

I was recently asked by a student whether they should purchase some info from the internet regarding the mental game of golf. There is an awful lot of material out there regarding various mental approaches to golf. There are even a number of well known sports psychologists out there who work with PGA pros to improve their mental skills.

However, not once have I ever heard of a top player, and I mean a top player such as Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, ever employ the services of a sports psychologist or mental coach. What these mental coaches do, however, is suggest that they know the secrets of Tiger and Jack in regard to their mental approach, as if the average golfer can apply those secrets to their own game.

Whenever I have heard of any Tour player employ the services of a sports psychologist, that golfer is usually someone who is desperate to find the answers as to why they can’t win more golf tournaments. In my view, the answer to that question is simple: they are not mentally tough enough because they don’t have enough confidence in their own abilities.

Confidence is the whole key to performing under pressure. However, confidence does not just appear in your game over night. It appears after a lot of hard work on your game AND by playing a lot of golf!

I just viewed a video of Lee Trevino. He said “….you won’t learn much from me…I never had a mental approach. I got my confidence from hard work.”

Trevino worked hard on his game, but that is not all. I’ve read stories of him before his days on the Tour showing up for a match with no money in his pocket and making lots of bets. You want to talk about pressure! Well, that is how you simulate the pressure of a golf tournament. You have to repeatedly put yourself in the position where something is on the line when you stand up to the tee on the 18th hole, or you are faced with that all important 6 foot putt. If you never do that with yourself, you will never learn how to deal with the pressure that just comes from playing in the 3rd flight in your club championship!

I find it very interesting that you find very few, if any, books written about the mental game by any top player. Sure, there are books that SPECULATE about how Tiger Woods’ developed his mental toughness, but he has never written about the topic himself. The same may be said about Jack Nicklaus who is arguably Tiger’s equal in terms of mental toughness.

On the other hand, there are huge numbers of books written about the golf swing, putting or short game. The fact is, none of these players worry about the mental game. Instead, they focus on executing their swing as best they can, not on some mental tip that suddenly transforms them into a totally relaxed player!

Gaining confidence to perform under pressure is simply a progression. I remember as a teenager, I was a pretty good golfer, playing to a 2 handicap by the time I was 16. I had won a few small junior golf tournaments. But, every time I would play in the men’s club championship at my club, I would play poorly, usually averaging over 80 for two rounds.

Finally, when I was 18, I broke through. That summer I stepped up my game to play well against more experienced players. In one tournament, a better ball of partners format, we were down two shots with one hole to play, a 550 yard par 5. This was back n 1984. I’ve always been a long hitter, so even playing with a persimmon driver, I could reach the green in two. However, on this occasion, it was playing into a little bit of wind. I hit a decent drive, leaving myself about 260-270 yards from the green. I pulled out driver and hit it from the fairway, best shot of my life. It rolled up to about 25 feet to the right of the pin. I was nervous as could be standing over the putt, but I knocked it in for the eagle! Unfortunately, my opponent knocked in a 15 footer on top of me for birdie, and he and his partner won by a shot.

A few weeks later in our club championship, I shot rounds of 74-68 to finish in a tie for first, and lost in a playoff. Now, I knew how to play a great round under pressure to have a chance at winning.

So, you see, gaining this confidence is not something that happens over night. You can learn all the mental tips you want, but if you have a flawed golf swing and no confidence in the ability of that swing to hold up under pressure, you simply won’t perform.

If you really want to see improvement, work on your golf swing, work on your putting and short game, and play as often as possible, and play with something on the line! That is how you will learn to lower your scores!

Scott Cole
powergolftraining.net