If you have ever played golf competitively – not the weekend scramble variety – but the individual, all shots count variety, you will be able to relate to the aphorism by the great Bobby Jones.

In no other sport is the sheer effect of nerves so utterly disabling – as it is in golf.

The recent spectacle of Jordan Spieth – sending two consecutive shots into the water – on a fairly routine approach shot – should convey the gravity of this phenomenon. A top ranked golfer – who could easily hit that shot 10 times out 10  (with his eyes closed) –  somehow fell victim to tournament-golf-nerves.

Of course, to those of us watching, it was not a totally inexplicable phenomenon.  It was simply golf – more accurately, tournament golf – doing it’s thing.

What demons invade the head of a competitive golfer  – are known only to the golfer.  How and why they appear when they do – is still a mystery.  Jordan had been working on this particular ball flight just prior to his golf round. Perhaps that workout weighed on him – as it opened the door for doubt to creep in. And doubt is the number one enemy during a competitive round of golf.

It is better to be too sure of yourself – almost overconfident – than to be timid. The timid approach will quickly turn your nerves to Jello – to where you might  be unable to sink a 3 foot putt.

Which leads me to my first rule of playing tournament golf:

Rule # 1: Play Aggressively

A tournament is not the time or place to try out new swing thoughts. Take your most reliable swing thought to the course – and let that be the ONLY thought you take.

In my case, my go-to thought is ‘finishing my follow through’. One of the first signs of a leaking golf swing is an incomplete completion. If you can get to completing your follow through , you will have fought off this demon.

Next rule:

Rule # 2 : Don’t let ANYTHING upset you (Stay in control)

This seems like an innocuous rule – but requires a lot of practice. In reality, getting into this mindset begins at home – well before the start of your round of golf. From the time you wake up to the time you walk out to your car – to driving to the course, just don’t let anything get to you.

If you are running late for your tee time, don’t rush – don’t get upset. If you nick yourself while shaving in the morning , let it slide.

Getting into this frame of mind from the very start of the day is a great way to ensure that you maintain this mindset on the golf course.

The worst – absolute worst thing you can do – is lose your cool on the course. Not only will you lose your tournament, you will also lose any credibility or respect that you would otherwise garner.

A good way to practice this mindset is to go out and play with lots of different people. I had one guy at my club who would drive me (and everyone else) up a wall – he took an average of 3-4 minutes to setup – per shot! However, I tried to not let it affect my game – it was good practice for building my ‘stay calm’ mindset.

Rule # 3 : Remember, it’s just a game

I was reminded of a famous story from the comic genius – P.G. Wodehouse. His story Ordeal By Golf  pictures a scene with a young, hot headed golfer (Mitchell), his fiancé (Millicent) and a wisely old figure simply called The Oldest Member. The hot headed golfer (Mitchell) is up for a promotion – and everything depends on his keeping his calm for an entire round of golf.

As the three of them are discussing this situation, Millicent (Mitchell’s fiancé) suggests:

Millicent : Couldn’t you learn to just control yourself on the links, Mitchell, darling? After all, golf is only a game !

Mitchell’s eyes met the Oldest Member’s – they had the same look of horror as his. (The Oldest Member seemed to say) Women say these things without thinking. It does not mean there is a kink in their character, they simply don’t realize what they are saying.

Hush ! said Mitchell, patting her hand and overcoming his emotion with a strong effort. Hush dearest !

We tend to take golf a little too seriously.  We are hard on ourselves when we play badly.  Some people go into serious depression – others give up the sport altogether.

The seriousness, IMO, is misplaced. After all, it is not like you got maimed our injured or lost a limb.  In fact, you have a sound body, mind and are able to take out time to enjoy the great outdoors for a few hours.

That already puts you ahead of most of the world’s population.  Count your blessings and save the seriousness for real life events – not a round of golf!

For the SERIOUS tournament player – Playing a 4 day tournament

The mental approach that golf requires is a peculiar and complicated mixture of abiding confidence and patient resignation, of intense concentration and total relaxation. Arnold Palmer

Swing a Weighted Club

Just like an athlete trains with WEIGHTS tied around her legs before a big race – so can golfers train with WEIGHTED clubs. My favorites are the Momentus Weighted Driver and Iron.

I discovered that if I can swing a weighted driver prior to (2 days prior to) the tournament, I know that my actual driver will feel super-light on the day of the tournament.

This is a good feeling – since my first shot is probably going to require a driver.

Summary

If your game has evolved to where you have a fairly high degree of confidence in the direction and distance your ball will go, you are no longer a beginner.

