Golf's Mental Game Aspect

[GolfLug]

36 minutes ago, Ty_Webb said:

A 100 shooter is not going to break par because he improves his mental game, but within the window of his scores, it will have an impact.

That's a good statement. Anxiety, over eagerness, mind drift, etc do affect the ability to draw in all faculties or overdraw one over another, etc and affect one's physical game. 

I do think folks under estimate how hard it is to stay even keel physically for 4 hours if one is not used to doing g it regularly.

Edited January 4, 2018 by GolfLug

[iacas]

36 minutes ago, Ty_Webb said:

A 100 shooter is not going to break par because he improves his mental game, but within the window of his scores, it will have an impact.

I missed that before, but yeah, that's all I'm saying too.

Within that small window of his scores, the mental game will change things a little bit. I can shoot 69 to 77. Even the bulk of that difference is still how I actually played that day, a little bit of luck (whether a few putts fall or don't), and then a stroke or two of mental game.

But I've put years, and years, and years, and years of effort into the full swing. It has a MUCH more significant effect on my scores than the mental game.

Generally speaking, a 100 shooter is not going to break 90 because he improves his mental game. And I'd say "never" unless you can find someone with nearly the WORST course management in the history of the game, or someone who is certifiably yippy or something, and you attribute those to the mental game. Then, sure, a 100 shooter can break 90 while hitting the same types of shots from a physical perspective.

The importance of the mental game tends to be over-stated. What you shoot on any given day is in the high 90s % based on how you physically perform that day."

[mvmac]

23 minutes ago, Yff Theos said:

Interesting. The way he handled putts on the 18th during US Open 2 years ago reminded me more of a guy who could not bear the pressure.

Yet he played well when he was penalized for the ball moving the year after and won the tournament. 

And somehow for someone who can't bear the pressure he's gotten to #1 in the world.

We can all choose one-off examples, it's more accurate to look at the whole picture.

Jack Nicklaus once shanked a shot, does that mean he's a bad ball striker? 

27 minutes ago, Yff Theos said:

There is a famous word "zone". Those who "are in the zone" play excellent golf. Perhaps the role of mental coaching is to teach students how to drive into this "zone" and stay there until the 18th hole ends.

Yet when most players talk about getting in the zone they say it just sort of happens. I don't think it's something you can try to achieve. "Trying" to do something only makes things more complicated.

Human beings don't work like that, you can't stay in one mental state for 4 hours. Emotions ebb and flow. It's normal. If you get first tee jitters you don't have them for the entire round. 

30 minutes ago, Yff Theos said:

Perhaps he played on tour for a relatively short period of time because he was mentally weak first of all?

You asked, "is it possible that a mentally weak person plays the PGA tour?", the answer is yes.

[Ty_Webb]

9 minutes ago, iacas said:

I missed that before, but yeah, that's all I'm saying too.

Within that small window of his scores, the mental game will change things a little bit. I can shoot 69 to 77. Even the bulk of that difference is still how I actually played that day, a little bit of luck (whether a few putts fall or don't), and then a stroke or two of mental game.

But I've put years, and years, and years, and years of effort into the full swing. It has a MUCH more significant effect on my scores than the mental game.

Generally speaking, a 100 shooter is not going to break 90 because he improves his mental game. And I'd say "never" unless you can find someone with nearly the WORST course management in the history of the game, or someone who is certifiably yippy or something, and you attribute those to the mental game. Then, sure, a 100 shooter can break 90 while hitting the same types of shots from a physical perspective.

The importance of the mental game tends to be over-stated. What you shoot on any given day is in the high 90s % based on how you physically perform that day."

You say range of 69 to 77 and that includes "a stroke or two" of mental game. How is 1 out of 8 even remotely in the same ballpark as 5%? That's my only dispute on this. I agree with you on most everything you said until you hit that last sentence. If you're saying that when DJ goes out and shoots 65, he's shooting 65 and not 130 because of about 1 or 2 shots of mental game and 63 or 64 shots from his physical skill, then I guess that's true, but it's not particularly interesting. It's fairly dull to compare a 100 shooter with a 60 shooter don't you think? Much more interesting to compare similar standards of player.

