Golf Psychology

As with many things when using language, there are sometimes subtle but important differences between words. I’d like to explore the difference between anticipation and expectation, and apply this to golf. The reason why I think this distinction is important is that I respectfully disagree with some in my industry who suggest to players that they should expect to play well, and expect to win. My issue with this is that I believe that while expectations can create a positive anticipation, I also believe that when people have enough trials of not getting what they expect, there is a more significant negative response. For some players these negative responses are sometimes more difficult to overcome.

In other words:

To expect… for many means to get the outcome that they “should” get.

To anticipate… for many means to see the outcome that they “want” to get.

How is any of this important to your golf training and your golf performance?

When helping a player prepare for an event or a round or even a particular shot (when I’m caddying) I want the player to be anticipating the best will happen. This helps the player to see a picture in his mind of that which he wants to create. Anticipating a positive outcome might mean things like seeing the shape of the shot, visualizing the ball rolling into the cup, picturing oneself on the phone after an event excitedly talking about how they won. I believe these types of exercises create a positive internal environment that actually influence whether or not these types of positive things occur.

However, an expectation that these things will happen regularly bring on a sense of worry or anxiety for some players- “What if I don’t get that outcome”?- and for some creates a standard of performance that is expected by themselves or somebody else. This tendency leads to many players thinking about how they should have played or ought to have hit the ball- the kind of thinking that puts some players on a negative mental spiral.

In order to stay enthusiastic and excited and hopeful, anticipate that something good is going to happen!

Many young golfers have been exposed to the mental concept of “trusting” themselves on the course. The ultimate place to be as a player is to be so confident in your game that you can simply “trust your swing” or “free it up” as many of my fellow mental game gurus would advocate. That sounds good in theory, but how do you trust your swing if you’re struggling? How do you trust you’re going to make this putt if you’ve missed four like it previously? How do you trust that you’ve made the correct club selection?

The answer is that you don’t need to trust. I’d like you to trust, and I’d love it if all the players with whom I work trusted their games completely. This would make their mind less cluttered, create less worry, and probably inspire them to new heights of confidence. However, virtually 100% of the players with whom I’ve worked over 18 years in the field of mental training have times when they don’t trust one aspect of their game or another. This includes juniors, college players, and PGA Tour professionals.

When you don’t have compete trust, that’s when commitment becomes important. You see, committing to a plan of action, a shot selection, or a putting line, and actually striking the ball with authority helps develop trust. Without commitment, there is the tendency to be mentally distracted, have doubts, and second-guess yourself prior to executing. While the full trust that all will be well may not be achieved, with commitment you give yourself the best chance for something good to happen. As Payne Stewart was quoted as saying, “better to commit to the wrong thing in golf than to be uncommitted to the correct thing.”

So, put in practical terms, how can you implement this notion into your game?

• If you are in between clubs on a shot, pick one, be decisive, and commit fully to that choice.
• If you aren’t sure if the putt breaks six inches or ten inches left to right, choose one and make an authoritative stroke.
• Begin to recognize how many times you’ve hit a shot without being committed, and challenge yourself to pull the trigger only after you’ve eliminated the other options out of your mind.

Every time you’re on the golf course is an opportunity for you to get feedback about yourself as a player, and the most accurate feedback you’ll receive is when you’ve made full commitments to the shots that you hit, and then make adjustments for the future. Without that, you may never trust certain aspects of your game, no matter how regularly you practice or play.

Players regularly attend our golf schools expressing frustration about a wide assortment of things with their game.  Among them are: inconsistency in their swing, not being able to take their practice shots onto the course, an array of putting difficulties, dealing with slow players, how wind or cold hampers their play.  There is one thing that is common to all of these scenarios, as well as the hundreds of others not mentioned here.  That common thread is that none of these things are completely within the player’s control. 

Even for the professional and elite amateurs with whom I work there is an irrational notion that the harder one works and/or the more knowledge one gains about this game should somehow translate into having control over this game.  When confronted directly with this, anyone who plays this game would admit they don’t have control over it.  Yet, time and time again, people allow themselves to get caught up and distracted by the nuances of this game over which they don’t have complete control.

One way I recommend that players focus on those few things over which they do have control is by remembering the acronym ACE.  Attitude, concentration, and effort (ACE) are the only things over which we have control in golf (and in life!).  On the scorecard, I have the player give him or herself a score in each of these categories on a hole-by-hole basis.  On a 1-10 scale, with ten being the highest, I want players to attend to and work on these three factors as they play casual or competitive rounds of golf. 

What we see is a tremendous correlation between high ACE scores and lower stroke scores.  The more we focus on that over which we have control, the less frustration, anxiety, worry and anger we will have on the course.  This regularly translates into lower scores and a higher level of enjoyment of the game.  

Obviously, simply attending to the ACE variables is not going to overcome a poor swing, the fact that the players in the group in front of you are slow, or the fact that the wind is blowing 30 mph.  What reminding ourselves of ACE does do, however, is put us in the proper mind set to do all that we can to play the best that we can in that moment, whatever the conditions, and leave the rest for others to worry about!

