Controlling emotions was a constant theme Peter Kostis and rest of the CBS broadcast staff continually stated through out the final nine holes of this week's Zurich Classic at TPC Louisiana. The ability to control one's emotions is a major factor in making sound decisions. Your sound decisions lead to solid performance. With out a good decision, you can not commit to a shot, prior to its execution. Is this any different a philosophy than the processes you use daily off the golf course? I tell all my students, regardless of skill level, great decisions lead to great performances
As a person making a living outside the world of golf, you face decisions each day that affect your professional and personal life. Some of these decisions are easy. What will I have for lunch? Other decisions are hard. Should I hire this person or that person? Should I relocate to a better position even though the kids are doing great where we are now? Whether the decision is simple or complicated, we all tend to have a two or three step problem solving process we all go through, consciously or subconsciously, to render the best decision based on the circumstance we face. The harder decisions come with increased emotional value as well as increase risk versus reward value. Golf is no different.
One can make a strong argument that Nick Watney's first career PGA Tour victory is directly attributable to sound decision making throughout the entire tournament, not just the final nine-holes. As I watched Thursdays and Friday's tournament coverage, it became obvious to me that Mr. Watney was controlling his emotions better than everyone else. This is evident by him being the only person to shoot in the 60's for all four rounds. As a result, he was making the best decisions all week long.
You practice making the easy and difficult decisions everyday, using skills you acquire through out life to control your emotions no matter what the circumstance. Yet, on the golf course, we forget about keeping our emotions in control. You rely simply on your athletic ability, even though your athletic ability lacks experience of the sport and mastery of the sport's skills. If you relied more heavily on great decision-making skills and less on athletic prowess, how much better do you think you could play? If you use a simple problem solving process, similar to processes you use off the course, you will probably see better shot performance when on the course under difficult situations.
How can you make great decisions on the golf course? I will define a three-step practice process for you. This process is simple, yet addresses the areas I see amateurs neglect during their practice sessions. This neglect directly attributes to their poor performance and subsequent poor scores.
First, you must first know what your physical abilities and limitations are on the golf course. This is the first step to good decisions off the course.
- What will I have for lunch today? Can you hit a high cut to a tucked left-side pin?
- Have I gone through the entire checklist prior to making the hiring decisions? Do you know how to control the distances of your putts to insure a short putt for par?
- Where are the schools best for my children? Do you know your best yardage to lay up to on the par five's?
PGA Tour Players practice and play everyday, leading to their superior skill levels and mastery of shot selection. This knowledge helps them understand what their limitations are, as well as when they can be aggressive and reap benefits from their aggression. You might have limited time to practice. However, practicing more on distance knowledge as well as shot formation can help you more than just practicing a swing change. This is the information and tools you will need to have at hand under pressure situations on the course. Do not limit your practice to just one club. Practice using all your clubs, even if you just hit five shots with each club during a one-hour practice session. Knowing how you hit each club will help in determining not only what club to hit. It will also help you understand how hard to hit the shot.
The next step is understanding your pre-shot routine, using it on the range, as well as on the course, and making it constant in rhythm and timing. While Watney still shared the lead with Ken Duke, Nick Faldo mentioned that Mr. Duke seemed to be slowing down in an effort to insure he was doing the right things before executing his shots. This "slow-down" in routine was not the typical rhythm Duke used through out the tournament. Consequently, his poor tee shot and the following poor chip leading to bogey on the fourteenth hole was the crack in the door Watney needed to deliver his knock out blow. When you experience stress, there is a tendency to slow down or speed up. I think the average amateur tends to slow down, rather than speed up, ala the pace of play issues some courses experience. All too often, I see amateurs "raking and hitting" balls on the range prior to their previous shot landing "somewhere" on the range. Using your pre-shot routine during a practice session helps replicate the rhythm and tempo you use on the course. You must learn what the beginning or "trigger" to your routine is and stay consistent from that point on, with what you do prior to pulling the club back. The trigger to your routine is the first move you make subconsciously for every shot prior to thinking about your shot. For me, my trigger is picking the club out of the bag. At that point, I repeat all the parts of my pre-shot routine in a consistent manner. What I have learned is that I subconsciously repeat each shot's routine within a +/- 1/2 second of each other, each time I strike a ball, no matter what the shot.
Your next step to great decision making is "simulated practice." This type of practice simulates situations you regularly encounter on the course, yet perform poorly. This practice also must include specific targets as well as a reward/punishment system to secure superior results. A drill becoming more "in vogue" these days is the "Phil Drill," as one of the major manufactures has aptly named it. I have heard many a story of Ben Hogan and his predecessors using the same drill of holing ten putts from around a hole consecutively before ending practice. Upon missing any putt within this drill, Mr. Hogan would start the drill again before ending his practice. This type of drill replicates similar feelings you could have on the course. Knowing that if you miss number nine of the ten putts and must start all over again, is akin to the emotions and feelings you might have standing over the four-foot putt you need to sink to win the Member/Guest Tournament at your club. One of the drills I give my students is to have them hit five golf balls to a specific target within a given yardage, realistic to the same acceptance level one would have on the course (ie: hit a nine iron within 10 feet of a target 130 yards away). After figuring out if your performance with the set of five balls yielded results of 3 out of 5 hit, or 1 out of five, you then place a second set of five balls in front of you. Using the same target and club, you must now improve on the first set of five balls. If you improve with the second set, then you might reward yourself with a shorter practice session. If you do not improve with the second set, the feeling you might have could be similar to not hitting the green on a hole that is easy to birdie, yet hard to get up and down from. You will need to subject yourself to some type of repercussion that places importance on mastering that target by the end of the practice session. Regardless of the shot task you are simulating, you must go through your routine with every shot. Your routine is not only the constant from one shot to another. It is also the timing device your brain uses to control your rhythm, timing, and emotions. If your routine feels rushed or slowed, start again. Do not hit a shot if you feel uncomfortable. If you do allow yourself to hit a shot while feeling uncomfortable, it is the equivalent to telling yourself it is okay to make the same mistake over and over again. This type of simulation practice can make immediate impact on your ability to stay calm under pressure while on the course.
Great Decisions lead to Great Performances! You can not make a great decision if you do not have control of your emotions. Practice your emotion control devices as well as your decision-making process off the course with the skills you apply on the course. You will see improvement in your scores, as well as an increase level of enjoyment of the game of golf, knowing you are playing smarter with the skills you can repeat consistently.
John Hughes is the Executive Vice President and National Director of Instruction for Advantage Golf School. A PGA Master Professional, John oversees the daily operation of Advantage Golf School's 21 different high-end resort/private golf facility locations across the country, as well as the school's 50+ PGA and LPGA Instructors. His client list over the past 15 years includes a vast cross section of the world's corporate elite, entertainment celebrities, distinguished government officials, as well as male and female touring professionals, covering all skill levels of golfers. You can reach John by phone at 877-239-6609 or by e-mail, john@advantagegolfschool.com
