Sometimes the game comes so easily you can hardly believe it. Every swing seems natural and unforced. Every shot comes off exactly as you envisioned it. That false sense of security is part of the seduction. Every golfer has experienced it. If we are honest with ourselves, we’ll admit never quite reaching nirvana — that feeling of invincibility. We are constantly on edge. There is no comfort zone in golf. Nor is it a game of perfection. If it were, we’d all shoot 18 and look for a more challenging sport. The most we can ask of ourselves is to give it our best shot, knowing that sometimes we will fail. We are often defined by how we handle that failure.
The great Ben Hogan, a man not prone to exaggeration, claimed that in his best week of golf he only had 4 perfect shots. I have yet to get to that higher plane. I won 12 times around the world in 2000, including 3 majors, and I only remember hitting 1 shot I would call perfect.
As with every shot I attempt, I visualized the ball’s flight and how it should respond upon landing.
Moments like that stay fresh in my mind, providing a positive image for future reference. Those images are critical when the game is on.
A great way to improve your feel is to putt with your eyes closed. After each putt, try to guess how far the ball rolled. This is the best drill for distance control I know of.
The putting stroke is not a very complicated action. My hands move only a foot at most in either direction during the stroke. My arms move less than that, my body less still and my head not at all. So the biggest priority in gripping the club is to establish a feeling of sensitivity, comfort and relaxation.
From the time I was a little kid — and I mean about 4 years old — my dad hammered home the idea of swinging the putter back and through at the same speed. When you see a putting stroke that looks smooth, it’s because the putter is taken back at a slow, even pace and then swung forward at the same speed.
Every good putter keeps the head absolutely still from start to finish. Every bad putter I know moves the head to some degree. It’s as simple as that. If I move my head even a fraction, it’s almost impossible to keep my putting path stable and true. It’s hard to hit the ball solidly, too. More than likely I’ll open my shoulders on the forward stroke, causing me to pull the putters across the ball from out to in. I practice keeping my head dead still until well after the ball is gone.
If you’re like me, you can’t wait to see if the ball is tracking toward the hole right after the ball leaves the putterface. But the urge to glance up too soon has some nasty consequences. The tendency to peek too soon causes my head to move and leads to sloppy contact. Not only that, if I’m distracted by thoughts of where the ball is going, I won’t focus on my main job, which is to keep the putter moving directly down the target line.
I study the last 6 feet of the putt closely. Knowing the way the ball behaves when it’s dying at the hole is crucial.
Fast early, slow late. Grass grows quickly — enough that the same putt you hit at 8am can be considerably slower at 5pm.
Learn to read grain. Grass doesn’t grow straight up, it tends to grow toward one side or the other. Grain isn’t as big a factor as it used to be because greens are cut so short nowadays. Still, it’s a factor, especially on Bermuda grass. Another general rule: Grass grows toward the setting sun.
I regulate distance by varying the length of my stroke, not by applying a sudden burst of speed with my hands.
I hit the putt solidly at all cost. If I miss the sweet spot of the putterface by half an inch — which is easy to do when I’m making an extra-long stroke — I can lose 10 feet of roll or more.
Once you establish a good chipping technique, the battle is 90% over. Whether you’re chipping uphill or downhill, whether the shot is long or shot or whether the lies is perfect or a little scruffy, to be a good chipper you need sound fundamentals.
The No.1 mistake: Flipping your wrists.
This is worth a section of its own, because it deals with the single worst chipping error you can make — and unfortunately, the most common. That mistake is trying to help the ball into the air by uncocking your wrist too early on the downswing. All kinds of bad things can happen, from chili-dipping and skulling to decelerating and hitting the ball too high or low.
Depending on the length of the shot, it’s OK to allow your wrists to cock a little on the way back. But on the downswing, your hands must lead the way, delaying the release of the clubhead until the last possible moment. If you relax and initiate the forward movement with your shoulders, you’ll allow your wrists to uncock naturally, with no conscious effort on your part.
