The Mental Game

For this game you need, above all things, to be in a tranquil frame of mind.
- Harry Vardon, 6 time British Open Champion & 1 time US Open Champion


My mind is my biggest asset. I expect to win every tournament I play.
-Tiger Woods, 14 time Major Champion & held each major trophy in his "Tiger Slam"


Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course, the space between your ears.
-Bobby Jones, 7 time Major Champion & winner of all 4 majors in one calendar year (the "Grand Slam")

The Mental Game: 

The mental part of golf becomes much more prominent once you have the basics down and can become a competitive golfer.  As in life, in golf you will get some good bounces and some bad ones, some good days and some bad days, but all in all if you keep a level head and focus on having fun everything will work out in the end.  Truly the mental game can be that simple, it's not life or death, it's just a game.  

     I have learned much of these ideas from sports psychologists Dr. Bob Rotella and Dr. Joseph Parent (I strongly recommend their books if you can get a hold of them).  The great thing about their "philosophies" is that their ideas are pretty much common sense, however we tend to forget them. 

     In this section I'll highlight the main points that I've learned from my experiences and from the above mentioned authors.

Golfing Philosophy:  "There is no such thing as "muscle memory."  Your muscles have no capacity to remember anything.  Memory resides in your head.  Therefore no matter how long you practice a golf swing, no matter how skilled you become at it, your muscles alone can't remember it and execute it when the need arises on the golf course.  Your muscles and the rest of your body are controlled by your mind.  Unless your mind is functioning well when you play golf, your muscles are going to flounder.  If your head is filled with bad shots, your scorecard is going to be full of bad strokes" (Rotella 2).
     "The keys to preparation are clarity, commitment, and composure.  These are necessary for developing a sound, consistent routine.  The ideal state of mind for action is feeling confident, focused, and in the flow, with body and mind synchronized in the present moment.  This allows you to execute a shot free from the interference of mental chatter or paralysis from analysis.  The best response to results is one that enhances future performance" (Parent xvii-xviii).

Thinking outside of the box:

To complete the Nine Dots Exercise (where you connect nine dots with only 3 or 4 straight lines without lifting your pencil from the paper) you need to go outside the artificial limits of the 'box' that the nine dots seem to define.  If you assume you have to stay within the box, four continuous straight lines will always leave at least one dot unconnected.  You have to think outside the box.  The point of this exercise is to show how we limit ourselves by our assumptions.  Looking at things with a big mind, with a larger or different perspective, increases our choices dramatically.  It allows for so much more creativity.  Sometimes aiming for the rough is the better play than playing down the water lined fairway, sometimes aiming for the slope at the back of the green will be a much more easier way to get the ball closer to the pin.  When uncomfortable with your long irons and you face a shot with hazards surrounding the green, instead of going for the green, take a page out of Zach Johnson's book from the 2007 Masters, where he laid up on every par 5 that week and went on to win.    

Par for the course:  "'Par' is an example of an illusory 'box' that mid- to high-handicap golfers create for themselves.  They would do well to think outside of it.  Less than 1 percent of all golfers have completed a round of  golf in par or better.  That makes it a rather unrealistic target score for all but the most skilled among us.  Measuring yourself against the par on the scorecard is a setup for failure for the average golfer [...] when it was first used, the number set as 'par for the course' varied according to the difficulty of the course under conditions under which a competition was played.  If it was played in a howling wind and driving rain on a long, tight golf course, par might have been set at 85 that day.  A scorecard on the other hand doesn't change with the weather.  I suggest that you set your own par for the course.  Change the par written on the scorecard to reflect your handicap, as well as the conditions, making it your 'personal par for the day.'  Before each round, on your scorecard, cross out and rewrite the par given to each of the harder holes on the course.  Add one for as many holes as you receive handicap strokes (and one or two more if the weather or course conditions are extra challenging).  The harder par-4 holes are now par-5s, etc.  For high handicappers (over 18), on some holes your 'personal par' will be two strokes higher than the par on the scorecard.  You will become much more at ease approaching a difficult hole from this new perspective.  It will also encourage more patience in recovering from a mis-hit, knowing you have that extra stroke or two to get to the green.  You'll also feel much better at the end of a hole or the end of a round by using this perspective-changing technique.  For a 20-handicapper playing the hardest hole, instead of dejectedly saying, 'I made another double-bogey,' you get to say, 'I made my par!'  at the end of your round, instead of saying, 'I shot a ninety-one,' you get to say, 'I finished at one under par!'  It's pretty clear which will make you feel more encouraged about this round and more confident about the next one.  The idea of reaching the par on the scorecard seems an insurmountable task when it is twenty strokes away.  Getting there little by little with rewards along the way is much more workable" (Parent 10-12).

