PubLinks Golfer Magazine- Winter 2001
"Say it Sincerely"
I
recently attended a Seminar entitled the “Art of Great Putting”
given through the North Florida PGA for the continuing education of the Members
of the North Florida PGA. The seminar was conducted by Dr. Robert Winters
- a Sports Performance Consultant and Co-Author of The Mental Art of Putting
. I was happily jolted by something he said. Dr. Winters said “the greatest
common factor amongst the best putters on the PGA Tour is that they all exude
confidence when putting.”
The seminar illustrated the point that keeping a key thought in your mind
during a round of golf will boost your confidence in putting, shotmaking,
and help you to play and feel better. Dr. Winters suggested the words “I
am Confident”. Those words reminded me of a similar saying I was introduced
to 16 years ago, it was “I am relaxed and confident”. Not until
I had heard Dr. Winters’ words did I even remember my own mantra. I used
it consistently for a few years, but as time passed I found that my saying
became lost in the back of my mind amidst the rubble of technical golf jargon.
My question to myself was where did it go? How could something so important
simply slip through the cracks? Maybe at that time I did not realize the true
power and need for consistent positive affirmations in my life and in my golf
game. I did all of the other things to be on top of my game - I practiced
for hours every day, I ate nutritionally sound foods, I stayed fit physically
lifting weights and taking Tae Kwon Do classes. How could something so simple
yet so important fade?
With the “coming of the new era of golf” - i.e.: teaching aides,
ever evolving equipment, books, and the myriad of video tapes; my golf mind
became an entanglement of left brain road maps to nowhere. I did not realize
that my mind yearned for the simplicity of the familiar street that ran between
my right and left lobes.
I balanced both lobes in the Summer of 1984. I was preparing to play in the
Andy Thiele Memorial Open at Deerpath Golf Course in Lake Forest, Illinois.
I was taking Tae Kwon Do lessons regularly and asked my teacher - Mr. Park
- for something to think about during the event. He said the golden words:
“say to yourself, I am relaxed and confident”. Mr. Park was at the
time a Master Judo and Tae Kwon Do Instructor and a beginning golfer. He was
so in tune with the art of competition and the Zen mind that he was able to
make that simple Buddhist suggestion. I said to myself “I am relaxed
and confident” on the way to the golf course the morning of the event
and also before every shot and putt. I shot a 72 and ended up winning the
Andy Thiele Memorial Open by two shots.
A round of golf exposes an individual to the grand spectrum of nearly every
emotion. We are often subject to the end result of a shot rather than enjoying
the journey of the pre-shot routine, the swing, the feel of impact, and then
the beauty of the ball’s flight. Your imagination and the words you use
to trigger your imagination are your greatest pieces of equipment. Visualizing
yourself to be calm and relaxed (like on a beach in the Tropics), and imagining
the ball’s perfect flight while saying to yourself “I am relaxed
and confident” can be the difference between making bogies and making
birdies.
Dr. Winters also mentioned having the “full picture” during the
shot. The example he used was Jack Nicklaus. For those who have seen Jack
Nicklaus play through the years have noticed that he would take a long time
over each shot and virtually forever over each putt - he made most of them.
Dr. Winters said Jack Nicklaus was waiting for the full picture of the hole
to become solid in his mind so he could literally be at one with the target.
It takes some players longer than others to “get the picture”. The
extreme opposite of Jack Nicklaus took place this past week at the Australian
Open. Aaron Baddeley won for the second consecutive year. For those of you
who watched his mastery on the greens, you observed him size up the putt,
step up to the ball, take a quick look at the hole, and then almost as soon
as he turned his head back to the ball he hit it. He made many crucial putts
and won by two shots. It was a remarkably natural display and very similar
to the style of the number one putter on the PGA Tour - Brad Faxon. Aaron
Baddeley showed the golf world a wonderful example of a trusting instinct
and the bold confidence of a 19 year old. Finding your own personal time to
get the picture is up to you.
Being relaxed, having confidence, and getting the full picture can be termed
“in the zone”. Many athletes have referred to that term after outstanding
performances. “In the zone” in a golf game is when a person is knocking
down the flagstick and sinking the birdie or eagle putts consistently. Many
of you have had unbelievable putting rounds where you could not miss. Usually
that putting confidence is determined by what happens in the first few holes.
Whether you were aware of it or not, the successes on the first few holes
gave you the confidence you needed to have an “I can’t miss”
attitude. To be able to click on our confidence before we even start a round
is essential, to wait for it to happen during the first few holes can be detrimental.
Being positive heightens your innate ability to master your emotions.
The seminar reminded me of the need to give myself positive affirmations before
every round, shot, putt, and in life. The day after the seminar I took a client
to the Diamond Players Club in Clermont. I told my client of the previous
night’s seminar and I made the commitment to say to myself before every
shot and putt “I am Relaxed and Confident.” I shot a very relaxed
70 from the gold tees. My client used the saying occasionally and played 11
shots better than his usual game - a 104 from the white tees.
If you want to play good golf, remind yourself to say in a sincere voice “I
am relaxed and confident” before getting to the golf course and before
each shot and putt. The results will probably astound you.