With Spring upon us, this is the time that many junior golfers have slowed down their golf involvement after a hectic year of tournament play. In most parts of the country, high school golf has already begun.

From a mental perspective, now is a great time for the players to sit back and take some accounting of what has been going well with their game and what has been going less than well. At times, in the middle of competitive season, it seems as though players are too busy to really work on specific elements of their game. For some it feels like there is a constant “bandaging” of their game in order to get it ready for the next event.

In order to get better, it is essential that players take time to assess where their game is and create a plan of action on how they will get better over the winter. To that end, we want to make sure the player is assessing, not guessing!

Being back in school means less time to work on the game, so it is important that the time devoted to golf is spent wisely and the efforts are productive and efficient. Make sure that the assessments of the game are specific, purposeful, and honest. Get feedback from the friends who know your game, from your parents, and from your instructor, to get a comprehensive sense of where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Then put together a plan to attack those areas of weakness and continue to build the strengths!

Below is a form (Golf-Evaluation-Form.PDF attached to this post) that you could fill out and ask your “advisory team” to fill out to see where you stand on some key elements of the game. I hope this helps you continue to grow and improve as a player!

Risk-taking is an essential element in growing as a person and as a golfer.

While it is true that taking unnecessary risks has the potential to create unwanted outcomes, learning to discern between necessary and unnecessary risks can make the difference between reaching your potential as a player or falling short. Some golfers consistently like to “play it safe” and stay so much in their comfort zone that they never grow or stretch themselves. These people feel frightened or “off balance” when they approach unfamiliar territory. They are so worried about a future “bad” outcome like a missed shot or a lost opportunity that they sacrifice their development as a player in order to hit a safer shot today.

How do you get better if you keep doing the same things day after day, year after year?

Metaphorically, hugging first base will never allow you to take a chance at stealing second. At some point in every person’s golf career (and life!) there comes a time to cautiously step away from the familiar and encounter the unknown. Yes, it is true that you can “get thrown out” if you try to steal second. It is also true that you can either make it to that next level, or at a minimum, learn from the experience of “going for it” and use that information to push toward more growth on another occasion.

Many players leave their driver in the bag on holes where a driver is the obvious play. Others “hate” their 3-iron or sand wedge or putter, and don’t trust those clubs when they’re in their hands. Invariably, after I ask the players with whom I work to rate their confidence in each respective club, what follows is typically an admission that the time spent practicing with the clubs or on the shots disliked is far less than the time spent hitting balls with the favorite clubs.

How will you ever get confident with the clubs if you don’t practice with them regularly?

My advice- if you’re playing for big money or something incredibly significant, play in your comfort zone and do whatever it takes to score low. If you’re not in this type of circumstance, challenge yourself to use clubs and shots that you don’t like, so that in time you learn how to trust these as well. Perhaps in that day you might not score as well as you might have otherwise, but what you have done instead is make an investment in the future growth of your game!

One of the biggest variables that effect your development as a player can be the way you evaluate your practice and play.  Remembering this tip to react as a scientist rather than a judge can go a long way toward helping speed your learning curve.

A scientist looks at every experiment as an opportunity to gather information and learn from the information gathered.  What variables might be manipulated to get a different result in the next experiment?  With that purposeful manipulation, what is the new outcome?  To a scientist, there is no “good” or “bad” result. 

All results simply are as they are, and these results become the feedback mechanism from which something different is tried or previous variables are replicated.  Contrast this with the way a judge would view these “experiments”.  Results are good or bad, right or wrong, horrible or terrific, so-so or “OK”.  There is a lot of emphasis on labeling the result, and less emphasis on the process that created the result.  Are you a scientist or a judge when it comes to evaluating your own golf performance? 

The best golfers in the world understand how important it is to examine defeat, recognize mistakes, and pull apart miscues.  They do this in a way that is methodical and constructively critical.  Golfers who think less healthily will simply be critical and this criticism can lead to little or no learning and growing.  All this process does is diminish confidence, tear apart your self-image, and inhibit your ability to change and effectively integrate lessons into your game. 

When Thomas Edison was asked by a reporter how it felt to fail over 1,000 times before figuring out how to invent the light bulb, Edison was reported to have responded, “Sir, I never failed, I now know over 1,000 ways how not to create a light bulb.”  Edison the scientist, as a golfer, might have responded to having played poorly in a tournament or hit some poor golf shots in a similar fashion.  “OK, I now know that going for this par-5 in two is unrealistic for me.  Next time I’ll lay up and play to the safer side of the fairway”. 

See if you can evolve to the point where you think, “OK, I now know that swing thought, that strategy, that tactic, that game plan, doesn’t work well, what adjustments will I make the next time I’m faced with this situation?”  Typically, this evaluation begins with the two words, “next time”.  Rather than what you should have or could have done, thinking about the changes that you will institute “next time” can be much more beneficial. 

This “scientific” approach will help you evaluate your game in an effective, positive, and constructive manner, and perhaps most importantly help you enjoy your game even more!

It is very common among golfers on the driving range or putting green to ask themselves questions following a typical warm up session including, "How am I hitting my irons today?" "What's the driver doing?" "How is my putter feeling in my hand?" "How is my touch around the chipping greens?"