[iacas]

19 minutes ago, Ty_Webb said:

You say range of 69 to 77 and that includes "a stroke or two" of mental game. How is 1 out of 8 even remotely in the same ballpark as 5%?

I said the bulk of that eight-stroke difference is how I played (hit the ball) that day, some luck, and then the "mental game" beyond that.

20 minutes ago, Ty_Webb said:

That's my only dispute on this. I agree with you on most everything you said until you hit that last sentence. If you're saying that when DJ goes out and shoots 65, he's shooting 65 and not 130 because of about 1 or 2 shots of mental game and 63 or 64 shots from his physical skill, then I guess that's true, but it's not particularly interesting. It's fairly dull to compare a 100 shooter with a 60 shooter don't you think? Much more interesting to compare similar standards of player.

Right, so if we're comparing similar standards of player, your'e already talking about only about a 1-2 stroke change, tops, attributable to the mental game.

You're agreeing with me without really seeming to realize it. A poor mental game is not going to make Dustin Johnson shoot 80 instead of 70, nor will it make a 100 shooter break 90. The vast majority of what you shoot is simply how well you get your ball around the course, physically.

Hell, luck might even be a bigger factor in actually determining my scores than "the mental game."

[Ty_Webb]

10 minutes ago, iacas said:

I said the bulk of that eight-stroke difference is how I played (hit the ball) that day, some luck, and then the "mental game" beyond that.

Right, so if we're comparing similar standards of player, your'e already talking about only about a 1-2 stroke change, tops, attributable to the mental game.

You're agreeing with me without really seeming to realize it. A poor mental game is not going to make Dustin Johnson shoot 80 instead of 70, nor will it make a 100 shooter break 90. The vast majority of what you shoot is simply how well you get your ball around the course, physically.

Hell, luck might even be a bigger factor in actually determining my scores than "the mental game."

If you thought I was talking about the difference between 80 and 70, then you haven't been reading my posts. If mental game is one shot, then physical differences day to day would have to be 19 shots for your 5% to be accurate. But your range of scores is only 8 shots wide. If I was talking about 10 shots, then that would imply 190 shots from physical differences, which is obviously ridiculous. I agree that the majority of it is physical and the majority of the difference between two different players of different ability is going to be physical ability. I am simply disputing the 5% claim that you stated. You yourself said 1 or 2 shots out of 8. That's more than 5%. I don't know how else to explain it to you. There is no point in you continuing to say that the majority of what you shoot is from your physical ability. I'm not disputing that. I'm only saying that 1 or 2 out of 8 is more than 5%. It's 12.5% or 25%. 

[iacas]

Just now, Ty_Webb said:

If you thought I was talking about the difference between 80 and 70, then you haven't been reading my posts.

I didn't say you were talking about the difference between 80 and 70, nor did I imply that you had said that. I simply gave that as an example myself.

Just now, Ty_Webb said:

If mental game is one shot, then physical differences day to day would have to be 19 shots for your 5% to be accurate.

I've not said the 5% is directly reflected in the score. Hell, the OP in this topic speaks to that - I literally wrote "And I don't mean as a percentage of strokes".

Just now, Ty_Webb said:

But your range of scores is only 8 shots wide.

And almost entirely caused by physical differences and luck.

Just now, Ty_Webb said:

If I was talking about 10 shots, then that would imply 190 shots from physical differences, which is obviously ridiculous.

Again: "And I don't mean as a percentage of strokes".

Just now, Ty_Webb said:

I'm only saying that 1 or 2 out of 8 is more than 5%. It's 12.5% or 25%. 

"And I don't mean as a percentage of strokes".