The best short-game artists vary their club selection aground the greens. They vary the speed, trajectory, and distance of ball flight with the club, not with the type of stroke they make.
The 3-wood chip: a foolproof technique.
I never try to swing through the ball with my arms and hands alone, because it’s too difficult to control the loft of the clubface and regulate clubhead speed. My thought is to simply unturn my hips and let them guide my shoulders, arms and hands through the downswing. A low, abbreviated finish is my goal — it proves the big muscles have directed the motion, not my arms and hands.
The key to succeeding at the flop shot is judging when you can — and when you can’t — pull it off. I don’t even try to hit the flop unless my lie is at least decent. I want to have a bit of cushion underneath the ball for the sand wedge or 60-degree wedge to slide cleanly.
Never try the flop from hardpan or other tight lie. If you hit behind the ball even a fraction, the clubhead will bounce into the ball and skull it over the green.
Remember one thing: The standard bunker shot is about technique, not about strength. I don’t apply any more effort than I would on a 40-yard shot from the fairway.
If there is one mistake common among poor bunker players, it’s decelerating through impact. It probably stems from hitting at the ball instead of through it. To be consistent from sand, the clubhead must be gaining speed when it enters the sand instead of slowing down. This is true even on short bunker shots. I try to imagine that the club is traveling its fastest at a point 6 inches beyond the ball.
A ball buried in sand can work on your mind. When I first saw that the ball was buried, I didn’t exactly look forward to playing it. I won’t lie; I was discouraged. Not only did I have an awkward stance, but the fact that the ball was buried meant I would have limited control over how the ball behaved when I hit it.
Truth is, buried lies aren’t all that difficult to play. Sure, you won’t hit the ball as close to the hole consistently as you would from a perfect lie, but you can still hit the ball close enough to have a reasonable chance at an up-and-down.
Making the transition from a short sand shot to a longer one is pretty tricky. A lot of players regulate their distance by opening or closing the clubface, or else varying how much sand they take. I prefer to regulate how far the ball flies by adjusting the length of my follow-through. The longer the shot, the harder I try to achieve a full, complete finish. This little trick is very effective, because in order to lengthen my follow-through, I have to accelerate pretty fiercely through impact. On the other hand, a short follow-through means I haven’t swung all out through impact and the ball won’t travel as far.
I believe the principles of good sand play are pretty much the same for everyone. If you want to hit the ball higher, there’s no arguing that you must either open the club-face or position the ball farther forward in your stance to increase your launch angle. I mean, there’s no other sound way to obtain more height on the shot.
From greenside bunkers, aim for the top of the flagstick — most misses from sand come up short rather than long, so give yourself the benefit of the doubt.
The most satisfying about that shot — the fun thing, really — was pulling it off under pressure.
One night, a week or so later, after the elation had started to die down, I decided to sit down and watch a tape of the entire tournament. I was by myself, so I was really able to concentrate on critiquing my full swing to see if there was some flaw I might be able to work on.
I didn’t see one flaw. I saw about 10.
Never judge your practice sessions on how long you practiced or how many balls you hit. Some of my most productive practice sessions have lasted all of 20 minutes.
My complete grip provides a sense of snugness and unity between the 2 hands. They should feel as if they are melded together, almost as if you were born to hold a club. If you don’t have that sensation, practice gripping and regripping the club. Keep a club handy just for this purpose.
You should hold the club lightly enough to allow plenty of wrist freedom and to have some feel, but firmly enough to maintain control of the club throughout the swing. The most important thing is to keep your grip pressure steady. If you increase your grip pressure at any point during the swing, it will cost you the clubhead speed and control of the club.
On the subject of grip pressure, I believe a lot of amateurs hold the club too tightly because their hands aren’t on the club correctly to begin with. To prevent the club from sliding around the fingers and palms, they instinctively tighten their hold, usually at the beginning of the downswing. It proves once again why a technically perfect grip is so important. If your grip is sound, you don’t have to think about your hand at all during the swing. You’re free to concentrate on the other aspects of good ball striking.