Many golfers find themselves evaluating their game in this same way during competitive rounds. Many golf experts would consider this both helpful and positive for a players' game because it allows them to make reasonable minor adjustments when on the course. However, the challenge comes for most players to make sure they are not misinterpreting the information that is being gathered.

To clarify this point, it is helpful to understand the difference between two concepts: trait and state. A trait is essentially a characteristic that is relatively permanent. Regularly people use the term in reference to things like one's personality traits or behavior traits. Simply put, it is something that one does on a very regular basis- with or without consciously doing it. On the other hand, when one speaks of a state, it is more related to an immediate, but temporary condition. We speak about someone's state of mind or mood state in reference to something we experience in the here and now.

What does this have to do with golf? Far too many players- even the best in the world- pay too much attention to the immediate state their game is in. In the moment of the swing feeling a little off or a few putts not going in the hole, many players focus on the state of that part of the game. "My putter's off today." "Something is wrong with my driver." "I'm chunking everything with my wedges." There are typically two major problems with this- 1) Players have a tendency to over think and become mechanical with this type of analysis and 2) A player's confidence suffers during that examination. Players forget to remind themselves about their traits as a good putter, driver of the ball, or ball striker.

Let's use an example. After missing a few putts on the practice green before a round or a few during a round, rather than paying too much attention to the state one's putting is in, it is much more productive and helpful to remember the foundation upon which you stand- your traits- as a putter. "I make putts all the time in practice, they'll start to fall." "I've been working hard on my putting and hit some great putts that just didn't go in, just stay patient." "I'm a good player, relax and get to the next shot and things will be fine."

As a general rule, when things feel shaky in the moment, it is much better to remember the work that has been put in to develop one's game, the capacity to hit good shots, and previous situations where things didn't feel great and turned out OK. This type of emphasis on the traits of one's game will keep most players confidence high, and prevent the tendency of paying the wrong kind of attention to what's going on in a round and allowing and letting that negatively impact confidence in that moment.

When most golfers think of the elements of the game upon which they want to improve, the vast majority think in terms of either technical elements or think about outcome. "I want to make more putts." "I want to hit more fairways." "I want to break 90 consistently."

While not disregarding these important considerations, players truly interested in overall improvement of their games would do well to consider paying attention to all aspects of the game of golf. Rather than golf being divided into full swing, short game, and putting, the more astute players recognize a different division: mechanical, physical, mental, and tactical components.

Many seek what they believe is the Holy Grail of a great golf swing (mechanical) or putting stroke (mechanical). This is done while ignoring the benefits of golf-specific fitness training, mental training, and/or course management improvement. The practice ranges across the world are full of players who hit ball after ball attempting to perfect their swing, only to find that when actually taken to the course, the improved swing alone is not enough to produce the results they desire.

It is a challenge for the serious player- let alone the casual player- to make the non-swing related elements a priority. Given a finite amount of time to devote to golf, most prefer to swing a club or stroke a putter rather than work on the fitness/mental/tactical fundamentals.

That being acknowledged ask these questions and answer honestly, "How much better would my score be if I was more physically flexible, stronger, and/or would tire out more slowly?" "If I were less distracted on the course, less nervous over short putts, more confident about my game, how would that affect my play?" "Am I sure that I am taking all considerations into account before I hit shots on the course? Would I be helped if I made better decisions when I'm playing?"

If the answer is yes to any or all of the above questions, challenge yourself to set a course of action to address these concerns, even if it means spending a little less time hitting or putting golf balls. The benefits you receive by changing your practice priorities may surprise you!

One of the most common concerns expressed by golfers is "how come I can hit the ball so well on the range but have a difficult time replicating this on the golf course?" When left on their own to try to figure this question out, many people look at their on-course behavior, thinking and playing for the source of the answer. Frequently, the answer lies more in their practice behavior than it does in their playing behavior.

It is necessary to hit a lot of golf balls in order to become proficient at golf. However, in addition to hitting bucket after bucket of practice balls, what is also imperative is that the type of practice that one undertakes approximates as much as possible the actual experience of playing the game. Watching people's typical practice involves seeing them hitting ball after ball on the range- frequently using the same club and hitting to the same target over and over and over again. This is not real golf. Why then would you practice in this manner? The key is to practice more like you play!

Here are 4 easy ways to make your practice sessions translate to better golf while playing.

1. Change targets frequently. On the golf course, you rarely hit two balls in a row to the same exact target. Practice hitting to a different target with each shot. This has application whether with the full swing, pitching, chipping, or in the bunker. Each shot is thought through and executed as a unique entity- just like on the course.

2. Change clubs frequently. On the golf course, you rarely hit two balls in a row with the same club. If you regularly hit your 7-iron three or four times in a row on the course, your game is in big trouble! However, this is how people practice. Changing clubs regularly- say every second or third shot- is a good way to approximate what it feels like to be on the course.

3. Use your pre-shot routine more frequently. Preparation for each shot on the course and preparation for each shot on the range are generally vastly different for most players. This creates a rhythm that's different, a thinking process that's different, and a result that's different!

