Comments on: Stressing about

By: dan

dan — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:04:28 +0000

Hi Alan,

I agree. Thank you for the comment and for reading the blog!

Dan

By: dan

dan — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:03:39 +0000

Tony,

Good advice. It’s true that you can overdue the mental game as well. One shot at a time is the way to go and in my opinion you need to play every round like that so you ingrain that way of play for future tournaments. However you want to play in a tournament is how you should play in practice rounds, especially in golf where it’s so difficult to implement pressure during practice. What will help down the line is having a solid pre-shot routine and mental approach to the game, regardless of what those are for you.
Thanks!
Dan

By: Alan

Alan — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:39:29 +0000

Some very good thoughts here that apply to all walks of life not just the golf course!!

By: Tony

Tony — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 18:25:18 +0000

I’m not saying there is not a place for the mental game, Dan – and I really think hypnosis has something to offer. But sometimes I think people get a bit too hooked up on it. Easily done when the weather makes practice impossible.
But still. Until we’re standing over 4-foot putts with $1m, a Tour card or a place in the Ryder Cup team at stake, I think we’d all do best to rely, as you put it, on plain common sense – don’t get ahead of yourself, don’t get overly emotional either way, take each shot as it comes. And when things go wrong, well, nobody died.
Too simple? Not according to one Golden Bear. I liked this from a recent article on Rory McIlroy.
…
McIlroy had received some psychological pointers from Bob Rotella, mind coach to the stars, but the instruction from an 18-time resonated more profoundly. “Jack had sought me out at Muirfield Village. He read that I was going to see Bob and he was honest: ‘How many tournaments has Bob won?’

“He wanted to know about my mindset, why I hadn’t won as many tournaments.

“He was very good with me. Pressure, he said, was what he thrived on and relished. It was why he played the game. He concentrated on not making mistakes. He regarded a three-putt as the most cardinal sin you could make.”