Golf's Mental Game Aspect

[khalespace]

On 5/11/2021 at 4:14 PM, mohearn said:

Well, recognize the gamemanship for what it is, they're trying to throw you off your game.  When you practice, try to recreate the feelings you had, then hit the ball.  Some people use anger at folks trying to game you to channel one's focus.  You can't control the outcome, just the next shot...  I hope there wasn't $ riding on it!

It's just a small amount of money with everyone chipping in $30 for the pot, with 3 places for F9, B9 and overall. I played yesterday and finished second place with a score of 90 and most importantly didn't blow up in the last two holes.

[Lugowskins]

I had an interesting weekend. On Saturday I played with a couple friends and had the best ball striking day of my life. My two buddies scrambled against me and I shot 80 beat to them by 5 should have been 10+ if I had managed the course better and made a putt. I had 2 water balls one was a bad line that I just couldn't get driver over a tree that I thought wasn't in play and the other was poor club selection on an island green par 3. I also flew 2 par 5s right over the pin with second shots by 15 yards ended up with pars, I played much better than the score indicates. 

The very next day I went out with some more friends (very hungover for context) and literally could not find the club face. Not a cute comment like I was hitting toes and thin shots, no, I couldn't hit the club face. Just pounding balls off the hossle over and over and over. Looking back on it I knew exactly what I was doing and when I got home I hit into my net for like 10-15 minutes and was perfectly fine. Then I had a long grind session Monday everything was good, went and played Tuesday and struck the ball ok (although the first few I felt uncomfortable thinking the shank monster was lurking) and now I feel completely fine again. 

This is not the first time I have dealt with shanks and it is 100% when I start to press I go instinctual and get too on my toes kind of revert to my baseball swing lower half. I know this is the issue but mid round if I hit one it is so demoralizing my head starts to spin I panic and can't like just take a breath and reset myself especially because of my history with them. 

I need to figure out a way to not be such a mental midget and be able to let go of the horrific shots. I have spent so much time getting my swing in order I should be able to get back on track quickly but the hossle shanks have my number. Does anyone know of a drill or book to read that can help exorcise these demons lol

[measureoffsetinnm]

On 5/26/2021 at 7:24 AM, Lugowskins said:

I panic and can't like just take a breath

You literally just gotta force yourself to do this. It will calm you down and allow your mind to remember that you have control over the shanks, as indicated by things like:

On 5/26/2021 at 7:24 AM, Lugowskins said:

Looking back on it I knew exactly what I was doing and when I got home I hit into my net for like 10-15 minutes and was perfectly fine.

rather than the shanks having control over you.

[iacas]

 

[Shorty]

Without doubt, the most idiotic and baseless claim is this: "Golf is 90% mental and 10% physical".

I've never seen a 27 handicapper make this claim - it is only people like Nicklaus who say it - those who have pretty much mastered both dimensions.

Can't say that my "mental game" has helped me muscle my way out of rough or improve my driving accuracy.

I wonder if Bryson would attribute his power to his strong mental game. 

 

Edited June 27, 2021 by Shorty

[saevel25]

Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, two athletes that just took over their sports, practiced more than anyone else, and did it smartly. To me, it's more insane amounts of talent + insane amounts of sacrifice to hone that talent into a crazy amounts of consistent ability. 

[Shorty]

9 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, two athletes that just took over their sports, practiced more than anyone else, and did it smartly. To me, it's more insane amounts of talent + insane amounts of sacrifice to hone that talent into a crazy amounts of consistent ability. 

Yep.

Saying "Golf is 90% mental and 10% physical" is the equivalent of saying "You can do anything", "Anything is possible", "If you can dream it you can be it" or "Rahm just wanted the US Open moe than Louis. It came down to who wanted it more." Complete hogwash and BS.

[billchao]

Well apparently you have to have some degree of mental involvement to play this game well 

[iacas]

1 minute ago, billchao said:

Well apparently you have to have some degree of mental involvement to play this game well 

Some. You can’t be thinking about your car’s next service appointment while faced with a 27-footer.

[Shorty]

14 minutes ago, billchao said:

Well apparently you have to have some degree of mental involvement to play this game well 

To a point, yes - focus on the shot at hand, don't get ahead of yourself, don't dwell on past shots that can't be changed.

But my guess is that Iacas doesn't have too many students where he's telling his colleagues about the guy he's teaching who has a fantastic move through the ball, hits it 290 and pretty straight, has only been playing for 5 months,  but.........what really impresses is his mental game.

 

Edited June 27, 2021 by Shorty

[iacas]

1 minute ago, Shorty said:

To a point, yes - focus on the shot at hand, don't get ahead of yourself, don't dwell on past shots that can't be changed.