---

Until we can somehow actually measure "Strokes Gained: Mental" (or "Strokes Gained: Luck"), the percentage I stated was simply to suggest the mental game plays a very small role. We had people literally voting that golf was almost entirely mental, or even "mostly" (i.e. > 50%) mental. Gun to my head, 5% is too high. But I never meant it as an exact percentage of strokes. That's why I said "And I don't mean as a percentage of strokes".

[Ty_Webb]

36 minutes ago, iacas said:

I didn't say you were talking about the difference between 80 and 70, nor did I imply that you had said that. I simply gave that as an example myself.

I've not said the 5% is directly reflected in the score. Hell, the OP in this topic speaks to that - I literally wrote "And I don't mean as a percentage of strokes".

And almost entirely caused by physical differences and luck.

Again: "And I don't mean as a percentage of strokes".

"And I don't mean as a percentage of strokes".

---

Until we can somehow actually measure "Strokes Gained: Mental" (or "Strokes Gained: Luck"), the percentage I stated was simply to suggest the mental game plays a very small role. We had people literally voting that golf was almost entirely mental, or even "mostly" (i.e. > 50%) mental. Gun to my head, 5% is too high. But I never meant it as an exact percentage of strokes. That's why I said "And I don't mean as a percentage of strokes".

Yes you did say that, but you also immediately after said "(because you can't shoot 0)". I took that to mean that saying a 1 stroke difference between say 70 and 71 is 1/70 different would be wrong. I thought you were saying this:

"I think it's only 5% and I don't mean that like 5% of 80 meaning 4 shots."

On that basis, I figured you meant that 5% of the difference between the number of strokes, not the absolute number of strokes. i.e. if there is 20 strokes between players then maybe 1 of them is mental and 19 of them are physical. 

I take it now that was not what you meant. If you didn't mean that, then what does it mean to say that mental game makes up 5%? 5% of what? 

[iacas]

1 minute ago, Ty_Webb said:

Yes you did say that, but you also immediately after said "(because you can't shoot 0)". I took that to mean that saying a 1 stroke difference between say 70 and 71 is 1/70 different would be wrong. I thought you were saying this:

"I think it's only 5% and I don't mean that like 5% of 80 meaning 4 shots."

On that basis, I figured you meant that 5% of the difference between the number of strokes, not the absolute number of strokes. i.e. if there is 20 strokes between players then maybe 1 of them is mental and 19 of them are physical. 

I take it now that was not what you meant. If you didn't mean that, then what does it mean to say that mental game makes up 5%? 5% of what? 

:sigh:

You took something the wrong way, though I specifically called out that I wasn't suggesting it was a percentage of strokes.

The 5% is just a figure I used to emphasize that I thought the contribution of the mental game was low.

If your center-fielder makes a great catch to prevent a double, you can kinda determine how many runs that saves, but we're not there in golf, not with the mental game, because you can hit a great shot with a horrible mental process before it, or a bad shot with a great mental game process.

"5%" was simply an attempt to say "a very little amount."

What's the point in continuing this, @Ty_Webb? You mostly agree. I'm not going to defend "5%," and I certainly wouldn't make such a claim specifically for everyone. At best it was a generalization, and I specifically called out that it wasn't directly translatable to strokes.

[Ty_Webb]

4 minutes ago, iacas said:

:sigh:

You took something the wrong way, though I specifically called out that I wasn't suggesting it was a percentage of strokes.

The 5% is just a figure I used to emphasize that I thought the contribution of the mental game was low.

If your center-fielder makes a great catch to prevent a double, you can kinda determine how many runs that saves, but we're not there in golf, not with the mental game, because you can hit a great shot with a horrible mental process before it, or a bad shot with a great mental game process.

"5%" was simply an attempt to say "a very little amount."

What's the point in continuing this, @Ty_Webb? You mostly agree. I'm not going to defend "5%," and I certainly wouldn't make such a claim specifically for everyone. At best it was a generalization, and I specifically called out that it wasn't directly translatable to strokes.