You are making consistent contact – you are able to chip it, putt it and also hit those long irons and fairway woods. You are ready to play competitively – against other players at your handicap level.

Remember, you do not have to compete with the scratch player in your club – you only need to compete with the X handicapper – with people who share your handicap.

Try and treat your competitive round as a game. Try and not let any errant shot (or hole) upset you –  your competitors are bound to have bad holes as well.
You may just find yourself enjoying the round. You may also, just win!

How about a round of golf while taking tech?

Recommended Reading for tournament golfers (Non Fiction)

1. Fearless Golf (Dr. Valiente) helped me overcome a few psychological barriers – especially on the first tee.
2. Arnold Palmer’s Classic (My Game and Yours) – is a MUST read for anyone interested in the unique temperament required for Tournament Golf.

(Fiction) Recommended Reading for obsessed (with the mystery of the game)  golfers

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The importance of FEEL (learning to drive a car analogy)

It is easy to get too analytical with the golf swing. Using one’s mind to solve problems (including the golf swing problem)  –  seems like a natural approach to the problem.  As it turns out , analyzing the golf swing will only get you so far. Once you figure out the ’analytical’ answer to the problem, you still have to inculcate a ‘feel’ for the solution. In other words, you still have to practice the solution till it becomes second nature. It is not enough to understand analytically that one needs to start slowing down whilst approaching  a red light. Even if you understand it, the first few times, you will find yourself at a loss to be able to execute the action. Not because you do not know the answer, but because you have not ‘practiced’ it enough to where it is second nature.  Once you do, you will no longer require the  analytical solution – since you now have, what can be termed as a ‘feel’ for the solution. 

Why it is necessary to forget about hitting the ball?

Having discussed why the thought process  (and any resulting thought) is not a friend of the golf swing, one concludes that all thoughts need to be eliminated. A chief culprit that pops up in the mind of a golfer is the thought of ‘hitting the ball’. After all, it makes complete sense. Here is a ball in front of your very eyes, here is a club in your hands – what other thought could possibly appear apart from that of hitting the ball? Isn’t that why you are standing behind the ball in the first place?

In fact, this thought has to be subdued as much as possible.  The replacement thought can  be a much simpler thought  (one that can become a FEEL after practice) – of simply executing a shoulder turn.  As soon as you move away from ‘hitting the ball’, you are already in a better position to execute a sound golf swing. ‘Hitting the ball’ brings along with it tense muscles and nerves – which have no place in a sound golf swing.

How to execute a simple shoulder turn (the right-side stabilizing factor)

Consider your shoulder area to include the entire upper back and the chest pecs as well. These muscles are included because they are an important part of the turning motion in golf – in other words, you do not want to leave the pecs behind (it is entirely possible to do so). If you visualize this ‘upper body area’ as your turning ‘mass’, all you need to think about is turning this against a steady right armpit (without the steadying factor, the turn can lead to a LATERAL sway – which is undesirable). Some people use the right KNEE instead of the right armpit. Some visualize the right HIP as the anchor against which to turn. Regardless, it is usually impossible to visualize a smooth turn without a ‘stabilizing’ factor on the right side.

What about the arms (and hands)?

With all this talk about shoulders and chest, what is going on with the hands (and arms)?  The shoulder turn is what pulls the arms and hands along.  This is key – the turn starts the body parts (including hands and arms) moving – not the other way around. It is all too easy to start the swing with the hands (or arms). A lot of famous players (Ben Hogan notably) did advocate starting with the hands – but keep in mind their athletic ability – which enabled them to synchronize the body turn with the hand motion. In other words , they were adept enough to sync up the arms motion with the body turn regardless of which one came first.

The wrists will hinge automatically

Still not thinking of hitting the ball – only of executing the turn – one finds the hands and arms smoothly following the body turn. The right armpit (or right knee or right hip) – which serves as an anchor to turn against – will start providing the HINGING of the wrists. In other words, as the chest keeps turning – it runs into the right anchor – at which point the arms (forearms) will start to break (wrist hinge).  This hinge has no fixed endpoint – it can be long on one day and short on another. Regardless, once it has hinged ‘enough’, you will automatically feel the need to UNHINGE these wrists.

The UNHINGING provides the downswing

This need to unhinge is what provides the downswing trigger.  That is all you really need to execute the downswing. In fact, you will find that it is automatic – hence thinking about ‘where’ and ‘what moves first’ for your downswing is counter productive.

