Golf Tip of the Day - More Thoughts on the Mental Game

Remember that round of golf where everything seemed to go right? Remember those rounds where everything seemed to go wrong? What's the difference?

From my perspective, the main issue that can sabotage a round of golf is keeping an eye on the prize. This can be the thought of winning a tournament or shooting your best score when you are playing well.

The first time this thought sabotaged a tournament for me was in the PA state high school championship. With 8 holes to play, I had a 5 shot lead over one of the best high school golfers in the country, Ted Tryba. I had started the day with a three shot lead, and four over Ted. At this point in the round, I was not playing particularly well, but I remember having this lead because that is exactly when I started thinking about winning.

I subsequently bogeyed the next two holes and my lead was quickly down to three. Ted started to play well and was hitting it close on every hole, but not making putts. I just missed a 10 footer on 17 that would have given me a three shot lead with one to play. I walked up to 18 tee with a two shot lead, and simply choked my guts out, made bogey on an easy par 5 and lost to Ted in sudden death.

A couple years later, I found myself in contention to make it through to the sectional qualifier for the U.S. Open. I was not playing well this day, but I was putting well, and conditions were tough, so the scores were high. Tour player Mark Wiebe finished second that day with a 1 under par total.

I actually shanked two full swing shots that day, one with a 6 iron on a par 3 and one with a 1-iron off the tee. I recovered in both cases to limit the damage to bogeys. I ended up in a 5 way playoff for one spot, and among those players was Stu Ingraham, who would be on the PGA Tour the next year. I was nervous as can be, but somehow managed to execute, made birdie, and won the playoff. In this case, my focus was not so much on the prize, but just trying to not make an ass out of myself.

A couple years after this I remember playing a 36 hole match against a big rival of mine for our club championship. We were both cocky and pretty much hit it 20 yards past everyone else we played with in those days. We were both playing pretty well, and I had a lot of confidence that summer. After a shaky start, I found myself 4 down after 8 holes with some stupid play. Then I just started to play. Over the next 25 holes I played 7 under par, and won the match 3 and 2. In this case, I simply would not be denied. It wasn't the championship I was thinking about, it was just beating my rival. I wasn't worried about what he was doing, just playing the best I could.

We often get too wrapped up in trying to find some secret mental technique to help us with our game. The funny thing is, most of the great players never thought that way. They simply focused on the task at hand. If they were confident, chances are they would win.

In the two examples I presented here where I got the job done, I did it in different ways. In neither case was I focused on the prize. I was simply focused on the task at hand, and I just executed to the best of my ability. Yes, I was very nervous in both cases. But there were no other thoughts sabotaging my round. In one case, I wasn't playing well, so I was just focused on doing the best I could. In the other case, I was playing well, and was focused on beating my rival with good play. In that instance, that might be viewed as a prize in itself, but for me it was motivation. And, since I had already won one club championship before, I was not fixated on that prize.

The bottom line is that you have to just do your best to focus on executing the shot at hand. If you think about a potential prize or you let negative thoughts creep into your head, you will only sabotage your round. Have fun, and just be yourself during the round, and play each shot to the best of your ability. At the end of the day, chances are you will have had a good round.

In regard to golf, it is my thought that keeping things simple is the way to go. There is no magic formula for success.

Scott Cole
www.howtogolfyourbest.com