Here I have plenty of stability — you’d have a hard time knocking me over if you tried. But remember, the wider your stance, the more you restrict the turning of your hips and shoulders on the back and forward swings.
Poor ball position is a silent killer. If you don’t place the ball precisely in relation to your stance, the ball will be playing you instead of you playing the ball. You’ll have to conjure up some type of weird swing movement just to get the club on the ball, and because of that you’ll never be consistent.
Regardless of the club I am using, my hands remain the same distance from my thighs. That’s a great reference point. Although the length of the driver demands that the ball be placed farther away from you than for any other club, I make no wild attempt to reach for the ball. Note that my driver is soled squarely to the ground; the same will be true for the other clubs because they become increasingly upright as they grow shorter.
The longer and wider you make your back-swing, the more time you give yourself to accumulate speed and power on the downswing. A big shoulder turn is responsible for part of that, but your arms play a big role, too. One of my key thoughts is “wide at the top.” I push my left arm away from my head as far as I can, and my right arm goes right along with it. My two arms and elbows form a triangle that helps keep the clubface square and the club on line.
Most golfers encounter streaks where their swing falls into place and they play very well for a short period of time. On the other hand, they fall into slumps where the swing doesn’t feel right and the ball goes everywhere except where they’re aiming.
My goal — and it may be unattainable — is to groove my swing to the extent that I play my best golf all the time .There is only one way that’s going to happen: Practice and more practice. Long ago, I committed myself to the idea that there are no shortcuts to improvement. The best way to ingrain the correct movements and positions is through repetition.
Some players look at practice as drudgery. I happen to love it. Give me a big pile of balls, a new glove, my clubs and some nice turf, and I’m one happy human. Other golfers may outplay me from time to time, but they’ll never outwork me.
The faster you swing the club through impact, the farther the ball goes. That’s a simple equation, but obtaining speed and power on the downswing is easier said than done. A problem almost every golfer encounters is rushing the downswing — letting loose with everything you have the moment the backswing is complete. When you do that, however, nothing works in proper sequence. The shoulders outrace the arms, the arms outrace the hands and the hands outrace the club. All that speed is expended too soon and the clubhead is actually losing speed as it strikes the ball, when it should be accelerating.
I like to start the downswing by shifting my weight easily back to my left side, and then letting my arms “fall” downward in front of my chest. I don’t want my shoulders unwinding so fast that they get way ahead of my arms. By giving my arms a little head start, they work in concert with my shoulders to create a real package of power coming into the ball. That good timing allows me to hit the ball a mile, and I don’t have to try very hard to do it.
There are many ways to get an edge, and technology is one of them. I’m very open-minded toward any innovation that can potentially make me a better player.
I have a lot of tools at my disposal, and I use them all. High-speed video cameras have made it possible to view my swing from several different angles at once and spot even the tiniest flaw. There is no guesswork involved in my swing now — when I hit a bad shot, my understanding of cause and effect enables me to pinpoint the reason immediately. My clubs are manufactured exactly to my specifications, the lofts, lies, shaft flexes and overall weights optimized with painstaking precision. I play with a ball that feels and spins just right.
Having studied a thousand pictures of myself just before impact, I can tell you where this shot is headed — about 310 yards down the middle with about 5-yard draw.
There comes a moment in a swing when I’ll sense that everything has fallen together perfectly, and I just let it rip. It doesn’t happen on every swing, but it happens often enough to give me goose bumps just thinking about it. At that moment, every ounce of strength, speed and emotion is applied into just hitting the ball. There’s no science about it, no conscious thought at all. Just pure joy.
Looking back, I suppose I could have used a pitching wedge and played the ball just short of the green, to avoid the bunkers and any real trouble. But whenever I get an iron in my hands, my first instinct is to be aggressive. The irons are the true offensive weapons in golf.