      
Complaining:  "when things aren't the way we'd like them to be, there's a tendency to complain.  This is certainly true for golfers. 'It's windy.'   it's cold.  'The greens are too bumpy.'  'The rough is too deep.'  'The fairways are too narrow.'  'There aren't enough parking spaces.'  And on and on.  Jack Nicklaus said that at many tournaments he felt he only had to beat a few of his fellow competitors.  When he'd hear players complain about conditions, he'd check them off one by one, thinking to himself, 'there's a guy who won't be in contention.'  'There's another one I don't have to worry about.'  By the time the tournament started, not many were left.  Instead of complaining, recognize that everyone has to play the same course.  Golf and life aren't fair on a day-to-day basis.  But those good and bad breaks even out over the long run.  Learn to play a variety of conditions.  Adapt yourself and your state of mind to whatever you encounter.  Don't complain about anything, not even to yourself."  Note that we don't get rid of our suffering attitude and feelings of deflation by acting out our anger or throwing a tantrum.  The very effort of "getting rid" of our suffering is just another kind of suffering.  So just put the club back in the bag and breathe deeply, smile and give a thumbs up to your playing partners, enjoying the opportunity to play this wonderful game!    

Take a Bigger View of Control:  "The mind is like a high-spirited wild horse.  If you try to control it by locking it up, it will be agitated and restless.  If you try to force it to be still, it will kick and fight even more.  Take a bigger view of control.  Within the big meadow of awareness, let the wild horse of your mind run her and there.  With nothing to struggle against, it will eventually settle down on its own.  When it has settled, you can tame it, when it is tame, you can train it.  Then you can ride the horse of your mind, and it will swiftly take you wherever you want to go" (Parent 18).  We have the option to berate and get angry at ourselves or the slow play that's "ruining our round," or we can choose to laugh off the bad shot and invent some games to have fun while waiting for the group in front of you.

Mindful Breathing: Arguably the most dangerous and destructive mental error in golf (and life for that matter) is being caught in the past, lost in the past, or enslaved in the past, as is being caught in the future, lost in the future, or enslaved by the future.  Of course one cannot discount the past or future for planning your strategies, however, standing over the ball telling yourself "don't hit it in the water like I did here last time" or "all I have to do is par the last four to beat my personal best score"  100% of the time leads to an uncommitted, tenative swing that will in all likelihood end up in terrible results.  No one can ever stop these thoughts from entering our mind because it is human nature, however you can make it a habit to take mindful breaths in the times when your conscious doesn't seem to want to shut up!
     With the inhalation, silently say, "I am aware of my breath" and with exhalation silently say, "I am aware of my outbreath."  It's truly quite simple, yet quite effective.  Mindful breathing allows for confusion concerning future events, questions, doubts, and the resulting anxiety to fade away, thus allowing us to be aware of the present moment.  Take in the waft of the breeze, feel the softness of the grass under your feet, and see the beauty of the clouds.  Think of it like the Orca who must come up to the surface to breathe.

Paralysis by Analysis:  Everyone who has played this game long enough has had that overwhelming feeling mid-round where you know that something in your swing is off and you have "a million" swing thoughts running through your mind in order to fix it.  Unfortunately while our intentions to play better are in the act of consciously trying different moves to fix that pesky slice, the golf course is not a suitable place to try those different moves.  On the golf course, it's best to let go of the frustration with mindful breathing and the faith in your abilities to fix your swing once the round is done.
      Having the mindset, that yes I'm not playing how I want to, but I'll just carry on and have fun right now is a great mindset to have, because you know what you never know what the rest of the round will be like.  Who can say that they had a bad day golfing when you had one or more of the following: a hole-in-one, a chip in, a double eagle, a long putt, a holed bunker shot, a holed flop shot, a "Phil Mickelson" punch shot threaded through the trees, a good laugh with friends or playing partners, an unbelievably lucky shot, a holed fairway shot, a perfectly played draw or fade to the green, a successful opposite handed shot, a shot off the flagstick, a putt that rounds the cup and laughably falls in, your best 9 hole score, your best streak of birdies/ holes without a bogey, a great recovery shot from a terrible lie, a shot that you've never tried before...
...add to the list what you like, you can always find a way to turn a "bad" day into a a fun enjoyable one!!!            