4. Putt using one ball. You are not given the luxury of hitting the same putt two or three times on the course. Yet many people drop two or three putts and stroke the same putt over and over to the same target. Practice using just one ball- with a full read- to create an environment that's similar to the golf course.

It is true that early in the process of learning one's swing it is sometimes helpful to hit the same club to the same target without a pre-shot. However, once you are ready to go play, make sure that you're preparing yourself to deal with some of the same sensations that you have on the golf course!

If you have any interest in seeing first hand the impact that mental toughness has on sport performance, go no further than the PGA or LPGA Qualifying tournaments or "Q-School". Each year for the past several years, I have worked with players on site during this event. A great many of the conversations that the players have are a rehashing of their performance this past year on the PGA, LPGA, Nationwide, or mini-tour circuits. What I have heard frequently are things that could help the junior golfer get a head start in his or her career.

In attempting to describe why they hadn't reached their outcome goals for the season I hear these professional players repeatedly talk to one another about "trying too hard", "not letting it happen out there", "playing tentative" and many other frequently used mental game phrases. The challenge for many of these professionals is not only to sharpen their swings and putting strokes for this critical week, but to sharpen their mental games as well. The players who do well in Q-School are the ones that will follow some basic rules about the mental game. Each of these also has application for the junior golfer:

• Keep each shot in perspective. This is especially true in a 108-hole tournament. Q-School, of all tournaments, is understood to be a marathon and not a sprint. There is no rational reason to be unnerved by a bad hole or two. Similarly, the junior golfer has years and years of opportunities ahead. There is no particular shot in any tournament that is "life or death".
• Focus on the task rather than the outcome. This is probably the most difficult of the "basics" for players to follow. It is natural to think about the result and then the consequences of the result. This thinking will not help get the job done. Whenever these thoughts come to mind, replace them with thoughts of the immediate task at hand.
• Breathe. Even the best in the world get tense in this type of situation. That tension can increase a player's tendency to hold his breath in anticipation of a shot or a putt. This then impacts muscle tension even more, and potentially affects his ability to swing the club smoothly. Deep breaths = slower heart rate and less physiological tension. Creating a habit of doing this as a junior player will be invaluable as your golf career progresses.
• Remember that you cannot control things. Anyone who plays this game knows that something unexpected happens in nearly every round. A great tee shot lands in a divot, a club you've been hitting well all week suddenly starts getting shaky, or a two-foot putt is missed. The successful players in Q-School and elsewhere will recognize that they have control only over their preparation and reactions, and not over anything else. If they know they've prepared the best they could for each shot, and know that they are capable of controlling their reaction after each shot, they've done all they can possibly do to achieve their goals. Move on to the next one.
• Play to succeed. Nearly every year there is a player or two held up at the end of Q-School as an example of a late tournament collapse. In nearly all of those instances, the player interviewed will speak of having thoughts of "trying to hold on" or "trying not to make a big number". Many players will have a tendency to play to avoid mistakes and/or prevent something bad from happening. The players who are successful are those who are confident in their abilities to go out and get the job done, and will be playing to succeed rather than to avert failure.

These mental game essentials will help you as a junior player ingrain habits that can help you reach the ultimate golf goals for which you strive!

"I knew that if I could shoot 68 today, I would probably win, but it just wasn't to be." "Everytime I have a good front nine, I blow it on the back nine." "Breaking 80 is my goal, but everytime I get close my game falls apart." "There were a lot of college coaches watching, but I couldn't get anything going." "The first day I shot 74 and put myself in contention. After that it was all down hill."

Do any of these sound familiar? We hear them all the time. They are typical comments from good golfers that are too focused on their results.

In the golf world everything is determined by your score. Whether it is winning the tournament, winning a scholarship or winning the bet, your score determines your success. Your scores may determine your income and where you get to play and for how much if you are a pro. Your score also may determine your immediate happiness and self-esteem.

Many of us set outcome and score goals for our golf. These make what we are trying to accomplish very clear and are helpful if used in the right way. Unfortunately few seem to understand how to use them effectively. Too often your thoughts of the score and the ramifications of your score directly interfere with reaching those goals.

Outcome and score goals must never go on the golf course!

As I discussed before, your thoughts can raise your arousal and trigger your emotions. When your thoughts center on outcome goals and your score, you will almost certainly become too aroused to play well and think well.

Of course every Tour player says he wants to win this tournament. Of course you want to lower your personal best score. Of course you want to win the bet or break 80, etc. But by focusing on those outcome goals you make them less likely to happen.

Not only does this make it harder to manage yourself but there are also a lot of things in golf beyond your control. You can play your very best and still not win because another player simply played better or got lucky. You can hit great shots and putts with perfect technique and still not score well. You can hit all the fairways and greens and the putts don't fall.

You will experience bad breaks, even in the best rounds. If you are focused on score and outcome then these bad breaks will be hard to take and you will be likely to react emotionally and raise arousal. This makes the next shot harder to play.

There's the conundrum. You want to play well for lots of reasons. You are motivated to play well and work hard to do that. You measure your success by your score and outcome. Therefore you want to think about your score and outcomes, but doing that ruins your golf ability. It happens after a good hole or good string of holes. It happens at the turn. It happens at the end of the tournament.

