Fearless Golf: Conquering the Mental Game

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    Self-efficacy beliefs not only provide the mental stability to remain focused but, more important, they ensure that the present is a “good” place not invaded by negative thoughts of self-doubt. Jack Nicklaus is an excellent model of high self-efficacy resulting in psychological resilience and quick recovery. Jack’s mind was always forward-thinking. Whether looking for the next mountain to climb in the world of business or the next shot to hit at a tournament, he rarely dwelled on mistakes and momentary failures. His son Gary explained, “Does my dad dwell on mistakes? He doesn’t even remember them. Most of the time, when it comes to golf, he doesn’t acknowledge them. In his mind, they didn’t happen.”
    One of my fondest memories from the past several years illustrates Nicklaus’s incredible mind, as well as the role of questions, self-efficacy, and recovery all rolled into one. I learned of this story while playing with him and his son Gary at Nicklaus’s Muirfield Village Golf Club. It was a fun round of golf, full of chatter, conversation, needling, and laughter. As we were walking to the sixteenth hole, a long par 3 with out-of-bounds on the right, Gary suggested that I ask his dad about the 1984 Memorial Tournament when Jack hit one out-of-bounds while playing in the final round with the lead. “Well,” Jack said, “I was leading the tournament on Sunday by one shot over Seve Ballesteros. The wind was coming from the right so I tried to play a high fade into the wind. I overcooked it a bit and hit it out-of-bounds.”
    I was shocked at hearing this because, growing up and hearing the tales of Jack Nicklaus in the clutch, it seemed that he never hit shots out-of-bounds, especially with a tournament on the line. Of course, my professional curiosity got the best of me. I asked, “How did you respond to that? What were you thinking after that shot?” What he said next illustrates why he is arguably the best competitive golfer in the history of the game. Without missing a beat he said, “I didn’t have time to dwell. I was too busy thinking about my next shot. There were other guys out there trying to win the tournament too, so I wasn’t busy asking about why the ball flew where it did. I was busy asking myself what I needed to do in order to win the golf tournament.” For Jack, the amount of time between a bad shot and recovery was instantaneous. There was no dwelling. No asking “What if I blow the tournament?” He immediately got into the next shot by asking himself, “What do I need to do in order to win this golf tournament?”
    Think about the questions you need to ask yourself when your sense of self-confidence is challenged by circumstances. For instance, after shooting 42 on the front nine, it is perfectly appropriate to ask yourself, “What do I need to do to still break 80?” The initial answer should be obvious: “Shoot 37 on the back nine.” But don’t stop there. Ask then, “What do I need to do to shoot 37?” Another obvious answer: “Do no less than make a lot of pars.” Again, don’t stop there. Ask, “What do I need to do to make a lot of pars?” Again, obviously, “Hit fairways and greens.” And what’s a good way to get started on that challenge? Simply put, what you must do is focus on the central question that guides every mastery golfer, “What’s my target?”

    self-efficacy: goals and expectations

    One of the most fundamental contributions that psychologists have made to the understanding of human performance in recent decades is how people generally perform to the level of their (and sometimes others’) expectations. Those who expect good things from themselves usually perform better than those who expect bad things. This is what psychologists refer to as the self-fulfilling prophecy.
    Here is an interesting and telling study conducted in the 1970s. Schoolteachers were given the names of certain students from whom they were told they could expect tremendous intellectual gain in the coming months. They were also given the names of students who, for various reasons, were identified as having low intellectual abilities and hence were unlikely to achieve highly. The teachers did not know it, but the students’ names had been randomly drawn. Nonetheless, at the end of the school year, the students whom the teachers were told had high ability actually improved not only in their grades, but also in their standardized test scores.