I apologize for misunderstanding what you meant when you said "because you can't shoot 0" and I will drop this. 

[iacas]

2 minutes ago, Ty_Webb said:

I apologize for misunderstanding what you meant when you said "because you can't shoot 0" and I will drop this. 

That's fine. I was never relating it to actual "strokes."

[Dean Walker]

Would like to add something to this...I am a 3 handicap golfer who has had a terrible time with the chipping yips. I have duffed and knifed more chip shots than I care to remember.

But if you watched me practice around a chipping green in practice, you would never know. I can physically hit every shot in the book to a very good standard. 

But get me out on the course and in a pressure situation, my chipping literally falls apart. You wouldn't believe it was the same person.

I have double hit chips on occasions. I have even resorted to chipping one handed at times (this can work because it tricks the brain into thinking you are doing a different task)

The fear I feel on these shots is indescribable at times.

And it leaks into the rest of my game. I begin to fear missing greens which adds tension to my long game. I have a very efficient long game but this is sometimes interrupted by the severity of the consequence if I miss the green. 

I appreciate the yips is a complex subject but for me it is mental. I know I can hit the shots physically, I prove that to myself in practice.But when I get out on the course, I seem to mentally crumble over these shots.

You hear a lot of people say ''the yips starts as a physical issue''. ie you duff a few and then it gets into your mind. The problem I have with this, is everyone duffs chips but not everyone gets the yips. This I believe is largely due to how well you 'mentally' let go of your poor results. As a youngster, I couldn't. Every bad shot was met with self destruction.

And I believe it was largely this that is the root cause of why I have this issue.

It's important to realize that the brain will have a much easier time remembering emotionally charged events over your average day. So by adding lots of emotion to your bad shots, your brain will store them easier. So react negatively like I did and those bad memories will be at the fore front of your mind when your next in a similar situation. 

So for my game, the mental side is huge and far larger than 5% (I won't put a percentage on it as I don't really know). But I do know that working on my chipping technique wont improve this issue. I have tried every technical adjustment in the book and the only thing that enables me to chip with any kind of success is a clear and calm mind.

But when you have duffed and knifed as many as I have, this is easier said than done.

 

 

Edited January 8, 2018 by Dean Walker

[Ty_Webb]

16 minutes ago, Dean Walker said:

Would like to add something to this...I am a 3 handicap golfer who has had a terrible time with the chipping yips. I have duffed and knifed more chip shots than I care to remember.

But if you watched me practice around a chipping green in practice, you would never know. I can physically hit every shot in the book to a very good standard. 

But get me out on the course and in a pressure situation, my chipping literally falls apart. You wouldn't believe it was the same person.

I have double hit chips on occasions. I have even resorted to chipping one handed at times (this can work because it tricks the brain into thinking you are doing a different task)

The fear I feel on these shots is indescribable at times.

And it leaks into the rest of my game. I begin to fear missing greens which adds tension to my long game. I have a very efficient long game but this is sometimes interrupted by the severity of the consequence if I miss the green. 

I appreciate the yips is a complex subject but for me it is mental. I know I can hit the shots physically, I prove that to myself in practice.But when I get out on the course, I seem to mentally crumble over these shots.

You hear a lot of people say ''the yips starts as a physical issue''. ie you duff a few and then it gets into your mind. The problem I have with this, is everyone duffs chips but not everyone gets the yips. This I believe is largely due to how well you 'mentally' let go of your poor results. As a youngster, I couldn't. Every bad shot was met with self destruction.

And I believe it was largely this that is the root cause of why I have this issue.

It's important to realize that the brain will have a much easier time remembering emotionally charged events over your average day. So by adding lots of emotion to your bad shots, your brain will store them easier. So react negatively like I did and those bad memories will be at the fore front of your mind when your next in a similar situation. 