Here is the solution. Don't think about score or outcome while you are playing.

Hah! Hah!

How do you do that? First of all don't think about something doesn't work. You cannot command yourself not to think about anything because that anything immediately comes to mind. Don't think about a pink elephant. What came to mind?

In order to stop thinking about the score, outcome and what it all means, you must think about something else. You must make that other thing very important to you and you must pick something that will help you play.

The thing must be within your control. It must be something that does not raise arousal or trigger emotions.

We ask our clients to set mental goals for their rounds and make them more important than their score. While on the course they are working hard to meet those mental goals. For example: My mental goal for this round is to do really good mental routines for at least 80% of my shots and putts. At the end of the round I will see if I met this goal or exceeded it. I will judge my performance today on this outcome not on my score. During the round I will note every good routine so I can add them up later.

By focusing on this goal which is within my control, I help myself play and separate myself from the results of the shot or putt which are outside of my control. If I did a good quality routine, then I did everything I could to play that shot well. I must accept the outcome, whatever it is.

Some of you may have reacted to the 80% goal. Why isn't it 100%? Of course you want to do good routines on all of your shots, but this is not realistic. If you fail to do it on one shot, then you cannot reach your goal and the motivation from this goal is lost. We usually start new clients at 50% and then raise the bar as they get better and better.

Try it the next time you play. Set a mental goal like getting really committed to at least 50% of your shots and putts. If you play a shot where you change the target or shot while over the ball, you were not effectively committed. If you swing with anxiety or worry about where the ball is going, then you were not fully committed. Full commitment means trusting your choices and not reconsidering, all the way through the shot. Track them during the round and add them up after the round. Make this score more important than how many shots you took.

You will be amazed how well this works when you do it well. Getting fully committed is harder than you might think.

You also need goals for your thoughts between shots, or your mind will gravitate to score and outcome.

For more mental goals read our book and visit with one of our GolfPsych Instructors.

(Another reason we say the Mind is Golf's Natural Enemy)

We are not talking about sexual arousal although sexual arousal would not be good for your golf either. Quite often others are more aware of your state of arousal than you are. They may be telling you to relax so that you can play better. Or they may be telling you to relax because you have just reacted to a poor shot, in which case you are very aroused.

As you climb the arousal scale your body changes and your ability to play golf changes. For a lucky few, increasing arousal is helpful because they are naturally very low on the scale and can struggle if they don't increase arousal. For most of us, we play too high on the scale for our best performance and go higher the more important the shot or round.

To compound this tendency, few of us are aware of the subtle changes that occur as we become more aroused. Most of us are only aware of high arousal when it is really high. Many of us live in an aroused state off the golf course. We get used to higher arousal and may even become addicted to it. These are the adrenaline junkies. If we are not under pressure and moving fast, we may feel bored and ineffective.

Through our research we have found a considerable range of arousal and awareness of that arousal. We have also found the optimum level of arousal for any golf shot with the Mind Meter. Through our experience with the Tour pros and amateurs we have learned how to raise your level of awareness and how to teach you to control your level of arousal appropriately for each shot. The Mind Meter allows us to measure that arousal objectively on the course.

Right now you might be saying, "Just hit the ball". I don't need to worry about this. This stuff is for the Pros. And you would be dead wrong. You are human and so are they. They are affected just as much as you are by arousal above the optimum level for golf. Colin Montgomery and Phil Mickelson at Winged Foot are two very recent and glaring examples. While they were over-aroused for different reasons, over-arousal stole their golf skills and polluted their decision process.

The optimum level of arousal for golf when described on a 1-10 scale is between 4-6 where 1 is very relaxed and 10 is very aroused, closer to 4 when playing short game shots and putting and closer to a 6 when hitting your driver and longer shots.

If you are playing these shots with higher levels of arousal then you are not playing to your potential and are probably inconsistent. As you exceed these levels your abilities to play golf are immediately affected, although subtly so at first. This can be the difference between a great putting day and just missing all day.

The first things to be affected by increasing above the optimum level for putting are control of your little muscles, your intuition or ability to read the greens, to make good decisions and commit to them and your control of the speed of the putt.

To continue with this putting example, the player that is not aware of his level of arousal will not be able to understand why putting is so hard today. The lack of success can easily raise arousal further making putting later in the round even worse. If you try to fix your putting problem by focusing on perfecting your mechanics or alignment during the round, you are toast. Your level of arousal is more important than the mechanics of your putting stroke. Lower arousal to the optimum level and your putting ability will return.

The first step is to be aware of your elevated arousal. The second step is to identify the thoughts that have raised arousal and do something about them. The third step is to work to lower your arousal to the optimum level. As you focus on these steps, arousal should lower and your putting should improve. This assumes that you have a good mental routine for putting.

These things are easy to say but take some time to learn to do. Arousal above the optimum level for golf is a result of your thoughts. Arousal doesn't increase all by itself unless you are taking stimulants: sugar, caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, some antihistamines, etc., in which case you have no control.

What is your natural level of arousal? Our online GolfPsych Evaluation can identify it and compare your level to the optimum level. Working with our GolfPsych Instructors and the Mind Meter can allow you to understand and practice playing at the optimum level, to know what it feels like.

