The mechanics of golf has been thoroughly researched, and new methods, technologies, and equipment abound to improve swing, position, motion, speed, etc. The mental game has also been given a lot of attention, especially over the last 30 years. Most of us once thought that emotions were part of the mental game, but new research on performance is showing that the “emotional” game is quite different from the mental game.
The physiology of emotion is often what needs to shift to improve your mental focus, your swing and to lower your scores. Research studies at the Institute of HeartMath since 1990 show how stress affects performance and how simple research-based techniques for emotional refocusing can change your nervous system's response to release stress in the moment. HeartMath’s golf advisory team helped edit their new book, Managing Emotions: Golf’s Next Frontier, which was launched at the January 2004 PGA show in Orlando.
The timing for introducing Managing Emotions: Golf’s Next Frontier couldn’t be better. The USGA recently announced changes to the Rules of Golf. Disqualification is now a possibility if the player is guilty of a serious breach of etiquette. An example of this is inappropriate emotional outbursts. Stress is on the increase for people everywhere, not just golfers, and while many men and women play golf to reduce stress, too often they take stress onto the green with them. Golf pros and instructors were magnetized to the subject, recognizing that the emotional game hasn't really been addressed with research-based solutions. PGA of America, LPGA, and Junior Golfer’s Association all recognized the need for solutions.
It’s time to look at our inner mechanics, how different parts of our brain and body work together; how the heart and brain talk to each other, how our emotions and nervous system are related, and how emotional memories affect our performance. Techniques for redirecting your emotions and managing your emotional physiology will not only improve your golf game, but will also improve your performance at work, at home and in the game of life.
Emotions and high performance
To reach your fullest potential as a golfer, you need to integrate the physical, mental and emotional aspects of yourself and the game. All of these factors are part of you and the game of golf. Golfers who are anxious before a shot or angry after one, parents who are disgusted over a decision or shot they saw their junior golfer make, fans who go “aghhh” when they see a player miss a 3-foot putt, or the embarrassment a tour pro feels as he projects his score being posted in the newspaper, are emotional moments that can significantly affect the outcome of the game.
Have you ever watched a golfer experience anger or irritation on the golf course, and then see his score blow up? Emotions are ever-present in our golf games, and its time we become aware of how they impact our performance and potential.
One of the easiest ways that scientists observe how emotions affect our bodies is in the effects they have on our heart. When emotions are strong, they can be detected in the changing pattern of the heart’s beat-to-beat rhythms. When people are frustrated, scared, worried, angry, or upset, their heart rhythms are uneven and irregular. When these uneven, irregular heart rhythms are viewed on a computer screen, they look like jagged mountain peaks.*
The graph below shows changes in heart rate pattern. The random, jerky pattern is typical of feelings of anger or frustration.
© Copyright 2003 Quantum Intech, Inc. Managing Emotions—Golf’s Next Frontier
* These are not the usual heart rhythms that you see on an electrocardiogram (EKG).The technology used here is called heart rate variability (HRV), and shows how your nervous system and heart communicate to automatically adjust your heart rate.
When we are stressed or upset, it’s physically impossible to think clearly or perform at our best. This is because a disordered heart rhythm pattern sends a signal to the brain that inhibits the cortex, the higher thinking and reasoning area of the brain. On the other hand, when we are feeling confident, secure, and appreciative, our heart rhythms become smooth and even, like the ones in the diagram below. Smooth heart rhythm patterns send a signal to the brain that synchronizes and facilitates cortical function, speeding up our reaction times and making it easier to think clearly, perceive a bigger picture, and make better decisions.
The graph below shows changes in heart rate pattern which are typical of feelings of appreciation and other positive feelings. It is what scientists call a highly ordered or coherent pattern, which is a sign of good health.
© Copyright 2003 Quantum Intech, Inc. Managing Emotions—Golf’s Next Frontier
Scientific evidence has shown that synchronized activity in the heart, brain and nervous comes from managing and directing one’s emotional state through coherence training. In other words, the player who is most connected to his heart and harnesses that heart power will be the model of the future.
Ask yourself the following questions:
• How do I want to deal with being nervous, anxious, afraid,
worried, or angry?
• How do I want to react after a golf shot?
• How can I be in my best emotional state during a round of golf?
Coherence training empowers golfers to maximize performance while reducing stress in the moment they need it. By practicing HeartMath techniques, just as you do your golf swing, you can expect many benefits.
Benefits of coherence training:
• Prepares a golfer for activities that require concentration and motor coordination
• Maximizes emotional calm, concentration and mental focus during competition
• Prevents performance anxiety and guides a golfer to transform feelings of stress and worry into productive energy
• Stabilizes emotions and balances the autonomic nervous system (ANS)
• Helps a golfer develop skill in creating a calm, dynamic internal state at will
Golfers who use HeartMath’s coherence techniques find their perception in a difficult situation often changes in less than a minute to a more positive and resourceful outlook. Now that’s performance!
Deborah Rozman is a high performance psychologist, author, President and co-CEO of Quantum Intech, Inc. (QI) a technology company that develops and licenses products and services that reduce stress, improve health, and increase performance based on the HeartMath® System For more information about on the HeartMath® System, visit or .
Licensed HeartMath providers Lynn Marriott (left) and Pia Nilsson (right) were voted by their peers in the September, 2003, issue of Golf Digest as two of the Top 50 golf coaches in the country, and each is distinguished as a Golf Magazine Top 100 teacher. Having developed a unique new philosophy of golf that embraces the physical, mental and emotional parts of the game, they focus not just on developing the player, but also on developing the human being. They run dozens of golf programs called GOLF54®, designed for players at all levels, encouraging them to learn to coach themselves and to aim high-for the perfect 54 game. Visit their website at .
Copyright 2004 by PGA.com. All rights reserved.