So for my game, the mental side is huge and far larger than 5% (I won't put a percentage on it as I don't really know). But I do know that working on my chipping technique wont improve this issue. I have tried every technical adjustment in the book and the only thing that enables me to chip with any kind of success is a clear and calm mind.

But when you have duffed and knifed as many as I have, this is easier said than done.

 

 

I feel you. I have had the same (or similar issues). I used to think exactly the same way too. There couldn't be a physical side of it because some days I could go out and chip great. Others I had two choices - I could leave it 30 feet short and 30 degrees to the right (by not releasing my hands at all) or I could hit it 30 feet long and 20 degrees left (by firing my right hand hard at it). There was no in between. It was awful. And I hit a lot of putts from around the green. 

It also manifested itself not just on the golf course. I vividly remember one lunchtime walking into town with a friend of mine. It was the middle of winter and there was a pond beside the road that had frozen over. I picked up a rock to throw it into the pond and watch the ice break, only my yip hit me and I missed the pond. There is no way that could be a technique issue.

Here are a couple of things that I did that helped me.

I cut out caffeine. And I don't drink alcohol near when I'm going to play. Those two things helped enormously. If I go on a golf trip with friends that involve drinking, I'm a mess after a couple of days. I can barely play the game.

That and I was lucky enough to get a chipping lesson with a former European Tour player. He is quite well known for helping some of his fellow pros with their short games. I was talking to him about my issues before we started and he said he doesn't believe that the yips are mental. He thinks there is always something that explains it. I was nervous when we started and he said that was good. He had me hit a simple chip with a pitching wedge from the semi rough by the green and...I flubbed it. Moved it maybe a foot. I nearly died inside. He said "great - I'm so glad you did that - we can fix it". He walked around beside me and dragged another ball over and asked me to hit another one. Then he took his wedge and put the grip on my left hip and held it firm. I hit my chip and oh my god. I felt myself trying to push his club with my hip, but I couldn't and suddenly my arms had all the time and space in the world. No yip. We did that for a bit and it kept working. It made such a big difference. Basically I had been sliding my hips into it and that delofted the club and gave too much power to the shot. So I knew subconsciously that if I released it properly I'd hit it way too far, so I was trying to use my hands to manipulate it. By making that technique change, I didn't need to do that any more and could just swing the club properly without worrying about it.

Now I had been suffering for about 12 years at the time and you don't just get over 12 years worth of pain and embarrassment and suffering in one 3 hour lesson. And he's too expensive to go see again. That was about 5 years ago. I still have some issues, especially if I've been drinking so I'm still not perfect, but I'm a lot better.

For me, it is good to know that there could be a physical aspect of it. If you can find a short game specialist, maybe go see them. Worst case you'll be out a bit of time and money, but the upside is pretty big.

[iacas]

@Dean Walker, sorry to hear that. For you, I would agree it can be a bigger aspect. That's clear. You can likely also appreciate that you're an outlier (just as is the guy who has no mental issues).

And if cutting out caffeine helps, it's at least a little bit of a physical issue.

But overall, yeah, I'm sorry to hear that about your chipping yips. If you were nearby I'm reasonably confident we could find a solution, but I'm sure you're trying some things yourself as well. Things like not looking at the ball, but a spot well in front. Chipping with your eyes closed. Changing your grip pressure. Chipping one-handed as you said… trying to chip it off the toe of the club instead, maybe a pre-swing to get it in motion, or no backswing (just start from back there), etc. Something to "trick" your mind for the time being, until it can perhaps "reset" itself.

[rehmwa]

1 hour ago, Dean Walker said:

Would like to add something to this...I am a 3 handicap golfer who has had a terrible time with the chipping yips. I have duffed and knifed more chip shots than I care to remember.

 

I feel for you.  And mental may now be the issue.  Personally, I thought I had yips putting forever, when i'd actually hold my line, I'd almost always soft touch the putt - when I make the right contact, I'd lose my line.  I just couldn't hold my line AND hit it hard enough at the same time.  But I fixed just a couple technique and equipment things and now i'm hitting what I'm seeing regardless of the weight of my stroke.  Maybe it wasn't mental after all (at least for me). 