Try to identify the thoughts that raise your arousal, create anxiety or excitement. For many players it is outcomes; of the shot, of the putt, or the score. This puts them on the emotional rollercoaster and increases arousal beyond optimum whether the outcome is good or bad. Are there concerns with what others think about you? Do you have a score goal for the round? Do you have a score you are uncomfortable surpassing? Do you have concerns about how little you practiced or prepared? Are you worried that you won't be competitive? Are you frustrated with poor performances?

Once you recognize these sources of emotion and increasing arousal or pressure then you must work to change them on the golf course. When they come up, recognize them and then change channels to thoughts that will help you stay relaxed. These can be thoughts of previous good rounds, a vacation, a movie, a concert, a favorite song or tune, a pet, a favorite person and activity, anything at all that will be relaxing and that you like to think about. You have to believe that letting go of those arousing thoughts will help you play and is the right thing to do.

Also work on abdominal breathing and relaxing your muscles all over your body. Slow your pace a bit. When you get to the ball, work on doing a really good mental routine to play the shot, no mechanics.

If you start poorly, be patient. Say to yourself, "I am just over-aroused and need to focus on calming, my game will improve."

The mind affects the body continually and subtly. Our thoughts trigger emotions and raise arousal. It is this heightened arousal that adds strokes to your game and makes you inconsistent. One more way the Mind is Golf's Natural Enemy!

(The Second Reason the Mind is Golf's Natural Enemy)

The mind and body are directly and closely connected. Any action or movement must begin in the mind and instructions are then transmitted to the body. Most of the time this happens without any attention from the mind. Breathing is one example. Driving is another. We do these things without thinking about doing them or how to do them. We drive by habit and our minds are free to wander. Our autonomic nervous system controls our breathing. In both cases we can interrupt the autopilot and take control.

When we play other sports, the mind body connection is very effective. Our senses collect information, our mind considers, decides and sends instructions to the body. We react to the moving ball or person in an effective way. This is another kind of autopilot. Great athletes don't try to control how they do something, they just do it. The decision making and control is fast and open loop.

Golf is an unusual sport. The ball just sits there. There is no continuous action or the need to react to others or a moving ball. There is a considerable amount of time before and after each action. You have time to consider what shot to play and how to play it. You may try to control exactly how you swing to get the desired shot. You may be very deliberate about how you do it.

Unfortunately deliberate control is not effective. Our minds and nervous systems are not fast enough to instruct, monitor and adjust during the golf swing. The Tour player's swing takes from .93 to 1.23 seconds from takeaway to impact. The nervous system and your mind require 250 milliseconds to send a signal to your hand and receive a signal back. You can only make 5 round trips or less during the golf swing. This means that you cannot effectively control how you are swinging. Trying to control your swing will actually interfere with your swing!

A great example of the athletic autopilot versus the deliberate controlled way of operating is your signature. Sign your name like you do on a check or letter. You are probably in the athletic autopilot mode. Now sign your name again very carefully. Be sure that it is clear and neat and legible. You are probably in the deliberate controlled mode. How did you do on the careful signature?

With golf, your mind has time to consider, and depending on how important the outcome is to you, your mind will tend to go into deliberate controlled mode. This is natural. We all do it.

Unfortunately most of our instructors and golf writers are always telling us how to swing the club or execute the shot correctly. They draw our attention to how to do it in extreme detail. Then they ask us to think about one or more swing keys while we are playing the shot.

In a recent GolfPsych Tournament Player School, Level I, our beginning group school, I had a 65-year old grandfather, 15 handicap, who was attending with his grandson of 17. This gentleman had started playing when he was 10, encouraged by his cousins and uncles. Over the years he had played more and less and then after retirement, he began playing most every day in a money game with 14 or 15 of his buddies. He had developed the usual physical complaints and some unusual ones, most recently rotator cuff surgery. Fortunately the money games were full handicap.

His GolfPsych Evaluation, taken online before the school, showed he had 5 of the 8 Champion Traits on the money. On the other 3 he was close. His main complaint was a lack of confidence because he doesn't practice regularly. He believed that if he could work on his swing more that he would play better and enjoy the game more. This meant that when he approached shots that were important, his anxiety level would rise and his expectations would fall. No matter how carefully he played the shot he was disappointed most of the time.

He did not understand that his mental approach to playing those shots in the careful deliberate mode was hurting his ability to play those shots to his ability. He was getting poor results and couldn't find his way out of this mental/mechanical trap.

I worked with him on the range that first morning on developing his mental routine and quickly realized that he was focused on his swing and making certain moves. He admitted that he never imagined the ball flying to his targets. His focus and effort was confined to the swing. His arousal level would rise 20 points on the Mind Meter every time he moved into the shot and was over the ball. His history and his low confidence from that raised it. His determination to succeed made him continue to try to swing correctly. His whole body was tight and his big hands were murdering the grip. It was no wonder that he had torn his rotator cuff.

First I asked him to ignore where the ball went. Our purpose was to work on his mental routine not hit perfect shots. That would come later. Secondly I coached him in his breathing and relaxing, without thinking about hitting a shot. Finally the Mind Meter showed that he was relaxing and letting go. Then I insisted that he imagine his ball flying to the target in the way he wanted.