Summary

Avoiding the ‘I need to hit the ball’ instinct – and focusing on the ‘ I need to make a smooth turn’ is a key psychological switch – that births a true golf swing. Now, if we can only successfully stay with this switch for the entire 18 holes – especially on each tee box (where the ‘hit instinct’ rears its ugly head), then we would be golden!  The primary investment includes SUPPRESSING a bad habit  (thought) rather than building a good one. Only in golf!

This simple idea cannot be carried too far. Instead of going to the range to ‘hit a bunch of balls’, go with the idea of ‘making a bunch of shoulder turns’. It may sound trivial but it is an important psychological shift.

Thoughts? Comments?

I would love to hear your feedback on this post and other posts I have on my golf blog.

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One of the best training devices that I have come across is the Tour Foot. (I had no idea it had become so difficult to source…when I bought it, it was readily available). It FORCES the left foot to stay planted – both during the backswing and downswing. The left foot has a tendency to slip  – especially during the downswing.

Try hitting a few shots on the range with the tour foot and see if it helps your timing at all. I discovered (much to my delight), that I was getting effortless distance – and the irons felt crisper than ever.

As an alternative, you can purchase SPIKED golf shoes for practice on the range. While not as effective as the Tour Foot training aid, the shoes still do a decent job of keeping the left foot planted.

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Everyone knows that competitive golf is a different game from regular golf (Bobby Jones famously remarked that there are TWO types of golf – tournament golf and weekend golf). There are a few important things to realize when you have an upcoming tournament – the first of which is that your ROUND actually begins at home. Well before you even get out of your house – in fact, right from when you wake up.  In this post, I capture TWO important things which are unique to playing a competitive round of golf.

• Your round starts at home – start by doing ONE THING AT A TIME
• Carry only ONE SWING THOUGHT with you to the golf course.

Your round starts at home – start by doing ONE THING AT A TIME

Start your day by trying to do ONE THING at a TIME.  When you brush your teeth, only brush your teeth (and be AWARE that you are brushing your teeth). When you take a shower, same thing. When you step out of your house, when you drive to the course – keep focusing on what you are currently doing – and try and avoid multitasking to the best of your ability.

The reason this (mental) exercise is important is that it helps you carry over the ‘one thing at a time’ mindset onto the course. When you are setting up, you want to be only focused on setting up to the ball. Any thoughts of how and where to hit the ball (during your setup process) are counterproductive. Once you are setup, your only thought should be the SINGLE SWING THOUGHT that you brought to the course.

Carry only ONE SWING THOUGHT with you to the golf course

Let’s face it. We all have multiple swing thoughts going through our head. Even if we manage to work on just one thing, chances are that different thoughts creep in during the round. This is somewhat natural – and affects pros as much as it does amateurs.

The important thing is to TRY and stick to one thought. For the entire duration of the round. It helps to have full confidence in that thought, so that even if you get off to a shaky start, you do not abandon that thought.

From the very first swing you take, focus on executing just that ONE Thing that is the basis of your swing thought. In my case, my favorite single swing thought is – to complete my follow through.

Completing the follow through (Sample SINGLE Swing Thought)

One of the key aspects of hitting a golf ball is ensuring that you are ACCELERATING through impact.  This is especially important on those short game chips and pitches – where it is all too easy to slow down on your downswing. This simple thought ensures that one is always accelerating through impact – since one is focused on finishing the follow through. This is actually very similar to  tennis, where coaches emphasize the idea of a full finish to your stroke. Without the full finish, your ball will lack direction. I have found that accelerating through the ball ensures crisp contact AND a straighter line of flight.

Regardless of how you feel about this swing thought, the idea is to take YOUR FAVORITE, TRIED and TESTED thought to the golf course.

Summary

Playing competitive golf requires honing of both mental and physical skills. On the physical side, if you have focused on producing a repeatable swing (by working on a consistent backswing), you should be able to distill everything down to a single swing thought (In fact, you shouldn’t really be considering serious competitive golf if your swing is not here yet).

On the mental side, it is important to understand that your round of golf starts well before you reach the course. This post provides tips on how to attain a good ‘tournament golf mindset’ on the day of the tournament.

Thoughts, Comments?

I would love to get feedback on this – and other posts on my golf blog.

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So how does one eliminate tension from the golf swing?

The answer is simple (if circular) – tension is caused by a fear of sorts – and the only way to overcome is to overcome the fear (through confidence).

You may argue that confidence is not something that can be generated overnight on the first tee.  It can only be a result of a good deal of practice, playing and hitting some solid shots. However, I would argue that the level of confidence that I am talking about is much simpler (and a lot more attainable) than that. Since it simply involves overcoming a trivial fear – (fear of the golf course), this confidence can be found fairly easily.