From a scientific standpoint, golf is a game of opposites. I think that’s what makes it such a hard game for some people. A lot of the things that occur when the club strikes the ball are just the opposite of what your instincts tell you should happen. For instance, a shot that slices to the right occurs because the clubhead, square to the target line, is traveling to the left at impact. Another example is grip pressure. If you grip the club tightly in an effort to hit the ball harder, you end up swinging the club even slower, because tight muscles don’t move as fast as loose muscles.
The best example falls in the area of iron play. In order to get the ball airborne, you must hit down on it. Countless golfers try to help get the ball in the air by swinging up on the ball. That makes it go down — a toppled shot, or a thin one at best.
The driver is the only club you want to hit slightly on the upswing.
The 5-iron: The ball is positioned slightly forward of center at address. Nevertheless, I still can hit down on the ball because my body moves forward laterally on the downswing, which moves the bottom point of the swing closer to the target.
The pitching wedge: I want to hit down a bit more sharply on the ball with my wedges. Therefore, I play the ball dead in the center of my stance. I have less lateral body movement on my short irons because the swing is shorter, so I don’t want to position the ball forward or center.
One of the most important aspects of good posture is hold your chin high at address. It’s something I check constantly. You want your chin well off your chest so your left shoulder has plenty of room to turn under your chin on the backswing. This is one of my key thoughts.
A 9-iron shot won’t hook or slice as much as a 5-iron shot. The more loft you have, the less sidespin you can impart on the ball.
The proper backswing is a combination of horizontal and vertical movement. Most amateurs err on the vertical side — they start the swing by lifting the arms straight up and coking the wrists immediately. Because the backswing is too vertical, the downswing is too vertical as well. The tendency is to chop down on the ball instead of swinging through it smoothly.
Don’t forget the horizontal part of the backswing. That means establishing a nice, wide swing arc as soon as you move the club back. I have the feeling of stretching my hands and arms away from my body early in the backswing, my wrists beginning to cock naturally after the clubhead reaches about knee height. That helps me accumulate power and also ensures that my downswing won’t be too steep.
When good players talk about “getting too quick,” they’re almost always talking bout the first move down from the top of the backswing. The beginning of the downswing can’t be rushed. You want your swing to gather speed gradually, so that everything works in sequence and the clubhead reaches its maximum speed at impact. If you start down suddenly, all your speed and power are gone bye the time you reach impact. Yur timing and mechanics are shot, too.
Remember, there can only be one fast moment in the swing, and it had better be when the club strikes the ball.
One of the keys to good ball striking is hit through the ball, not at it. In my mind, the ball is merely an object that is in the way of the clubhead as it tears through the hitting area. I don’t try to end my swing abruptly after the ball is struck. I try to keep the clubhead accelerating down the target line as long as I comfortably can.
The mark of a good iron player is the ability to control spin, trajectory and distance. I never had full control of those factors until the year following my victory in the 1997 Masters. Only after a long period of hard work was I able to get my iron play where I wanted it.
The look of my follow-through serves as sort of a road map for what happened earlier in my swing. See how my arms are extended? That shows my swing was real wide, with good extension through the ball. See how far my shoulders have unwound? That shows my swing was predicated on a full shoulder turn instead of just my hands and arms. Finally, see how the toe of the club points straight down? That proves I didn’t rotate the club excessively with my hands through impact. For it to arrive at this position, I had to release the club naturally.
When playing a par-3 hole, the first rule is to always use a tee. I found out a long time ago that air offers less resistance than dirt. Using a tee goes a long way to guaranteeing solid contact.
Most of the amateurs adopt 1 of 2 strategies for their approach shots: They either aim for the green in general, hoping they’ll win up with a put for birdie. That strategy is much too broad. Or they aim for the flagstick every time without giving much thought to the consequences of an errant shot. That strategy is too 1-dimensional.