When he moved into the shot, the Mind Meter would go up. I stopped him and made him start over. This took several repetitions until he could move into the shot, set-up over the ball and stay relaxed. The change was visible, his body had softened.

Now when swinging he was to think about how it would feel to connect with the ball and send the ball flying to his target with a smooth, unhurried swing. No worries about where the ball would actually go. No trying to make the swing movements in a certain way. Let the athlete play the shot, trusting his athletic ability to do it without controlling.

The change was dramatic. After a few tries with this new attitude and lowered arousal, he really started connecting. Even better than that, his shots became much more consistent. His face showed his wonder. After playing golf in the deliberate controlled way for over 50 years he had found his athlete and a new way to play the game.

Of course his excitement raised his arousal and affected a few shots, but when he went back to relaxing and right thinking everything worked again.

The mind is golf's natural enemy. The logical mind accepts that if everyone says you have to think about your swing and be careful to do it the same everytime, this must be so. When your mind operates this way, it naturally limits your performance and consistency.

This nice gentleman is not fixed. He will always have to be wary of the mind's natural tendency to want to take over the golf shot. With practice and application in his money game, he will get better and better at relaxing and playing athletically. He doesn't have to beat balls to achieve this. He does have to work to do good mental routines for every shot and putt. I look forward to his improvement and increasing enjoyment of the game.

Countless books and articles have been written about how to swing the club, putt and play short game shots; how to manage the course and how to think to play well. You have an enormous appetite for this information because you want to play better and more consistently (because you have not played better, as good as you should or consistently). You are goal driven and accustomed to working to achieve your goals, but golf doesn't submit to your efforts to achieve better play consistently. Most of us fail to ever reach scratch or stay there or beat some personal score goal. Even the pros are subject to large swings in performance over time. Ian Baker-Finch, Chip Beck and David Duval are well-known examples.

The good news is, "It is not your fault". This difficulty achieving consistency at a high level is due to several reasons and is normal or pre-determined for most of us. What we have learned through our research and work with the Tour Pros is that the best of the best are "naturals". They are unique individuals that consistently play at a high level due to their personalities and experience. Those very successful individuals are unique in 8 personality traits out of 32 we measure. This is based on our scientific research with the PGA, Champions and LPGA Tour players. We found these 8 traits distinguished the frequent winners from the other Tour players 95% or more of the time! This is the main reason we say the Mind is Golf's natural enemy.

Even if you perfected your swing, perfected your putting stroke and learned how to do a variety of short game shots well and worked harder on your physical skills than anyone, you are not guaranteed success in golf. Raymond Floyd has stated that if you can get through the Qualifying school to get on Tour, you have the skills necessary to win on Tour. Yet the Tour entertains Q-school graduates every year that fail to stay on Tour or ever win. Some players even plan on attending the Fall Classic.

Gary McCord had a full career on the PGA Tour. He played 376 Tour events and made 242 cuts. He did not win one tournament on the PGA Tour. His physical skills and equipment are excellent. He is obviously an intelligent man.

Gary worked with GolfPsych when he turned 49 to get ready for the Champions Tour. He wanted to make the most of this new opportunity. The results of his personality evaluation showed that he had two of the Eight Champion Trait scores. After identifying his challenges we employed techniques and strategies to help him emulate the other six Champion Trait scores when competing.

With this new understanding of his challenges and what to do about them, Gary won his first event on the Champions Tour. In that rookie year, he won 2 of the 17 events he played. He could now beat those players that he had failed to beat in 376 events!

All of your efforts may fail if you ignore your personality and its' impact on your performance. Your personality is part of your mind and determines how you operate. Your natural inclinations and reactions may be exactly the wrong responses for golf performance.

Dave Stockton has given us permission to share one of his personality challenges and how he manages it. Dave is clearly a frequent winner and a member of the Champion sample in our study. He won 10 times on the PGA Tour including two PGA Championships. We connected with Dave when he was 49, at the PGA Championship.

From his GolfPsych Evaluation we learned that Dave had 6 of the 8 Champion Tour personality traits. Dave measured much higher than the other frequent winners on Abstract Thinking. From experience we knew that players measuring higher on Abstract Thinking tend to over-think individual shots and also tend to consider all the ramifications of the situation and multiple outcomes. In other words they have very busy minds.

When their abstract abilities come up with multiple ways to play a shot, they can still be considering how to play the shot over the ball and struggle with commitment and decision-making. This usually leads to less desirable outcomes.

We also know that when players are more aroused than the optimum levels for golf their abstract abilities are supercharged.

Very simply, Dave had to become more aware of how busy his mind is, how high his level of arousal is and learn ways to manage his thoughts and quiet his mind and lower arousal. We employed thought control techniques we have developed for golf. We taught Dave how to breath effectively and lower arousal. We worked with Dave to find allowed thoughts for his time between shots and to develop his unique mental routine for playing the shots. He had to become very disciplined about what he was thinking about on the golf course and leading up to the competition. He must trust his intuition and not over-think the shots and putts, fully committing to his choices before he is over the ball.