I hope you figure it out.  It's more fun when you're thinking positive over each shot.

[Ty_Webb]

18 hours ago, iacas said:

@Dean Walker, sorry to hear that. For you, I would agree it can be a bigger aspect. That's clear. You can likely also appreciate that you're an outlier (just as is the guy who has no mental issues).

And if cutting out caffeine helps, it's at least a little bit of a physical issue.

But overall, yeah, I'm sorry to hear that about your chipping yips. If you were nearby I'm reasonably confident we could find a solution, but I'm sure you're trying some things yourself as well. Things like not looking at the ball, but a spot well in front. Chipping with your eyes closed. Changing your grip pressure. Chipping one-handed as you said… trying to chip it off the toe of the club instead, maybe a pre-swing to get it in motion, or no backswing (just start from back there), etc. Something to "trick" your mind for the time being, until it can perhaps "reset" itself.

These are some great ideas. I may have to give them a go. 

It's also why it's a pet peeve of mine when people talk about Tiger having the chip yips. He most certainly doesn't. No one who has had them would say that he had. 

When mine were bad here is what it felt like to me - read on at your own risk:

It starts as I'm walking up to the ball. I feel like I have a hot flush feeling coming over my head (it's kind of like the dawning realization that you done f***ed up on something). I put my bag down and figure out what kind of shot I want to play. All the while there is a feeling of dread. This is not going to go well. I set up beside the ball and take a couple of practice swings (the yip never gets my practice swings). Then I address the ball, take my backswing and at the top of my backswing it's like someone lights a fuse in my right elbow. The fuse burns down as I go through my downswing and the bomb goes off at impact. Ball can go literally anywhere. It is an awful feeling and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. 

I had it with my longer range putting too. Tried left hand low for a bit and that helped. Then I tried the claw grip and it turned it off completely. My putting is absolutely fine with the claw. Unfortunately it doesn't work with my chipping. It's not strong enough to make a stroke where the club hits the ground and definitely isn't strong enough to make it through any rough.

Now - based in part on the lesson I referenced earlier, and also on things I have discovered through experimentation, it feels like the issue is in my hands and arms - mostly in my hands. As a result of that, I stop my hands from doing anything on the downswing. I take them back, but then I try to use just my body to bring the club back to the ball. That means that my hands get ahead of the ball and the club is still up behind me. It is VERY hard to use the bounce from that position and so I either drag my hands through and hit a weak shot to the right or I release them and have a way delofted clubhead that is pointing left and the long left crops up. 

Converse to what it feels like is the issue, I have to try to get my hands to release from the top of the backswing, so the clubhead gets to the ball when the shaft is vertical. My latest feeling, which really seems to be working, is getting my left arm to separate from my body, so rather than my body dragging my arms through, my arms lead the way. Funnily enough I need to do the same with my full swing, because my arms tend to get stuck across my chest. I find it REALLY hard to create that separation on a full swing though. I just can't get my arms to go fast enough.

Anyway - onwards and upwards

[Dean Walker]

19 hours ago, iacas said:

@Dean Walker, sorry to hear that. For you, I would agree it can be a bigger aspect. That's clear. You can likely also appreciate that you're an outlier (just as is the guy who has no mental issues).

And if cutting out caffeine helps, it's at least a little bit of a physical issue.

But overall, yeah, I'm sorry to hear that about your chipping yips. If you were nearby I'm reasonably confident we could find a solution, but I'm sure you're trying some things yourself as well. Things like not looking at the ball, but a spot well in front. Chipping with your eyes closed. Changing your grip pressure. Chipping one-handed as you said… trying to chip it off the toe of the club instead, maybe a pre-swing to get it in motion, or no backswing (just start from back there), etc. Something to "trick" your mind for the time being, until it can perhaps "reset" itself.

