Golf Flow

that this golfer recalled not only the shot but also the circumstances of the shot as he was experiencing it at the time. This point is important because the brain creates what are called episodic memories, which are memories of the events, or episodes, that make up our lives. Those memories are critical to building self-efficacy. By actively recalling, writing down, and re-creating those episodic memories, this particular golfer is enhancing his self-efficacy. In this case, he not only finished well in the Honda Classic but also began an upward cycle of good play that continued throughout the spring and summer, largely because he took control of his mind and his confidence.
    ----

Part III
Flow on the PGA Tour
    I’ll never forget the first time I witnessed flow on the PGA Tour. During the 2002 season, Davis Love III and I had become pretty good friends. Entering 2003 we would talk regularly, discussing various aspect of golf, especially as they related to the mental side of the game. After coming off a winless 2002 and a four-year stretch with only a single win, Davis was certainly open to new perspectives and ideas. With the Tiger Woods phenomenon in full effect, Davis really took to the idea of mastery golf and playing the golf course rather than the score, field, or opponent. Heading into the final round of the Players Championship that March, he had a lot of things working for him. He had picked up an early season win in California, his confidence was high, and he was deeply committed to applying the principles that we’d been discussing.
    I walked with Davis on that drizzly Sunday, and for the first time I witnessed flow on the PGA Tour. The memory is etched into my brain, and I am sure I will never forget it. As the round was unfolding, Davis began to walk differently than he usually did. Gone was the nervous energy that typically characterized his Sunday rounds. In the place of that nervous energy was steely resolve and calm focus. Although he was playing with his good friend Fred Couples, Davis’ attention seemed elsewhere. My notes from that day describe him as being “both internal and external at the same time.”
    Then, as the transformation unfolded on the 7th hole, a par 5 at TPC Sawgrass, Davis made a birdie. He didn’t celebrate the birdie but gently pulled the ball out of the hole. He calmly proceeded to add birdies on holes 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 for a string of six consecutive birdies. He added an eagle a few holes later for a final round of 64, which was 10 shots lower than the scoring average that day.
    In the pressroom afterward, Davis commented, “I’ll remember this round of golf for the rest of my life because it’s something I’ve been building up to the last few months.” Davis was referring to his evolving attempts to play mastery golf, to ignore leaderboards, and to play one shot at a time. Like all of us, he struggled internally to ignore expectations and results, but eventually he won the battle and it paid off:
I was trying as hard as I could not to look at the scoreboard. . . . I really stayed away from thinking about score . . . trying to stay focused on what I was doing, playing each shot and picking targets and not worrying about the score.
    As I’ve stated throughout this book, flow is a multidimensional experience that is the culmination of several aspects of a player’s game coming together. Davis’ 64 was the first time I was able to witness self-efficacy and mastery golf converge with physical and technical excellence and synergize into flow.
    Since that magical round, I’ve been fascinated by the construct of flow, and I’ve been fortunate to witness it many times over the past decade. Many times these flow states have been produced by players I work with, and just as many times I’ve stumbled into them as a happy coincidence of being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes the flow states last for several holes, and sometimes they last for entire rounds of golf. One thing I’m certain of is that flow is real, and you know it when you see it.
    What follow are stories from the past few years that illustrate flow states and what I’ve learned about the mental preparation that enabled those golfers to generate flow. Each story highlights one critical dimension of flow. I hope that, through these stories, you will see a bit of yourself and learn lessons that will help you continue to grow, refine, and improve yourself as a golfer and increase the chances