Rotella, Bob.  The Golfer's Mind: Play To Play Great. Free Press; Tour Player Edition edition (November 16, 2004)
Parent, Joseph. Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game. Doubleday; 1st edition (May 14, 2002)

            

The Takeaway

The Takeaway: 

The takeaway is the first move away from the golf ball from the setup to when the club is parallel to the ground.  It is a crucial part of the backswing as it sets the whole theme for the rest of the swing.  From a poor takeaway you can easily hit undesired slices, hooks, and mishits, but from a good takeaway you have a much better chance of hitting a desired ball flight and solid strike.  

     

Shown above is Louis Oosthuizen demonstrating a good takeaway.  When the club is parallel to the ground the butt end of the club should point parallel to the target line or slightly left as Louis has here.  Also notice how the clubface is slightly closed (pointed more towards the ground) where you want it. 

Dill 1:

This drill involves putting a alignment stick or a club at a 45 degree angle to your feet line/ target line.  All you want to do then is to make sure that your club and clubface is parallel to the stick when your club is over it.  

Drill 2:

This drill involves connecting the club to your belly button and then moving your arms away to about your right hip while still keeping the club connected to your belly button. You can use this drill in accordance with drill 1 (above).


Drill 3:

This drill involves setting second ball behind the first one about a foot's length away.  Then just try to roll the ball backwards on your takeaway.       

Drill 4:

Helpful drill for people who tend to take the club back too far inside.  Split your hands at address and make sure the club goes back along the line of the orange stick on the ground (you can use a club too)

Posture

Posture:

You’ve got to get posture set in a way that sets you up for consistent strikes that get up in the air.  A good player checks his/her posture daily.  Think of it as conditioning.  Posture relates to the ground, the ball, and the club.  If you don’t set up correctly it sets a bad theme for the rest of the swing.

  













Drill 1:

Lay club flat across back

Bend from the hips

Drill 2:

Touch the top of your knee with the right hand to get set in the correct lean over the ball (make sure to bend forward from the hips).  

Examples of some bad postures:

Too much rounding in back, causes lack of power.  You have to over rotate to make a larger backswing which causes more problems (See overrotation/ overswing section)

Too much knee flex and weight too much on heels causes shoulders to be stacked on toes.  Promotes the over the top swing.

Too leaned over, points the grip below the belt buckle.  Leads to inconsistent strikes and a flat swing path. 

This demonstrates coming out of your posture/ spine angle on the backswing.  This fault will cause you to come over the top, because the shoulders must be pointed fairly steeply at the ball at impact in order to make solid and consistent strikes.  

When you turn flat you change your orientation to the golf ball by becoming further away from it (Standing up).  Then on the downswing you will have to lunge out and over the top to get the ball back to impact leading to inconsistent strikes and large pulls and pull slices.

 You want to keep that tilt towards the ball on the backswing.  This will make it easier to turn through on plane and even route the club in to out.  

The Setup

Setup:

In this post, part of the setup mentioned will include ball position and stance.  Realize that setup, although boring to listen to and drill, is crucial to the consistency of your golf shots.    

General stance tips: shoulder width apart for 6,7,& 8 irons, slightly wider for the 5 iron to Driver, and slightly smaller for the 9 iron and up (Driver stance on left, 7 iron stance on right).  Also make sure that your right side    

Iron (left) vs. Driver (right)

Ball position should always be in relation to your upper body, not the lower body because your feet can move slightly independent of your center of mass (the center of your chest).  The ball positions for the irons  are generally slightly forward of center and at about your left armpit for the driver.  
Notice that the hands are set just inside the left leg for all clubs (yellow circles in photo). 