Thank you for the advice. One handed seems to be okay at the minute. It allows me to get it around and somewhat enjoy it...I just have a tough time answering all the annoying questions about 'WHY' I am chipping in this way. I suppose it must be weird for an average golfer to see someone hit it great off the tee and then have to chip with one hand behind their back :)

I do really like some of the points you make in your original post and I can tell it was from someone who is on the other end of the spectrum to someone like me.

But I do however think that the mental/physical components of the game are far more intertwined than maybe you have articulated in your post. I could have misunderstood you but I would just like to explain...

 

Swing Change/Improvement

People could argue that making a swing change is 100% physical. You go and see your coach, he tells you to do X over a certain amount of time and you physically perform the motion until completion. But in reality, for a lot of golfers, it's nothing like this. 

Most golfers could perform physically what they have been showed to do (if not the coach is not doing their job). But why is it that so many golfers never improve their swings?. Of course for a variety of reasons, but I believe a huge reason is the mental barriers that you have to barge through when making swing changes.

- Often you have to learn to trust something that feels totally alien for a while. This is mental. I remember when I changed my faulty inside back swing, I had to feel like the club was almost coming back vertically. I could easily perform the motion required but the mental strain of trusting something that felt so wrong held me back.

- Being able to ignore the outcome. Of course changing your technique often results in a loss of performance (not always in my experience). This is another mental hurdle golfers have to overcome to make positive changes. Seeing the ball fly off at right angles and trust you are actually getting better is a mental challenge.

- Changing something in your swing requires patience and persistence. A lot of golfers do not acquire this mental skill and go chasing for the 'quick fix' on Youtube which sends them into a cycle of never really getting better.

So, although there's no denying Dustin Johnson's swing is physically amazing, it would have no doubt taken lots of mental strain to get it that way. Lots of golfers do not barge through these mental barriers and therefore never get physically better.

 

Confidence

Of course confidence is largely down to knowing you can do something. If you have the physical ability to hit that 210 yard 4 iron over water, then you are going to be more confident than say someone who hasn't. And no amount of confidence will enable the person who hasn't got the physical ability to hit the shot. 

But also, a large part of confidence is due to perception.

For instance, you could have two 5 handicap golfers who both shoot 76 and both hit the exact same shots during the round. One could come off the round gaining confidence and the other could come off the course destroying it, by just how they perceive the round.

 

''I played awful today and was very lucky to get away with that''

''Didn't have my best game but fought well and did great to shoot an okay score''

 

You'll notice that most of the top golfers are very careful with what language they use in interviews etc. Language is a hugely powerful thing and depending on how you use it will change your perception of the experience.

I was always that golfer that dwelled on all the negatives. I believe viewing mistakes is an important part of learning, but golfers who dwell on them far too much and forget all of the good stuff, have a much harder time improving than the golfer who perceives the round in a much healthier way.

I believe confidence is a snowball effect and a little more than knowing you can do something. I knew I could physically hit the 210 yard shot over water but I wasn't a very confident golfer.

I would trade some of my physical talents for being able to think in a more helpful way.

 

 

Setting Goals/Practicing with Intent

This area I believe is mostly mental which again has a direct influence on how physically good you become at this game.

I believe golfers who 'learn how to learn' have a much better chance of becoming better than your 'scrape and hit' kind. Of course other variables come into play like how much time you have to attribute, natural talent etc.

But going into each practice session with goals and intent is a mindset and one that will have an overall effect on your physical performance.

The best golfers are often the best practices.

 

Nerves/Fear

You hear a lot of the golfers on tour talk about getting nervous...

But do you ever really hear them talk about fear? (Maybe the 17th at the Players :))

Nerves and fear are so different in my view. Nerves help you, fear destroys you.

But also I think there is a fine line between the two.

The guys on tour see nerves as a help rather than a hindrance. I myself used to see them as barrier to playing my best golf. I had this limiting belief that I couldn't play well when I was nervous. When in reality, a healthy amount of nerves is great for performance.