I always aim for a specific part of the green, which may or may not be right next to the hole. I take into consideration the kind of putt I’ll face from various spots on the green, and respect the trouble that will result if the shot doesn’t come off as planned.
One thing we should have in common is more than 1 sand wedge. A single sand wedge just doesn’t cut it anymore. Add a lob wedge (something with about 60 degree of loft) and you’ll save par more often.
- The longer the iron, the farther forward I position the ball in my stance.
- I sweep the longer irons, hit down on the rest. I trust the club’s loft to get the ball airborne.
- My backswing with the irons is shorter than with the woods.
- To promote good timing, I start down slowly from the top of the backswing.
- The clubhead strikes the ball first, the turf last. I don’t begin to take a divot until the ball has left the clubface.
- I swing within myself. On standard shots, I never expend more than 80% of my effort.
- The worse my lie, the farther back I position my ball in my stance.
- I always tee my ball on par 3s. You want every edge you can get.
- The perfect divot is about the same size and shape as a dollar bill.
No doubt about it, many of my best performances have come at crucial times in big tournaments. I’ve played well in the clutch often enough to give the impression that I can play my best golf simply by willing myself to do so. I only wish that were the case. Unfortunately, there are times when my touch isn’t sharp, my swing isn’t where I like it or the putts just don’t seem to fall. At those moments, no amount of concentration, positive thinking or inspiration can make me play my best. I guess it’s part of the normal cycle of peaks and valleys that every athlete experiences. The trick is being able to score well when my game isn’t firing on all cylinders.
Nothing in golf isn harder than playing a shot you haven’t practiced, or one you otherwise feel you aren’t capable of.
The purpose of addressing the ball correctly is so you can return to that position at impact. These photos aren’t splitting images, of course — in the photo at left I’m absolutely still while in the photo at right I’m set to launch the ball at 180mph — but they are more alike than they are different. You’ll note that the clubshaft is in almost exactly the same position in both photos, perpendicular to the target line. My spine angle is the same and my head is in virtually the same spot. It proves how uncomplicated the golf swing can be.
Keep in mind, the fairway wood is a lot longer than, say, your 7-iron and thus is harder to control. The best key for keeping the ball on the straight and narrow is to make the clubhead track straight down the target line for as long as possible after impact. You should feel you are chasing the ball into the distance with your right hand, keeping the clubhead low to the grown and allowing your right arm to extend fully after it has struck the ball. This will keep the clubface square to the target for longer period through impact.
Long before I arrived at Augusta for the 2001 Masters, I practiced that draw with my driver and 3-wood. For 2 months solid, I would devote a little extra time on the practice tee with that specific shot in my mind’s eye.
If my swing with the driver is sound, my swing with the irons tends to be good as well. As the driver goes, so goes the rest of my game from tee to green.
But the biggest thing about the driver isn’t tactical or mechanical. To me, the driver has the special capability of giving me an emotional lift and a big edge psychologically. A super drive that stops on the center mowing stripe fills me with strength, energy and confidence.
The most common backswing error: Shifting your hips laterally to the right just kills your backswing. If your right hip moves outside of your right foot, you have to slide back to the left just to hit the ball. It’s hard to time that move properly. What’s more, you’ve cut your power by about 50%, because a sliding motion on the downswing isn’t anywhere near as powerful as a rotary unwinding of the hips and shoulders. A good thought is to keep your weight on the inside portion of your right foot, keeping the angle of your right leg constant throughout the backswing.
The driver swing is the most physical act in all of golf. But there’s a strong mental aspect to it, too. To consistently drive the ball long and straight, you need to be single-minded about what you’re doing. You must be totally impervious to distractions and immune to thoughts that can make your swing fall to pieces.. Because the driver swing is long and a bit violent in terms of the sheer speed you’re trying to generate, timing is extremely important. If you allow something to break your concentration and upset your rhythm or tempo, you’re in deep trouble.
Remember, the chain of events occurs slowly at first. If you rush, you’ll likely unwind your shoulders too soon and perform the dreaded “over the top” move, where the club is delivered into the ball on an out-to-in path. That means a loss of power and, more than likely, a big slice to the right.
