Fearless Golf: Conquering the Mental Game

of short irons to the middle of the green and two-putting for a bogey is a good way to minimize the damage and possibly turn a 7 into a 5. Moreover, the stress of another bad number on the scorecard is reduced. That’s the way to play badly well.
    Like Ben Hogan, Tiger Woods recognizes the power of minimizing the severity of your misses. When I asked Tiger what was the most difficult part of the game for him, he replied,

    Well, I think it’s interesting. If you’re hitting the ball well, people think you’re mentally tough because you’re playing well. But I think where you see a person, what they have, what kind of mettle they have is when they are not hitting the ball well and whether or not they can still win a golf tournament and still put themselves in contention to win tournaments. I think that’s where Gary [Player] and Jack were excellent. A lot of the great champions, that’s what they were able to do. When you’re not hitting well, those off-days, to still keep yourself in the tournament. Or even if you have a lead and you have an off-day, build the lead even though you’re not playing well.

    self-efficacy and recovery: bouncing back from mistakes

    In natural sciences such as biology and ecology, the speed with which systems recover from damage is the defining characteristic of their health. For example, the health of ecosystems such as coral reefs, forests, and grasslands is measured by their ability to recover from environmental damage such as fire and pollution. Similarly, in the human body, healthy muscles are characterized by how quickly they recover from fatigue after workouts. Weak muscles often take weeks to recover whereas strong muscles begin the recovery process quickly.
    The same principle applies to track athletes, swimmers, cyclists, distance runners, triathletes, and any competitor involved in cardiovascular training. For newcomers, a jog around the block can result not only in both sore muscles but also in cardiovascular fatigue. With consistent training, runners notice two things. First they find that they can run for longer and longer periods of time. Second, and more important to the elite athlete, they find that they recover more quickly from fatigue after they train. While initially it may take a full minute for their heart rate to get back to normal, with practice, the amount of time decreases so that mature athletes’ heart rate begins to drop almost immediately upon completion of a run. They recover quickly.
    A fit golfing mind displays similar restorative powers. Psychologically resilient golfers who are confident in themselves and in their abilities are able to quickly recover in all facets of the game. When they make mistakes, they are able to immediately forget about them and get fully involved in the next shot. In fact, the key to that recovery is their ability to immediately focus on the next shot. Again, remember the importance of the phrase “What’s my target?” Rather than asking, “How could I have made such a stupid mistake?” they get busy finding the way to the hole. The psychologically immature golfer dwells on mistakes, beats himself up, and lets negativity, self-doubt, and anger infect his game. He dwells on mistakes and circumstances. He asks bad questions that keep his mind focused on those mistakes. He doesn’t recover quickly. He even may not recover at all.

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    words of a champion: justin leonard,
1997 british open

    Justin Leonard won the British Open in 1997 at Royal Troon with a 65 in the final round, rallying from five shots behind the leaders. Truthfully, though, he may not have won it with that score on Sunday, but with his intense, focused, and solitary preparation for the event. By coming to Scotland a week early and practicing at the course every day, he knew what to expect when the conditions got tough and the course got tougher. That resolve served him well after he fell off the lead with an over-par round on Saturday. He even spent extra time practicing after his round and was the last player to leave the putting green late that night. On Sunday, he had a little something extra that none of the others could find. It’s a grit that his teacher Randy Smith knew well. Smith told
Sports Illustrated
after his pupil rallied that July day, “You put the big heat on Justin—the most people, the most pressure, the biggest scrutiny, the biggest chance for distraction—and he thrives on it. Put him in the middle of the ring, put him in