My mindset then caused me to worry about being nervous. Which any nervous person would know is like adding fuel to the fire.

And this mindset had nothing to do with my physical ability. Deep down I believed I was a good golfer who could hit all the shots. It was mentally where my belief was waning.

And this mindset had a negative impact on my physical performance.

 

These are just a few quick examples where I believe mental and physical come as a complete package. I think it might be wrong to separate them because in reality they have a huge knock on effect on each other.

 

What are your thoughts guys?

 

42 minutes ago, Ty_Webb said:

These are some great ideas. I may have to give them a go. 

It's also why it's a pet peeve of mine when people talk about Tiger having the chip yips. He most certainly doesn't. No one who has had them would say that he had. 

When mine were bad here is what it felt like to me - read on at your own risk:

It starts as I'm walking up to the ball. I feel like I have a hot flush feeling coming over my head (it's kind of like the dawning realization that you done f***ed up on something). I put my bag down and figure out what kind of shot I want to play. All the while there is a feeling of dread. This is not going to go well. I set up beside the ball and take a couple of practice swings (the yip never gets my practice swings). Then I address the ball, take my backswing and at the top of my backswing it's like someone lights a fuse in my right elbow. The fuse burns down as I go through my downswing and the bomb goes off at impact. Ball can go literally anywhere. It is an awful feeling and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. 

I had it with my longer range putting too. Tried left hand low for a bit and that helped. Then I tried the claw grip and it turned it off completely. My putting is absolutely fine with the claw. Unfortunately it doesn't work with my chipping. It's not strong enough to make a stroke where the club hits the ground and definitely isn't strong enough to make it through any rough.

Now - based in part on the lesson I referenced earlier, and also on things I have discovered through experimentation, it feels like the issue is in my hands and arms - mostly in my hands. As a result of that, I stop my hands from doing anything on the downswing. I take them back, but then I try to use just my body to bring the club back to the ball. That means that my hands get ahead of the ball and the club is still up behind me. It is VERY hard to use the bounce from that position and so I either drag my hands through and hit a weak shot to the right or I release them and have a way delofted clubhead that is pointing left and the long left crops up. 

Converse to what it feels like is the issue, I have to try to get my hands to release from the top of the backswing, so the clubhead gets to the ball when the shaft is vertical. My latest feeling, which really seems to be working, is getting my left arm to separate from my body, so rather than my body dragging my arms through, my arms lead the way. Funnily enough I need to do the same with my full swing, because my arms tend to get stuck across my chest. I find it REALLY hard to create that separation on a full swing though. I just can't get my arms to go fast enough.

Anyway - onwards and upwards

You have described to a tee what it can feel like to have the chipping yips. I too have had it sometimes with my long putting. 

The only thing that has stopped it 100% for me, is chipping one handed. I use my right hand (right handed golfer). The only issue is, I get an insane amount of release which is hard to control, so although I never yip it, it's not as good as if I was fluent with two hands.

I practice one and two handed and I am far superior with two hands. Such a shame the same cant be said on the course.

Try one handed though bud, it has really changed my outlook.

[Dean Walker]

19 hours ago, rehmwa said:

I feel for you.  And mental may now be the issue.  Personally, I thought I had yips putting forever, when i'd actually hold my line, I'd almost always soft touch the putt - when I make the right contact, I'd lose my line.  I just couldn't hold my line AND hit it hard enough at the same time.  But I fixed just a couple technique and equipment things and now i'm hitting what I'm seeing regardless of the weight of my stroke.  Maybe it wasn't mental after all (at least for me). 

I hope you figure it out.  It's more fun when you're thinking positive over each shot.

Cheers bud. Putting is a slightly easier fix than chipping as there are lots of technical adaptations you can make to reset the brain. I do however find that chipping one handed works. I just feel a bit of a tit, pitching one handed from 60 yards. (hand over face)