"Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an even smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose." -- Sir Winston Churchill
Stress is difficult to define because it is a subjective phenomenon that differs for each of us. A steep roller coaster ride can be very distressful for some but a pleasurable thrill for others. Golfers often suffer from "first-tee jitters", especially when playing in a tournament with a large gallery looking on. However, there are also those who are energized and act like racehorses that can't wait to get out of the starting gate. What determines these differences is the sense of control the individual perceives over the event. None of the roller coaster passengers has any more or less control over the ride than others, but their perceptions and expectations may be quite different. Although difficult to define, all of our animal and clinical research confirms that the feeling of having little control is always distressful -- and that's what stress is all about. Many times we create our own stress by faulty perceptions you can learn to correct.
That's especially true on the golf course. How often have you had the feeling that you were going to hook or slice a shot from a difficult lie and found out that this proved to be a self-fulfilling prophecy? Conversely, you may approach a ball a certain distance from the green with complete confidence that the club you have selected will most likely get you down in two. Jack Nicklaus said that before he hit any shot he always visualized the ball's flight path, trajectory and where it would land and finally come to rest. Few people possess the degree of physical prowess, experience, consistency and command of the golf swing needed to promote this sense of self-assurance. Nevertheless, there is little doubt that your golf game and scores can be significantly improved and your stress dramatically reduced by learning to develop a positive attitude that promotes confidence during play as well as practice. The old maxim "practice makes perfect" does not work if you are practicing the wrong things. Perfect practice makes perfect and a key ingredient in achieving this is learning to develop a positive attitude that improves your degree of control and consistency.
Stress can affect your golf game in many ways. Ben Hogan emphasized the need to develop a "correct, powerful repeating swing." This begins with a good grip that requires a light but firm pressure to insure flexibility and feel throughout the swing. Stress often causes increased muscle tension that destroys this. It's not unusual for many golfers to grasp the club as tightly as possible since they think this will help them hit the ball farther. The fallacy of this is readily illustrated by throwing a baseball as far as you can. If you hold the ball with a death grip it is impossible to throw it any great distance. Why? Simply because it cannot be "released" since the strength of the large muscles of the arms and legs cannot be utilized and there is no "transfer of weight." Sound familiar? Right-handed golfers with this tendency often have characteristic deep indentations in their grips under the area occupied by their right thumb and forefinger that is a dead giveaway. Increased tension in these fingers stimulates more powerful muscles like the biceps and when these take over, forget it. Your swing is sure to be ruined because of swaying back and forth, "hitting from the top" and other problems that prevent the left side from being the leading dominant force seen in most players with sound swings.
People with Type A personalities (Hogan was the extreme opposite) often have a terrible time because they are usually hypervigilant, impatient, have increased muscular tension and hyperactive responses, try to think of several things simultaneously and do them much more rapidly because they are always in a hurry. As a result, they find it difficult to "keep your head still," "start the club back low and slow," maintain a consistent tempo and timing or concentrate on the shot if there is the slightest distraction. It's impossible to concentrate on more than one or two thoughts in a 2-second golf swing. All of these difficulties worsen in tournaments or when playing for high stakes. And if they play poorly, their Type A stressful behavior intensifies, which is not healthy. Type A behavior is as significant a risk factor for heart attacks as cigarette smoking, hypertension and elevated cholesterol. Stress also contributes to all of these. How To Die Early By Playing Golf is the title of a book by a Japanese sports physician who estimated that about 5,000 golfers die on the fairways each year because of the stress of gorufu, as golf is often referred to. Many tend to be golf fanatics and even Japan's Ministry of Health stated that golf is eight times more likely to kill men over the age of 60 than running, and is more lethal than tennis or mountain climbing.
Nowhere is stress on the golf course more apparent than in putting, which is such an integral part of the game and score. Putting is the great equalizer since it does not require unusual strength and most golfers at one time or another consider themselves to be good or superior putters. They may also find there are periods when they completely lose their "touch" for no apparent reason. Some develop what Tommy Armour called the "yips" and become basket cases as they try various grips, stances and new putters in a frustrating attempt to correct the problem. Stress-related yips, "twitches" or jitters have plagued the best golfers, including Hogan and Snead. Hogan lost two U. S. opens by three-putting the very last hole. Good putting is entirely dependent on a very confident attitude and when the yips destroy confidence in your putting, it often goes right through the bag as you start to lose confidence in other clubs."
Any good putting stroke or golf swing requires the synchronized participation of numerous muscle groups in a synergistic and consistent pattern. Feelings of fear, anxiety or uncertainty interfere with the optimal function and integration of brain components necessary to provide this high degree of coordination. The HeartMath Freeze-Framer and Quick Coherence programs will enable you to eradicate anxiety by building up self-confidence and trust in all aspects of your golf game. Practicing these feedback techniques will enable you to remember what you did on a good shot and how to reinforce and repeat that swing as well as erase the memory of bad ones.
And there can be other surprising benefits. Research studies show that practicing with the Freeze-Framer software can significantly improve fatigue, depression, insomnia, asthma, hypertension, abnormal heart rhythms, substance abuse and other stress-related complaints. The positive emotions engendered and sustained by Freeze-Framer practice produce coherence between mind and body that also promotes peak performance in other aspects of your personal and professional life. This program will teach you how to manage your emotions and attitude to transform stress so that you can become more productive rather than self-destructive -- both on and off the links.
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 www.quantumintech.com or www.golf.freezeframer.com.
Dr. Paul J. Rosch is President of the American Institute of Stress and Clinical Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry at New York Medical College. A Board certified internist with a subspecialty rating in cardiology, endocrinology and metabolism, he has been involved in stress research for more than 50 years and is internationally recognized as a leading authority on the effects of stress on human health, productivity and quality of life. (see www.stress.org) He and his wife are avid golfers and belong to the Elmwood Country Club and St. Andrews Golf Club in Westchester County, N.Y., and the Atlantis Golf Club and Breakers Golf Club in Palm Beach County, Fla.
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