The results of this effort were awesome with Dave winning Rookie of the Year, Player of the Year, leading the money list and winning 14 Champions Tour events including two Champions Tour majors so far. He was already a Champion, we just helped him dial it in again and maintain it. This was necessary because of his personality challenges. He is still higher abstract than the Tour Champion group. His tendency will always be to over-think.

This is the main reason the Mind is Golf's natural enemy. GolfPsych can help you learn how to overcome your personality challenges and move to the next level. The first step is to understand your unique challenges and what to do about them.

Personality is not the only problem for your mind and golf but it is critical. In the next article we will discuss natural problems with the Mind-Body interaction and connection. The following article will discuss how the thoughts and emotions in your mind impact your level of arousal and therefore your performance.

The truth of this statement was never more apparent than at the conclusion of the 2006 United States Open Golf Championship at Winged Foot, where two of the World's top ranked golfers failed to finish in a manner to which they are accustomed. They did not need to do anything heroic to win or tie for the lead. If they had only played the last three holes as they were capable of, they would have been basking in the glory of a major championship.

We can easily point at moments in time during the tournament and say if only that had not happened, then they would have won. We all know anything can happen in golf. But what are the odds that the number two ranked player in the world would double bogey the 18th hole? The previous three days he made birdie, bogey, par at the 18th. What are the odds that Monty would double bogey the 18th when he made par there the first three days?

It has been our experience through our work with over 350 other Tour players, that when a player is too aroused for golf they tend to exhibit their unique challenges or their weakest Champion Traits. We found through scientific research with the Tour players that there are only 8 personality traits that matter for golf, the Champion Traits. (Although the professionals at GolfPsych have not evaluated either Phil or Colin, we can speculate from the experiences of observation.)

In Phil's case, the weakest Champion Trait for golf is most likely his Dominant trait. He almost certainly measures too high on this trait. GolfPysch recommends that players measuring too dominant for golf adopt a more conservative game plan to adjust for their overly dominant tendencies. Until Sunday, Phil has been using this exact strategy to perform well in his previous Major successes.

With Colin, we suggest that he is off the mark on Emotional Stability for golf. It is pretty clear that in times past he has gotten quite angry with hecklers. After he birdied 17 with a long putt, the commentators remarked that he might cry. If so, it was for the happiness associated with the possibility of finally winning a major. Crying or not, he was obviously emotionally affected by the great outcome on 17. This most assuredly raised his arousal level above the optimum level for golf.

Whenever you measure differently than the Champions on any of these Champion personality traits, you reduce your ability to perform to your potential on the golf course, no matter what your natural and practiced physical skill levels are.

While Colin's emotional reaction raised his level of arousal, it was still within the optimum level for playing the driver and he played it well on the18th tee. This left him with 171 yards to the pin from the fairway. He now had to wait for the green to clear and his playing partner to play. This gave him a great deal of time to think about the situation, the shot, the possibility of winning, further raising arousal.

As your arousal level rises above the optimum level for the particular shot, a number of changes occur, most of which are detrimental. In this case, his mind was busier and he second-guessed which club to hit, changing at the last moment. In his words, "I switched from a 6 to a 7. I thought the adrenaline would kick in and I'd hit it about 10 yards further," This over thinking also probably hurt his commitment to the club selection, failing to trust it fully while executing the shot. These mental errors produced a shot to the right rough. This most certainly raised arousal further.

Other things affected by increasing arousal are reduced touch and feel and reduced ability to read greens. Colin is beside the green in two and only needs bogey to tie as it turned out. Knowing that Phil was in trouble would not have changed his performance because he was already over-aroused for short game shots and emotional. It is not surprising that his wedge to the green went long and that the first putt was too firm.

We know that Phil has worked diligently with his swing and short game coaches. We know that Phil carries two drivers to gain an advantage off the tee. We know that Phil spent hours in putting drills before his rounds at Winged Foot. These efforts have increased his confidence in his physical game. We know that he has modified his approach to playing the majors to be more controlled, especially off the tee. These things have served him well in his previous Major wins. We know he has incredible physical talent.

Logic says he should win this tournament with a two shot lead and only 3 holes to play.

Our research says that if you are weak on any Champion Trait, you will not perform as well as you could. Our experience says that when you are more aroused than the optimum level for golf that your abilities to think and perform are diminished. In the case of Dominance, where the player is over-aroused and is naturally too dominant they will force their play. The commentators said the old Phil came out on the second shot on 18. The old Phil may have come out on the tee when he chose driver, even though he had missed twelve of fourteen fairways, with his drivers, during the final round.

Obviously Phil's excess dominance did come out when he played too aggressively on the second shot. When Phil is less aroused and thinking more clearly, he probably chooses to play back to the fairway and try to get up and down for the win or bogey for the tie. The subsequent shots were just a continuation of over-aroused playing.

Both players were over-aroused. The source was different for each. Just trying to relax without addressing the underlying source would be ineffective. This is why it is so important to understand where you measure on the Eight Champion Personality Traits and then what to do about it.

Everyone needs to learn how to train their mind for performance and master golf's natural enemy!