What you’re missing @Shorty is that Bill wasn’t really “present” for a lot of his putts. We discovered this after he hit an 80-footer 20 feet, and then the resulting 60-footer about 30. 😄

[Shorty]

Just now, iacas said:

What you’re missing @Shorty is that Bill wasn’t really “present” for a lot of his putts. We discovered this after he hit an 80-footer 20 feet, and then the resulting 60-footer about 30. 😄

At least he improved his mental focus from 25% to 50%!  He's moving in the right direction!🤣

 

[GolfLug]

30 minutes ago, iacas said:

We discovered this after he hit an 80-footer 20 feet, and then the resulting 60-footer about 30. 😄

Hah. I think just gotta laugh it off and hopefully do better next time. It's not some major 'mental' condition. Golf has a low tolerance for brain farts/lack of presence. 

I am glad something like driving is not so unforgiving. 

[billchao]

43 minutes ago, iacas said:

What you’re missing @Shorty is that Bill wasn’t really “present” for a lot of his putts. We discovered this after he hit an 80-footer 20 feet, and then the resulting 60-footer about 30. 😄

And it was a putt for eagle 

[boogielicious]

10 hours ago, billchao said:

Well apparently you have to have some degree of mental involvement to play this game well 

Or why Tim Horton’s wasn’t open at 5AM like it was supposed to be!

Even the mental “process” we worked on at Whispering Woods is actually more physical. We worked on a pre-shot routine for shot plan, aim and setup then swing thought. We rehearsed this to make it a physical routine. 

[Billy Z]

14 hours ago, Shorty said:

Yep.

Saying "Golf is 90% mental and 10% physical" is the equivalent of saying "You can do anything", "Anything is possible", "If you can dream it you can be it"

This is one of the new age philosophies of today, "If you think you can do it, you can". It's easy to say the 90/10 adage when you already have all the physical tools working for you. I would say for a guy like Nicklaus, Tiger, Bryson, Brooks, etc, one of their biggest areas that can make or break their round resides between their ears, because they have the physical tools already.

[saevel25]

2 minutes ago, Billy Z said:

I would say for a guy like Nicklaus, Tiger, Bryson, Brooks, etc, one of their biggest areas that can make or break their round resides between their ears, because they have the physical tools already.

Not really. 

In the end, their swings are not 100% the same every day. The way their body feels swinging the club is not the same. Rory has talked about this, how to get around the course with your C-Game. It is why he is making some swing changes.  There are just days when things are not clicking. This has nothing to do with the mental game. Our bodies are not in some constant state. There are days where I wake up with a ton of sinus pressure and my equilibrium is out of whack. There is no way my golf swing would feel the same if I didn't have the sinus pressure. There is nothing mental about it. 

Also, there are times when PGA Tour golfers miss a 3-FT putt. That is just statistics. They make 99/100 3-FT putts. It wasn't a mental glitch that caused them to miss it. Though, we like to think that they are so skilled they should never miss a 3-FT putt. That is absurd. 

For me, the biggest mental issues are making poor game planning decisions. Also, if you are prone to letting anger linger for a long time, then that is something you can train yourself to get over sooner. Not getting angry in the moment, that is extremely hard to learn to do 100% of the time. 

When a PGA Tour player hits a very rare bad shot in the worst possible moment. Maybe its a combination of pressure and lack of focus. It could also be just a really bad shot creeping in. 

 

 

[ncates00]

I talked with a friend of mine who played college golf back in the day about this topic. He’s 36 year old, average, dad bod kind of guy but still carries a scratch handicap despite working at a law firm. I’ve had him on my simulator, and he still gets around Tour average ball speed with every club in the bag, e.g., he gets into the 170’s with his driver. I have no idea how, and he doesn’t look like he should be able to do that because of his build and lack of time to play and practice. He grew up in Virginia and played with guys like Lanto Griffin in junior events. His swing reminds me of Boo Weekly—simple looking and not “quick.” 
 

I’ve been saying largely what you guys have said here—golf being mostly physical and skill-based. He has argued that that stuff is a prerequisite, but the mental game is pretty important. He made some good points:

- plotting your way around the course and avoiding trouble

- blocking out your own internal noise, e.g., old bad habits you’re trying to overcome 

- blocking out external noise (maybe not literally “noise,” but distractions, annoyances, etc.)

- commitment to what you’re trying to do in terms of your swing and trying to put new changes into effect in a tournament environment 

- commitment to the shot you’re trying to play and blocking out things like “don’t hit it OB left” or “don’t hit it in the water on the right”