Have the same ball position for each iron (about in line with the Nike emblem on his shirt), just shift your right foot back for a more stable base.



"Most professional golfers usually stand like Aaron Baddeley at address - they let their arms hang down naturally (near-vertically) from their shoulder sockets so that the hands are under their chin, and they do not extend their arms outwards like Moe Norman (see below) thereby creating a near-straight line relationship between the left forearm and the clubshaft. Here is an example of another professional golfer adopting a traditional/conventional address hand position.

Luke Donald at address - capture image from a swing video

Note that Luke Donald lets his upper arms hang down vertically from the shoulders and his hands are below his chin 

1. usually just in front of the chin when hitting a driver
2. just below the chin when hitting mid-irons
3. just inside the chin when hitting short-irons 

• Note the angle between the forearms and the clubshaft (red lines) - it's not a straight line. 
• Note that the hand plane line (yellow dotted line) passes through his belt buckle. 

The reason why most professional golfers adopt that type of hand position is that it allows the wrists to hinge/cock easily, and biomechanically naturally, during the backswing. It is biomechanically more difficult for the wrists to hinge/cock easily during the backswing if the arms are stretched out at address and the arms/clubshaft form a straight line" (Mann).

As a general rule of thumb, if you have the correct posture then the bottom of grip should be about fist and thumbs length away from belt buckle.  This is more of a minor detail since you really want to be sure to have that angle between your forearms and the club shaft for easy hinging/ cocking.  

Have your right knee kicked in (right photo) so that the right hip is over instep of the right foot, otherwise you will have your hips sway (left photo) which will cause over the top shots and a loss of distance and consistency.  

A common fault (shown left) is the hands too low at address.  The butt end of the club should point into the belt buckle (shown right).

The hands too low causes an under the plane (plane is red portion)  approach, poor spine angle at impact, and steep impact plane.

Releasing the Club

Release:  

In 2-Dimensional cameras the release of the golf club looks like hands have crossed/ rolled over, but in fact the hands stay in same relationship to the turning body.  You will see that it is just a contorted/ stretched position.  Everything is moving on that circular motion.  You can feel like you are rolling over your wrists to produce the correct technique.  It’s rotational body control of the face. 

Drill 1:  To get into the proper release position, you can just turn your body to the left where the club is parallel to the target line (pictured lieft).  Then just stretch your head and upper body towards the ball (pictured right).

Drill 2: Lay down a few clubs as pictured below.  Start with the club at your right hip (your left thumb should be at 45 degree angle with ball), with your hips open to the target, and more weight on your left foot. Then move club over to the yellow stick (the one behind your heels). 

The hands do not cross/ roll over (as shown below), however this can be a feeling that you may feel when doing the correct release.

The Golf Grip

Grip:  

The golf grip is the most essential fundamental for you to control all the factors of a golf shot.  If you do not grip the club properly you will have to make swing faults (shown in later posts) to send the ball in the general direction of your target.  Even then it will be difficult to be a consistent ball striker.   

The heel pad of your left hand (fleshy portion nearest the thumb) should be on top of the club.  

A neutral grip is in the base of the left palm and diagonally across the fingers in the right hand.  The V on the right hand should point through the middle of the shaft (golf pride logo).  The thumbs should be on opposite sides of the center line of the shaft.  The left thumb should fit into the cavity of the right palm.  Interlock grip is usually recommended.  

Left hand grip: in the base of the palm 

Grip for right handed golfer

Right hand grip runs diagonally through the fingers

A strong grip on right hand (pictured below left) is where the right hand is more "underneath" the club.  This grip promotes early extension in order to stop the ball from going left.  More under plane to get the ball spinning back to target.  Strong right hand grip also promotes a hip slide towards the target to straighten the face to the target.

View of the strong right hand grip

This strong grip promotes faults such as early extension and hip slide

This photo shows a weak left hand grip 

Weak left hand grip promotes flicking the wrists at impact among other faults in order to square the club face

   

Drill 1: Check your right hand grip by chipping a few shots with your right hand with the correct release of course (see release).  Experiment releasing the club properly with strong and weak grips to understand how the grip affects club face control.  Then change to the correct grip and repeat.

Correct right hand grip drill

See "Release" section to do drill correctly