When you absolutely have to hit the ball straight, try teeing the ball a little lower. It won’t curve as much to the left or right.
One swing problem I have to monitor constantly is not letting my arms lag too far behind my upper body on the downswing. Because my hips and shoulders unwind so quickly, they sometimes outrace my arms. The result is that I drag the clubhead into the ball from far inside the target line, forcing me to rotate my hands furiously to share the clubface at impact. If I don’t rotate the hands enough I push the ball to the right; if I rotate them too much I hit a big hook. This makes for an inconsistent ball flight.
I was a decent player at age 16, good enough to have won 2 US Junior Amateur titles with a third on the way. But my full-swing technique then was not as sound as it would be at age 20, and nowhere near as good as at age 24. There is always room for improvement.
One of Harmon’s favorite reminders on the follow-through is to “shake hands with the target.” My right arm is fully extended straight down the target line. That shows I’ve tried to generate as much clubhead speed as possible.
I can tell that I hit a draw on this shot just by looking at the photo, because my right forearm is rolling over the left. That’s a sign of natural hand rotation — or moving the clubface to a square or slightly closed position.
When playing super-long par-5 holes, I occasionally have so far to go on my second shot that my 3-wood just won’t get me there. If my lie is very good, I’ll hit my driver from the fairway. It’s a tough shot to pull off consistently, but the reward can be great — in some cases I can get 300 yards out of the shot.
The photos you see here were shot in 1998. The camera we use for these types of swing sequences is known as the Hulcher. It can shoot up to 65 frames per secon. It doesn’t sound like a camera; it make s whirring, tat-a-tat sound as the spool of film advances.
I know I’ve made a good swing when I feel balanced at the finish.
I never let my weight stray to the outside of my right foot.
My head is still down, a sign I’ve “stayed with the shot” instead of bailing out with my upper body.
For power with no loss of accuracy, I extend my right hand straight down the target line after impact.
I have at least a half-dozen gloves available so I can change as often as necessary.
I focus only what I can control — my next shot — not things I can’t, like the heat.
I try to play to my normal pace and rhythm. I don’t let the inclement weather make me rush a shot.
If you slice the ball: The clubface is open at impact. Often the culprit is the wrists and / or the forearms. The forearms rotate too much on the takeaway and the left wrist is cupped at the top of the backswing. The result is an open clubface at the top, meaning it points more vertically than horizontally. Open at the top usually means open at the bottom, too, and a huge slice. Combine that with a swing path too much from the inside and the ball has to go right. You want more of a flat left wrist and a square clubface at the top of the backswing. You can attain that position by having quieter hands and restricting forearm rotation on the backswing.
If you hook the ball: The clubface is closed at impact. Most hookers suffer from a lack of body rotation on the through-swing. They start with the chin buried in the chest on the takeaway and never really rotate fully away from the ball on the backswing. Since they can’t unwind what they don’t wind up in the first place, they fail to rotate fully toward the target. What small amount of weight they have transferred to the right side remains there. To compensate on the downswing, they flip their wrists, toeing in the club and producing a snapper — the ball starts left then hooks. To fix the problem, stay connected. That is, make sure the triangle created by your hands, arms, and chest at address remains intact throughout the swing. If you maintain that connection, your weight will naturally shift into your right side on the backswing and transfer to your left side on the downswing.
The golf swing can be like a chameleon, changing sometimes from hole to hole, perhaps even shot to shot for high handicappers. The ultimate goal is to find one that repeats and holds up under pressure. Truth is, we all have swing faults that make the quest for a repeating swing difficult. I had a few my self, including one that still rears its ugly head on occasion.
Even if you fix swing faults, which I was finally able to do by the 1999 season, you’re still not going to make a perfect swing every time. A big reason for my success is the fact that my misses are not as bad as they once were. I have fewer train wrecks.
