Pace Your Play Under Pressure
By Dr. T. J. Tomasi, Keiser University College of Golf Senior Faculty and Director of Research
As I have outlined previously, golf is played in four dimensions: height, width, depth (the three spatial dimensions), and time. Golfers have an elaborate system of sensors (eyes, ears, hands, etc.) that interprets the spatial dimensions, but there is no sensor for time.
Time itself, the “when” of your swing, is an internal sense that plots the sequence of your world. According to neuroscientist Ann Graybiel of MIT, a network of neurons in the brain stamps events as they are sensed: “All you do is timestamp everything, and then recalling events is easy; you go back and look through your timestamps until you see which ones are correlated with the event.” This stamping process allows your brain to remember key sequences, including physical motions like your golf swing, so that you recall not only the “what” of your swing (the mechanics like grip), but also the “when,” an ability I call the Time IQ. Thus, the key to playing consistently good golf under all conditions and for long stretches is controlling your Time IQ.
In normal situations, the average player’s swing matches the beat of his/her natural internal tempo. The danger is overdoing it under pressure. When the heat is on, fast players tend to get too fast, and slow players operate too slowly. Controlling tempo down the home stretch is where winners excel. A famous case in point is that of hyper Nick Price on his way to the British Open Championship some years ago. The player he beat, fast-paced Jesper Parnevik, became impatient, and that cost him a major. One player-controlled his Time IQ under pressure and the other did not. How do you control your tempo? The first step is to analyze your behavior and prepare a suitable intervention. If you are quick-paced, then practice ways to slow down — take deep breaths, walk at a leisurely pace and talk slowly. If you slow down too much under pressure, pick up the pace of your walking, hum an up-tempo tune, and be the first one out of the cart and onto the tee box.
The Takeaway: Since tempo controls your golf swing, you can be in the driver’s seat by controlling it.
If you’d like to study with Dr. Tomasi and other PGA Master Professionals, contact The College of Golf today.
