Fearless Golf: Conquering the Mental Game

the more talented you become. Rather than praising for ability, great golf instructors always make it a habit to praise the effort, preparation, and persistence that it takes for a golfer to succeed.
    Moreover, young golfers who come to believe that their success is the result of natural ability will surely have their self-confidence shaken once they encounter what they believe to be “more talented” golfers. If a golfer comes to believe that his ability will carry him through, when it does not he is simply left believing he just doesn’t have what it takes. Conversely, young golfers who are consistently told that their golfing performance is tied to controllable factors such as effort, practice, and preparation, and who hold an incremental view of ability (that is, they have as much ability as they are willing to work for) tend to respond far better to adversity and to retain their confidence through difficult and trying times. And think for a moment: Who can ever assess a golfer’s real talent with complete accuracy? Athletes surprise themselves all the time with performances that exceed even their own expectations. Talent, like commitment and heart, often lies dormant and hidden for relatively long periods of time.
    For average golfers whose personal development in the game isn’t measured by how much money they make playing golf with respect to other players, the challenge to keep attributions controllable might appear to be easier, but it is not. How often do we blame a bad round on a balky driver, when what may have happened was we compounded the error of a misplaced drive with poor decision-making time after time. That’s why getting in the exercise of honestly evaluating a round quickly after the fact may get our attention directed to the real areas of our game that need emphasis. Moreover, it is just as helpful and perhaps even more important to our development of confidence to talk about and review the holes we played well, as it is to critically dissect the holes where we didn’t score. The challenge of playing fearless golf begins with a commitment to learn from the past by thinking and talking about it productively.

    typical golfing attributions

    Have a look at some of the typical attributions that golfers make, as well as the characteristics that they represent. Think about where they are focused (internal/external), how they occur (stable/unstable), and their relative power (controllable/ uncontrollable). The key to the power of attributions is learning to read between the lines.

    LUCK: “I played well because I got a few lucky bounces.” . . . “I just had horrible luck that round.”
    This attribution is
external
,
unstable
,
uncontrollable
, perhaps the worst kind. If we talked this way about how we played all the time we might soon give up the game.

    LONG-TERM EFFORT: “I played well because I always work hard.” . . . “I played poorly because I am lazy.”
    This is an
internal
,
stable
,
controllable
attribution. This is honest, you can choose to act on this, and you can take control of it because it is not going to vary wildly.

    ABILITY: “I played well because I have natural talent.” . . . “I don’t have the natural talent to get much better.”
    This is an
internal
,
stable
,
uncontrollable
attribution. As we’ve seen, the first two are effective assessments. The last one, however, overtakes the others. It is self-limiting and ultimately self-defeating.

    TASK DIFFICULTY: “I played well because the course was easy.” . . . “This is an impossible course, poorly laid out.”
    Here we have
external
,
unstable
,
uncontrollable
characterizations, a veritable attribution minefield. The more you think about it, saying how we play depends on something outside of ourselves, something that changes all the time, and something we have no ownership of is very nearly pure despair.

    HELP FROM OTHERS: “I am playing well because I am working with an excellent instructor.” . . . “I can’t find the right instructor to help me improve.”
    This is an
external
,
unstable
,
controllable
assessment. The latter is key. Belief in your preparation not only gives you confidence coming into a round, but it also gives you the motivation to continue with the program. Of course, your teacher could move away tomorrow, and then where would you be? The challenge is to go beyond this faith in a teacher, so that you then believe in a commitment to the process of improvement and a commitment