Pop had a mantra. “Son, you get out of it what you put into it.” When I would get frustrated, those words were gentle persuasion to try again. Because of them I understood very early that no matter how many physical gifts a person might have, to refine them, you must bust your butt. I quickly bought into the idea that the road to success is paved with sweat and calluses.
Pop was ex-military and definitely “old school.” He believes there is a standard operating procedure for every undertaking, including golf. He explained to me that the starting point of every shot is behind the ball. That you must visualize the shot and access all of the potential problems, then commit to the shot that you want to hit.
Great players operate “in the moment.” In other words, they never get ahead of themselves. And they never, ever appear overwhelmed by any situation. One of the reasons I’m able to hit good shots is because I go through the same routine. My preshot routine doesn’t vary and it is uniquely mine. It helps me remain calm and in the present, prepared to execute a shot to the best of my ability.
Practice rounds are crucial when I’m playing a course for the first time. That’s when my caddie and I get to know the lay of the land. We have a laundry list of things we look for, from what shape of shot to hit on each hole to how receptive the greens are to shots of varying trajectories. The successful golfer not only knows what he can do but what he can’t afford to do.
Get in the habit of preparing yourself for upcoming tournaments and rounds. Part of my preparation for the challenges of Augusta National includes watching videos of past Masters. Knowing how the course plays in various conditions factors in to my overall game plan.
Never aim a tee shot toward trouble, hoping your natural fade or draw will bring it back into play. You never want to be penalized for a straight shot.
If you know the water hazard is 225 yards from the tee, use a club that when struck solidly will hit the ball short of the hazard. Also, if you have a “pet” distance for your approach, say 110 yards, hit the club that will leave you that yardage into the green. Manage the course; don’t let it manage you.
Managing my game means knowing when to forgo the driver off the tee. Often, the closer to the green you hit the ball on a short par 4, the more bunkers and water come into play.
Knowing how and when to jack yourself up and calm yourself down are 2 of those things. For example, if I need to hit a big drive and I’ve been a little lethargic, I can get the adrenaline going immediately. On the other hand, I can throttle back on a shot simple by composing myself and inducing calm. No one can do it for you. You have to do it yourself. It’s a matter of being in touch with yourself mentally, physically and emotionally.
The true essence of golf is capitalizing on opportunities and minimizing mistakes. It is a thinking man’s game to a great degree. I believe that my creative minds is my greatest weapon. The best way to describe it is a kind of inner vision that enables me to see things others might not, like a certain way to play a shot or a slight opening in a thicket. And I’ve been blessed with the physical ability to execute whatever shot my mind dictates. While managing your game, you should be constantly assessing situations, factoring in variables like changing course conditions and deciding on whether or not to play the percentages. The psychology of golf a step further than course management. It entails mental toughness, self-confidence, intimidation, gamesmanship, conquering inner demons, instant recall of past successes and being able to quickly purge failures. It is the game within the game.
I’m sure he felt the game was on but I was concentrating on what I had to do, realizing that was the only thing I could control.
As I walked to the 14th tee I felt something I never had in competition. All of a sudden the crowd, which had been so gracious and supportive all week, seemed to switch its allegiance to Sergio. Perhaps they were naturally rooting for the underdog or wanted a close finish. I don’t know, but I could feel the negative energy directed toward me.
Confidence is easier to define than it is to measure. It is an assuredness in one’s ability to accomplish a task even under the most stressful circumstances. Success breeds confidence. It’s similar to when you’re on a roll with the putter. Seems like the hole is as big as a basketball hoop. You can’t miss nor can you wait to get to the next green. Your confidence builds with each putt you hole. Pretty soon you’re on autopilot, playing by instinct and feel. That’s as close to finding your own game as you can get.
A player can become mentally tougher by learning from his experiences. The mind is like a computer with thousands of megabytes of memory. Store your experiences for when you will need them again because the game is a constant learning process. You should learn from failures as well as successes. Ask yourself what you did or didn’t do right in a situation. A lot of times you’ll find it’s the same thing over and over again.