Think about how you approach a game of racquet ball or tennis with a friend. Do you obsess over how much your knees are flexed or your hip is bent – or the angle of your spine? Do you think about how far back to take the racquet or what PLANE to take it back on?

The answer to these questions (hopefully) is a NO.

Approach golf the same way. Try a few rounds of golf with this ‘could care less’ attitude. Swing freely – knowing that you may mishit and end up with a few terrible shots. But you will hit a few OUTSTANDING shots – where the contact will be pure. These pure contact shots will re-inforce your ‘could care less’ attitude and build your confidence.

Once you play a few rounds with this attitude, you will notice that this thing called TENSION is no longer part of your golf setup. Your arms and body are as natural as if you were about to hit a tennis ball with a tennis racquet.

Conquer the Course

One attitude that will help you ‘swing fearlessly’ is overcoming the (self-created) rivalry between the golf course and yourself. A lot of players (myself included) are somewhat OVERWHELMED – if not downright intimidated by golf courses (especially tough holes). When I started playing my ‘could care less’ rounds – I also decided to trample all over the golf course (just figuratively, not literally). 

I decided to treat the course like a simple terrain that needed to be conquered – just like you would conquer a 5 mile trail by running on it. 

There was nothing to fear – the golf course was just a simple playing field – a tennis court, of sorts. Just as a tennis court doesn’t scare anyone – there ‘s no reason a golf course should either.

Believe it or not, this simple ‘conquer the course’ thought – does wonders for the confidence (especially on the first tee). Gone are the first tee jitters. They are replaced by a  let’s have some fun mindset.

Summary

As with most things in life, fear can be an overwhelming force in golf. It can produce a PHYSICAL effect – that of tensing up muscles. This is antithetical to a sound, smooth golf backswing. The best way to eliminate this tension is to put the fear of golf (and the golf course) in its place.

Play a few rounds (by yourself or with others) without caring about your posture, stance and all the other zillion minutiae that golfers obsess over. Instead – just set up to the ball. Keep your balance as you swing back – and keep your balance as you swing down. That’s it. See if that lets you make solid contact.

If the ‘stay balanced’ swing thought doesn’t work – try another one – but an equally simple one (such as ‘turn your back to the ball’). But at any cost, do not overdo it – or have multiple swing thoughts. Keep it as simple as possible – if things gets messy – try and return to the mindset that you are playing a racquetball game with a friend. There is no reason to be tense.

Try these simple mindset changes for yourself – and see if they help lower your handicap. More importantly, see if they help you enjoy a round of golf like never before.

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1. Dancing is mostly about rhythm. Rhythm will take you further than anything else in dancing.
2. Overall fitness, especially core and lower body – are crucial to becoming a GOOD dancer.
3. A MECHANICAL approach is antithetical to learning dance – which leads me to the most important aspect of dance.

Don’t think, feel!

Every dancer knows that when the music starts, their thinking needs to STOP altogether. That is the only way their body will be able to flow with the music. Try and CONSCIOUSLY (using your mind) produce your dance moves  – and your movements will be a disaster.

By now, every golfer would have realized the analogy with playing a round of golf. Try and be mechanical – and overthink the swing – and you are asking for trouble. Try and swing rhythmically – without caring about mechanics, and you will hit some flush shots (and also find the activity more enjoyable).

Summary

All the ingredients that go into making a great dancer , also go into making a great golfer.  A sense of rhythm (being able to swing in tempo), a strong lower body and most importantly, a switching off of all mechanical thoughts as you get into the round.

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Summary

Bobby Jones famously remarked:

There’s golf and there’s tournament golf, and the two bear little resemblance.

Anyone who has played competitive golf, in any form, can relate.

APPENDIX – Reading list for competitive golf tips (for a more general reading list, visit these golf instructional books recommendations)

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So – how do you overcome this fear? In my experience, I have discovered that a SPECIFIC type of swing is at the root of this fear. This can be described as a ‘handsy’ or ‘arms and hands’ swing – for lack of a better term.

If you have a handsy (too much arms and hands) swing, there is no way to overcome any fear – since the hands and arms cannot be slowed down while swinging a golf club. A body based swing, in contrast (one which includes a FULL BODY TURN on the backswing), CAN be slowed down – and controlled completely. And therein lies the secret to overcoming first tee jitters:

If you can visualize yourself COVERING the ball on your backswing (your back is completely turned to the ball), you WILL have the certainty of making SOLID contact. This visualization, in itself, helps overcome fear. An additional advantage is,  now that your mind is focused on something SIMPLE that your body needs to do – it no longer focuses on the distracting thoughts (the narrow fairway,  the  hazards etc).

