Golf’s Mental Beast
By Bradley Turner Keiser University College of Golf and Director of Online Golf Instruction – MBA, PGA
Bobby Jones once said, “golf is a game played on a 5-inch course…the distance between your ears.” That sentiment has been re-stated thousands of times since the game’s mental aspects are a challenge for the seasoned professional and the beginning golfer. As the player’s skill level improves, so does the influence on the mental ability to perform the developed skills. I believe Bobby Jones would agree that the mental beast in golf is the incredible power of the subconscious mind. It can be so powerful that seemingly simple skills can be stifled by the intangible challenges of the mind.
A Simple Skill and Negative Outcomes
To illustrate golf’s mental beast to my golf students, I would stand on a solid office desk with the tip of my shoes just barely hanging over the edge. I have successfully demonstrated this simple skill hundreds of times and have never failed by somehow falling off the desk. Then I would ask my students to imagine taking that same desk and putting it on the top of the Empire State Building and securely placing it on the edge of the building. Would the “skill” of standing on the edge of a desk be the same? The skill is the same, but the consequence is much different. I am very certain I would not want to perform this “skill” on the top of the Empire State Building since I am afraid of heights. Even though I have successfully completed this skill 100% of the time, I just would not do it. For some people, this would be a relatively easy skill, and they may not be able to relate to the fear and power of the subconscious mind for those like me. In golf, we have similar challenges that have negative consequences, like hitting a ball into a water hazard or out of bounds. The thought of these bad outcomes can directly influence the swing mechanics of one golfer, while a water hazard or bunker may have very little or no effect at all on another golfer.
Many years ago, I was confronted by my fear of heights and the power of the subconscious mind while hiking in the Smokey Mountains. My wife and I had reached the summit of our hike, and there, on a rocky outcropping, were a few people posing for a spectacular picture. My immediate thought was, “what are they doing out there…they are crazy!” As they came back toward the main trail, they asked if we wanted to get our picture taken too. Our simultaneous responses made them laugh as I said, “no way,” while my wife gave them an enthusiastic “yes!” My wife promptly balances herself and walks out to the outcropping; I was stunned at her seeming indifference to the 1,000-foot drop below. My feet were frozen to the main trail; I could not move. Finally, I convinced myself I could walk out there too but ended up crawling on my hands and knees to get out there. If this outcropping were only three feet off the ground, I would have been able to do cartwheels out to the rock, but the 1,000-foot drop, that negative outcome, made me unable to perform the simple skill of walking. A bit embarrassing to crawl, but I made it out there.
Bill
Many golfers have similar challenges and complain that they can’t take their range game to the golf course. They will work hard on making suggested swing changes and are capable of hitting the ball in the desired manner when practicing on a wide-open range. But when they step onto the first tee, their new swing falls apart. The reality is that a golf swing doesn’t just fall apart; the golfer’s mind falls apart. The fear of a negative outcome puts the subconscious mind in control, and suddenly, golfers begin to worry, and their swing reverts to their old bad habits.
Many years ago, I had a student who struggled to break 90. Bill would shoot in the high 90’s and fail to break 100 on difficult days. He was a dedicated student, and we worked together weekly on improving his chronic over-the-top slice, the same slice that afflicts 80% of golfers. We first started by hitting into a net with the use of video equipment. In the video, Bill was able to make some good adjustments while hitting into a net. His club head path was toward the target, and his clubface appeared to be relatively square at impact. I was confident that good scores would soon show up on the scoreboard. But they didn’t. We would go back to work for the next few weeks with the same disappointing results…95, 98, 103.
I decided that we needed to change our practice strategy, so we started hitting outdoors to see the ball flight. Watching ball flight is a very powerful ally in overcoming the mental resistance to change. On the range, I was able to coach him through these challenges, and soon enough, he was hitting a beautiful draw. Bill was able to compress the ball properly, and he increased the distance he hit the ball.
For sure, we were going to see scores in the 80’s! Except, they didn’t change. It was frustrating to see that his scoring had not changed, and I concluded that it must be his short game. The next lesson would be a playing lesson where I would quickly target the weaknesses in his short game and begin working on the appropriate adjustments.
Before heading out to the first tee for our playing lesson, we went to the range to warm up.
With very little coaching, he was once again hitting nice golf shots with a consistent draw pattern. The over-the-top slice was gone from his swing, except it wasn’t. On the first tee, Bill reverted immediately to his old over-the-top slicing swing. I was shocked, stunned, any adjective you can think of to describe such an unexpected happening. What is going on here? I had never witnessed such an extreme change from the range swing to the golf course swing. Clearly, there was a mental beast that prevented him from performing to his new potential. I reflected on my own challenges, like my fear of heights and my inability to perform the simple task of walking out to a rock for a picture. Bill had a mental issue, not a golf swing issue.
Overcoming the Mental Beast
In overcoming the fear of heights or acrophobia, experts suggest that gradual exposer to the fear is the first step. The idea would be to have someone stand close to the edge of a balcony five feet off the ground and slowly increase exposure to a greater height. We applied this same principle with Bill as we started practicing on the golf course. We didn’t keep score but simply hit golf shots to expose him to the mental challenges of the golf course and to slowly build confidence in his swing changes. It took some time before he could stand on the first tee, perform his new swing, and hit that beautiful draw down the fairway. As Bill’s confidence grew, so did his ability to shoot lower scores. By the time he moved away, he was shooting consistently in the low to mid 80’s. As a relatively new golf coach, the slaying of Bill’s mental beast was a very rewarding and memorable experience for me. Sometimes the 5-inch course between your ears is the root cause of your swing problems, but with diligence, hard work, and the support of a good golf coach, you will be able to overcome that mental beast too.
If you’d like to study with Bradley Turner and other PGA Master Professionals, contact the College of Golf today.
