The power of being mentally strong.

[pokerjoke]

After watching the US open and Rick Shiels quest for the "open" it got me thinking about the mental side of golf.

Its interesting that we all see in the magazines the "instruction" section and how to Drive straight,chip and putt well but we don't see a great deal on the mental side.

I know GM did a session where a few forum players went to see about the mental side with a guru but did it work for them?

Lee Westwood completely lost it in the last round as did Lowry and a few others but the guy who seems to not give a toss won.

Rick Shiels blew his round because he couldn't handle the pressure he had put on himself with his quest wilst being watched by 50 people.

I for one have breakdowns myself and wish I was stronger mentally on the golf course as in real life there is no-one mentally stronger that I know of.
Just an example here is the "fit for a year" I am still on it and its mentally tough but I have been nowhere near failing.

Your thought?
Would you consider yourself mentally strong?
Do you think you could handle the pressure of people watching?

It does surprise me slightly there is not much content because I believe a lot of shots could be saved.

 

[MendieGK]

I think i have got a lot better over the years, when i was younger if the first 4 holes went bad the round would be a waste of time. Nowadays, i know no matter how bad i start i have a lot of holes (and the ability to claw it back).

I definitely have times during a round where my swing gets away from me (And this is most likely mental).

I 100% struggle to stay focussed on the one shot ahead of me, thinking too much about whats going to happen etc. I even have to stop myself looking at the course planner for the next hole sometimes when i still have a 4ft putt left!!

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I think most of us can hit beautiful shots on the range or in a net before going out. Standing on a tee, OOB down the left, heavy rough to the right, narrow fairway, a card in your hand, everything changes, everything goes narrow. The mental side of golf is huge, huge! I can feel it at my very poor level. Throw in a few thousand spectators and a mortgage to pay and it gets worse. If you can keep relaxed when striking the ball you will play so much better but doing that is the trick. No wonder pro's have sports psychologists.

 

[patricks148]

prob not, once ive dropped a couple of shots and the handicap is almost gone im very tense. they relax and shoot the lights out when it doesn't matter

 

[Garush34]

I struggle at times mentally, things can be going good and then they just blow up. I try not to think too much about what's ahead and what I could shoot, but I think at the same time that can be an issue because you are actively not thinking about it but at the same time its sometimes the only thing you can think about. The three holes I have issues with are all down to the mental side, I can play the holes normally there are no issues with the shots required etc. but just when I get there in a medal something kicks in and things go wrong.

I've tried the whole playing each 3 holes as a separate challenge it can work from time to time but if you have 3 really bad holes in a row it can be difficult to keep going with it.

As to stuff in the magazines, national club golfer has a monthly article with Karl Morris, its always an interesting read and one that I think should be done more but I think the reason they aren't is because these guys that teach it would soon be out of business. Rotella has a lot of books going but most probably say similar things, I've only read 1 so not sure what they all say.

 

[freddielong]

As soon as you allow things to matter they become more important.

 

[stokie_93]

After watching the US open and Rick Shiels quest for the "open" it got me thinking about the mental side of golf.

Its interesting that we all see in the magazines the "instruction" section and how to Drive straight,chip and putt well but we don't see a great deal on the mental side.

I know GM did a session where a few forum players went to see about the mental side with a guru but did it work for them?

Lee Westwood completely lost it in the last round as did Lowry and a few others but the guy who seems to not give a toss won.

Rick Shiels blew his round because he couldn't handle the pressure he had put on himself with his quest wilst being watched by 50 people.

I for one have breakdowns myself and wish I was stronger mentally on the golf course as in real life there is no-one mentally stronger that I know of.
Just an example here is the "fit for a year" I am still on it and its mentally tough but I have been nowhere near failing.

Your thought?
Would you consider yourself mentally strong?
Do you think you could handle the pressure of people watching?

It does surprise me slightly there is not much content because I believe a lot of shots could be saved.

I really like playing under pressure situations always seems to bring out a lot of my best golf.
The competition I won the other week I knew I need a good last 3 holes and I finished birdie par par.
However there has been times where i've totally bottled it, I remember making a 9 on our 18th at my previous golf club, carved 2 drives straight OOB!

On the Rick Shiels front, he put way too much pressure on himself if you ask me. He's been at it on twitter literally for about 2 weeks, think he's focused more on the actual event rather than his golf.
If that was me I wouldn't want a crowd following me for potentially one of the biggest rounds of my life but hey ho, he might like that sorta thing.

 

[MendieGK]

I really like playing under pressure situations always seems to bring out a lot of my best golf.
The competition I won the other week I knew I need a good last 3 holes and I finished birdie par par.
However there has been times where i've totally bottled it, I remember making a 9 on our 18th at my previous golf club, carved 2 drives straight OOB!

On the Rick Shiels front, he put way too much pressure on himself if you ask me. He's been at it on twitter literally for about 2 weeks, think he's focused more on the actual event rather than his golf.
If that was me I wouldn't want a crowd following me for potentially one of the biggest rounds of my life but hey ho, he might like that sorta thing.