Ian Poulter Turning back to ball	Ben Hogan Turning back to ball	Nick Faldo back turned to ball

The Short Game

One may think that this TURNING away from the ball – applies solely sto the long game. What about the short game?

While the TURN away from the ball is LESS in a PITCH or a CHIP, the same turn does exist. Watch any pro chipping– and you will notice their upper body turn ever so gently away from the ball. Again, it is important to avoid getting handsy – especially on those short chips. Using your upper body will provide you with the stability and control needed for chipping (and putting).

Summary

To learn more about how to correctly TURN your back to the ball, this post may help. Once you have this CERTAINTY of making solid contact, your fear automatically becomes a thing of the past. As you step up to the first tee, the only thing you worry about is effectively turning your back to the ball. To learn how you can effectively turn your back to the ball, this golf SETUP technique might help.

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• Imagine hitting against a “wall” on the left side.
• Imagine hitting a rubber tire hard.
• Karate – Focusing your entire chi into one instant

J. Douglas Edgar (who might be considered the inventor of the modern inside-out swing) spoke about mastering “the movement”. What is “the movement”? Edgar not only explains what he means by his “movement” – he details it in a 1920 book titled “The Gate to Golf”.

The “gate” of which he speaks is a simple device consisting of two brackets through which the clubhead was intended to pass (see figure below).

The trick was that – in order to get it to pass through the gate – one had to come in from the inside out.

The “Gate” through which the clubhead must pass

Do not let the simplicity of the device fool you (in fact, on the range, you can simply set up two tees in the positions shown to replicate the “gate”).  The brilliance of the device lies in the fact that if one thinks about moving the clubhead through this gate, one forgets everything about “hitting” the ball. As every high handicapper knows, curing the “hit” instinct is one of the hardest things to accomplish in golf – and something that any pro would highlight as the first thing that needs to be fixed in a faulty swing.

Having constructed my own gate (using two tees planted into the ground), I experimented with just swinging the clubhead through the gate (without a ball in the middle). After a few attempts, I was getting my entire body weight through the gate – and moving through it powerfully. Next, I placed a ball and tried the same thing. I do not recall thinking about anything except replicating the same “swing through the gate” feeling. It was the longest 4 iron of my life (it gets better – I pulled it off on the course on 3 occasions – using long irons).

Continuing with my self-devised gate, I tried different clubs, slowly moving up to the driver. I was armed with just a single swing thought – swing ‘through’ the gate. This thought actually consists of a second thought – which is – ‘forget the ball altogether’. Forget that there is a ball that needs to be hit. The instant you start thinking about the ball, chances are you will forget about swinging through the gate. Wonder of wonders – it worked just as well for the driver – as it did for the irons.

The “Movement”

While Edgar doesn’t go into details about what exactly constitutes ‘the’ movement, he does detail every step leading up to the movement. From these steps, one can infer that the movement refers to the split second when one swings throughthe gate. This is also when one is supposed to ‘feel the punch’. The ‘punch’ is the movement! If everything leading up to the movement is done right, one will be able to deliver all the body weight THROUGH the ball. As the hands catch up with the body weight, they will have no option but to PUNCH the ball.

In Edgar’s own words – “This has all the exhilarating effects of champagne without any of the after effects…”.

If you can replicate the ‘punch’ in every golf shot, I believe that you will find nothing more exhilarating.

The “Punch”

The “punch” is delivered by the entire body – most noticeably the core (the torso). While the hands eventually deliver all the energy, that part is just an effect – and not something that is consciously controlled. The part that can be consciously controlled – and controlled well – is the torso moving through the gate.  In effect, the “punch” delivered by the torso through the gate – IS the movement! The movement is the punch ! (the split seconds when the hands go through the ball).

What about the short game? What about putting?

The “movement” can be applied equally well to chipping and putting. The essence of the movement is ‘visualizing the punch’. In every golf stroke, there has to come a time when the hands move through the ball. This is as true of putting as it is of the long drive. That particular motion (the ‘punch’) needs to be visualized for every putt. you may think that the punch is a forceful striking of the ball. For full iron/wood shots, that would be a correct statement. However, the ‘punch’ is more about the hands going through the ball after the body has already finished transferring its weight to the left side. It is as true a statement that a putt has to be ‘hit’ in the end. Too many golfers start decelerating the putter head through the ball. This is possibly the biggest short-game flaw – and applies equally to chipping as to putting.

Appendix – Reading List

Read this article for  a list of recommended instructional golf books (including the Gate to Golf) .

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