Never beat yourself up because there are plenty of people who will do it for you. I am my own worst critic, but I will never do anything to undermine my confidence. Nor will I be influenced by anyone’s criticism or scrutiny of me. You have to be tough enough mentally to handle all potential distractions.
You can’t let those failures get to you, because they will erode your confidence and chip away at your psyche. Pretty soon those inner demons will have you second-guessing everything from your swing to your putting stroke to the color of socks you’re wearing.
I love being in contention and everything that entails, even the pressure. That’s what it’s all about — knowing that you have to execute and doing it. That’s why we play. If you don’t enjoy it, then maybe competitive golf is not for you.
I personally have never experienced them, but I know some players who have not been as fortunate. The reason I’ve avoided those little devils is twofold. First, I refuse to give in to fear, real or imagined. I’m not talking about nervousness. I’m as nervous as the next guy every time I tee it up. Every competitor has a certain degree of anxiety. It goes with the territory. No, I’m referring to being afraid — either consciously or subconsciously — of anything or anyone. I’ve heard of players being afraid to in. Imagine that. When I turned pro, I took a lot of flak because I said my only purpose for playing was winning. I was only being honest. Second place still has no appeal for me. I would argue that most champions have that mindset. In order to be truly successful in any endeavor, you have to adopt a no-fear attitude. Don’t be afraid to go for it.
Second, I refuse to yield to pressure. Some players wilt like lettuce when the heat is on. True competitors love the battle. Sure it gets intense and your nervous system is tested, but that’s the most fun part of being a competitor. Ever wonder why Michale Jordan and Jack Nicklaus were so good in the clutch? Simple. They loved the spotlight and were inspired to reach another level of greatness by the need to accomplish.
Before an important shot, I relax myself by taking a long, deep breath.
There is no better feeling than when a shot comes off exactly as you planned it. In order for that to happen consistently, though, you must commit totally to the shot you’re trying to hit and trust your swing to deliver it. One without the other is a recipe for disaster.
You can’t hit the shot again, so forget about it.
I’m asked all the time about my ability to focus and stay in the moment when the pressure is on. It’s simple. I realize that the only thing I can control is my game. That is my only security blanket in a game where you could easily feel naked to the world.
At the conclusion of your run take 10 or 15 minutes to cool off before beginning the rest of the workout. During this time completely clear your mind of all thoughts. Train yourself to think of nothing at all. You’ll be surprised how refreshed you feel afterward. Clearing your mind for even a few minutes will sharpen your focus when you really need it.
- I always stretch before I run.
- I avoid running during the heat of the day.
- I never run on a full stomach.
- I drink plenty of water before I run.
- I maintain a steady pace.
We finished that tournament in near darkness, and I felt just as fresh in the end as during my warm-up that morning. Fatigue can affect your focus and cause you to make a bad decision. I never want to lose a tournament because of a bad decision precipitated by my being out of shape. In Akron, being at my physical best helped me stay mentally sharp and allowed me to claim another trophy.
Even at the end of a grueling 72 holes, I often feel energized.
Make no mistake, weight training not only works the muscles but the heart, too.
I avoid teeing off on a full stomach; I eat at least 2 hours before my tee time to give my food time to digest.
A lot of what I’ve been able to accomplish in golf is the direct result of becoming physically stronger. I couldn’t play shots like the 2-iron “stinger” 2 or 3 years ago because I didn’t have the strength in my wrists and forearms to execute them. I had to make my body complement my mind to make the most of my natural ability. In this game you need every edge, and physical strength has definitely become one of mine.
I love working on shots, carving them this way and that, and proving to myself that I can hit a certain shot on command.
You might find this hard to believe but even when I’m grinding on the last final 9 of a tournament, I’m having a blast. I believe even the most stoic player is having the time of his life when the game is on. If he isn’t he shouldn’t be playing.