The Golf Geek

What “lemonade rocks” taught me about golf improvement.

I’ve only scored 100% in an exam once. It happened in my first year of secondary school, in maths of all subjects.

I remember it clearly; we’d moved into the area at the start of the school year so I was an unknown quantity; my classmates were shocked to see this interloper doing so well.

I heard a few mutterings to the effect that I “wouldn’t get that lucky again”, ascribing my success to a fluke.

But I had a secret weapon.

Lemonade rocks.

I feel I should explain a little.

Before the test, I’d been at the “tuck shop” and had bought 2 ounces of boiled sweets (or candy, if you prefer), the aforementioned lemonade rocks. I’d heard sucking on a sweet helped concentration and was thus determined to use this to my advantage.

And it had obviously been successful.

Imagine, then, my consternation when the shop sold out, due in part to my enthusiastic endorsement. I told myself that the type of sweet didn’t matter, any sweet designed to be sucked rather than chewed would do.

But it didn’t work.

I did OK in exams, but not any better than my usual; sometimes I was even a little worse…all because they didn’t have my muse, my lemonade rocks. I came to believe there was something about the sweets themselves, some magic ingredient which helped my brain go into overdrive.

I cut a forlorn figure trudging down every day, more in hope than in expectation, for those yellow-and-white lumps of boiled syrup.

Until the day they were finally back in stock. As luck would have it, I had a maths test the very next day and I gleefully anticipated my results. I knew 100% wasn’t a given, but I’d be in the 90′s or high 80′s at the very least.

You can probably guess how it went.

My 78% wasn’t dreadful, but it was well below my average, let alone my expectations. I realised (only 14 months too late) my results had nothing to do with my choice in confectionary. Who would’ve thought it?

What this has to do with your golf. Read More…

I have a confession to make.

I haven’t played enough golf this year.

And I don’t mean in an “I can never get enough golf” way. I really just didn’t get out to play anywhere near often enough.

It’s understandable in a way. My kids are 6 and 3, I’m nearing the end of my training as a physician…and on top of it all, I’ve started coaching players this year.

I also fell into the trap of thinking “it’s only worth going out if I can play 18″, when it would’ve been better to have scratched the itch and played as many as possible.

But I certainly don’t think of this year as a failure. 

It’s just not a helpful label. And it’s inaccurate for a number of reasons.Firstly, it’s only one aspect of my life, when the others are going rather well.

More importantly, why judge something as if it’s over when it’s not? Read More…

In my last article I encouraged you to differentiate between your reaction and your response.

A response is measured, considered, chosen.

Reactions are…less so.

A large amount of our frustration arises from the mistaken belief that we’re doomed to repeat our reactions, over and over.

Event “X” causes reaction “Y”, always and forever…and so we’re doomed to our golfing pasts becoming the future.

But that’s not the case.

Not only do we get to choose our response…we can also learn new reactions.

And it’s not as difficult as you might think. All you need is time, and a commitment to change. Read More…

Have you ever read a book on the mental game and thought “that’s not realistic”?

It’s very easy to say  you shouldn’t get angry on the course…but much harder to do.

Even in his pomp, Tiger got mad – why else would he be one of the most fined players on tour? And Greg Norman reportedly pinched himself, hard, under his ribs after a bad shot.

It’s difficult to see this as anything other than anger.

And yet they both did pretty well  by most standards; both are multiple major winners and both were number one in the world in their day. So their anger didn’t seem to have a significant effect on their play.

But it’s different for us…isn’t it?

We’re all too familiar with the anger-induced meltdown – we’ve seen it in our playing partners, we’ve experienced it ourselves. And it doesn’t have to be the classic “club-throwing tantrum” either. That’s the most florid type of breakdown, but far more common is the quiet anger turned inwards as we get progressivley more quiet as the round progresses save for the odd angry outburst after a particularly disappointing shot.

So why does it seem to be different for the professionals?

Why can they seem to get angry, and not let it affect their game? Is it because of their superior skills, be they physical or mental game?

Or is it because they know the difference between a reaction…and a response? Read More…

That’s what some mental coaches seem  to be saying.

But is it true?

I don’t know about you, but when I’ve thought I was under pressure, there were a number of things which didn’t feel very “mental”.

My heart seemed to be pounding, my neck and jaw muscles felt solid and my mouth felt dry. And I believe these symptoms were real.

But I’m not disagreeing with the mental coaches, either.

“Mental” issues bring “physical” consequences.

As I’ve said before, it’s impossible to disentangle the physical and the mental in reality; we do so when we discuss things to aid simplicity. But we forget it’s a simplification and discuss the mental/physical divide like it’s real. Read More…