Controlling your Mental Gallery

Sometimes the silence on a golf course during a junior competition can be more deafening than the roar of a cheering gallery. Your mind carries a very powerful influence and learning to tune out your mental gallery can help you block out an actual gallery.

“The great thing about golf,” explains Dr. Jim Taylor (www.drjimtaylor.com) sports psychologist, former Ironman triathlete, and author of the book Prime Golf, “is that each shot is independent of the previous one. Your last shot has no direct influence on your next,” unless you allow it.

A junior golfer steps up to the first tee in a tournament and seeing rough and trees, thinks “if I hit it into the rough, I’ll double bogey the hole, then lose the tournament. My parents will be mad and my coach will be annoyed.” College players add teams and national rankings to their mental galleries. Professionals expand theirs to include sponsors, caddies, media and viewers. The number increases with success.

PRESHOT ROUTINE

How do you empty your mind of voices and distractions before each shot? A preshot routine provides “clear focus on the process. It keeps your mind off the outcome, which takes pressure off,” counsels Taylor. Take a deep breath. Move your shoulders. Relaxation as part of the preshot routine allows for a natural break from tension caused by 3 putting the previous green or remembering that your best on the next hole is a double.

Annika Sorenstam plans a bunker shot

APPROACH TO COMPETITION

When junior golfers start to “care too much about the results, they feel pressure. That’s when they choke. It’s a paradox. You have to care enough to improve, but you can’t care at all in competition. Even the best players hit bad shots. Just accept them and move on.”

“How an individual approaches competition impacts the outcome,” explains A.P. Psychology teacher and coach, Matt Ellis. In his experience, “male athletes like competing more than practicing whereas young female athletes often enjoy the training but fear the competition.” The more successful female athletes “either love competing naturally or learn to treat competition like another practice.”

TRUST THE PRACTICE

Beyond honing skills, practice drives a secondary benefit. According to Ellis, “the easiest way to achieve your goals is by training every day,” so when standing over the 6 foot putt for birdie, “the work is already done. You can trust the work,” which allows your mental side to relax and tune out your surroundings.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

Noises lurk everywhere in junior golf competitions: jet engines overhead, teenagers gossiping on cart paths, parents murmuring behind bushes, Grandma applauding on the green. Bystanders carry noisy bags of crunchy snacks, fidget during putts, stand in your visual line, and sneak behind trees to whisper their take-out dinner orders into cell phones. With respect to the gallery, “control your eyes, focus forward. Focus on the shot. Step away from the shot and ask (the gallery) to stop if they are too distracting,” Taylor suggests. As for the errant pocket jangles, whispers, and phone calls, “The best way to deal with the unexpected is to expect it. Prepare for it.”


“Some golfers like to talk between shots, others like to be left alone and be into themselves. Know what your style is.” Just think, does it bother you when someone drums their fingers on a table? Or do you relax and enjoy their inner music? If you need quiet, “stay on the other side of the green. This is environmental management,” explains Taylor. Concentrate on your next shot, otherwise, they will have you so involved with their games you will completely forget your own.

Robert Trent Jones Jr. discusses plans for Chambers Bay course

CUSTOM STRATEGY

Knowing your line of play and the course layout reduces surprises, as well. In Golf By Design, Robert Trent Jones Jr., world renowned architect of Pierce County’s Chambers Bay Golf Course (currently in the design phase), says, “thinking about golf as a giant chess game played between designer and golfer will help you understand the need for long- and short-range strategies. Chess masters are great because they have custom-made strategy for each opponent. You need the same for each hole and each course.”

RELAX

John Furgurson’s book The Forget-About-It-Guide To Better Golf recommends “Forget all of the mechanical thoughts. Practice getting the basic set-up consistently right. Build on your strengths and gain confidence.”

In Ellis’ view, “What separates the successful athletes from the unsuccessful ones is not as much natural talent as ability to commit to daily practice.” In competition, players should know “this is what I do in this situation. I’ve practiced it.” Taylor concludes, “relaxation, focus, and emotional control should be in your emotional toolbox.” Then you can tune out all of the music, the chatting, the sounds, and the silence.

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Originally published June 2005
Reprinted with permission by PNGA Media
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