People also seem to forget, hes just not that good.

Its all marketing (fair play him for that, and i quite enjoy his videos). But if he ever realistically thought he had a chance, he was kidding himself.

and for the people that went to watch?!? really....

 

[351DRIVER]

I am the same, the more people that watch me play the better, if a gallery of 100 or so could follow me everywhere I would play much better!

I just am much more switched on when there are a lot of people watching

I would say this highlights a mental weakness which is normally a lack of strong focus on the shot in hand (I am great at counting what i might finish on, terrible) it is why Matchplay has always been my favourite too.

 

[pokerjoke]

People also seem to forget, hes just not that good.

Its all marketing (fair play him for that, and i quite enjoy his videos). But if he ever realistically thought he had a chance, he was kidding himself.

and for the people that went to watch?!? really....

It depends how you define good.

Hes better than you so that means your not good.
Your better than me so that makes me poor.

Imo he is good but as you say he has done it for publicity and the social media side and put too much pressure on himself.
But imo he is good

 

[MendieGK]

It depends how you define good.

Hes better than you so that means your not good.
Your better than me so that makes me poor.

Imo he is good but as you say he has done it for publicity and the social media side and put too much pressure on himself.
But imo he is good

I'm absolutely talking in relation to his peers. based on that, he's not that good. He's competing against others who still have the pipe dream of making it and practice 24/7. He's a successful businessman and deserves a hell of a lot credit for it

In relation to our peers, we are both good. I'd also fancy taking him on a given day!

 

[stokie_93]

Imo he is good but as you say he has done it for publicity and the social media side and put too much pressure on himself.
But imo he is good

There's no doubt about it he is a good golfer.
But like you say his main focus is coaching at the moment and this obviously has a part to play in his game.
I know 2 gents that played in the Little Aston qualifier, one who has been coaching the last year and one who has focused on himself and the latter played far superior!

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I think some people are missing the key point for why Shiels did this. Yes, he wanted to qualify but how much publicity has this brought his youtube vlogs, his coaching, his Quest set up. Brilliant. People, particularly young people, have been engaged in this for a period of weeks and months. He is raising the profile of golf and himself. Good for him on both counts.

It would be interesting if there was a second qualifying he could on to a few days later. Would he be more relaxed second time around and play better? I suspect so.

 

[stokie_93]

It would be interesting if there was a second qualifying he could on to a few days later. Would he be more relaxed second time around and play better? I suspect so.

The same goes for the rest of the field, they're all under the same roof in that aspect.
He's a great coach, personality and very good at what he does. He's just not good enough for what he's trying to do IMO.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Stokie - I would agree with you. I do think he got out of it what he wanted though. Actually qualifying would have been a bonus.

 

[MendieGK]

Stokie - I would agree with you. I do think he got out of it what he wanted though. Actually qualifying would have been a bonus.

He should absolutely be applauded for it!

 

[Shooter McPowick]

The more I think about the round and what could be, the more I start to overthink. I suffer from a negative mindset once I've hit a few stray balls and it takes a few holes to get back into things. No matter what's going on, just don't start adding your score up, as soon as I think this way it's all over.

Youre bang on in though with respect to the chap who couldn't care less wins it. I've also noticed joining a 2 or 3 ball seems to make me play better. Last time out I played the back 9 on my own - some good golf like paring SI1 13th and some poor golf - going through the back of a few greens with a wedge. As soon as I joined 2 chaps for the front 9 I shot a 39 - where the hell did that come from I thought.....

i think the general conversation, attending the flag and other general golf etiquette mentally relaxes you and also stops you from overthinking things. While on your own when walking to the ball you're focussed and considering options etc. When with someone you're chatting about all sorts of crap totally unrelated to what's about to happen and what just happened.

 

[patricks148]

was prob mentally tougher when i was a high handicap, had loads of shots to play with and it didn't bother me. now i can rise as quickly as i can come down.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

My thinking with regards this is always the same

We only play this sport to enjoy ourself - it's a hobby for us , it's not our living and we don't need to play well to put money in the bank and to feed ourselves
Any pressure is all put on by the persons desire to play well to lower the HC

Other than that what pressure is there ?

I count myself as mentally strong in regards any pressure put on myself for scoring - the only thing I reckon effects me is when playing with people who have a lack of etiquette and respect for their fellow players

And have played in front of crowds before at golf and hockey and cricket and it's nothing bothered me tbh

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Golf is a different sport though LP. I also played hockey and cricket, far better at those sports than golf, and I loved it when a crowd was there. I got a buzz from it. Hockey in particular is a fast moving sport though and nowhere near as precise as golf. You practice and then play partly on instinct. For golf you have way too long to think about things, far more mechanical things to go wrong. That is where the mental side comes in. The nearest hockey, or football for that matter, gets to golf is when you take a penalty. That pressure moment, that time to think. Very different.