In my career to date, I have worked with golfers of all standards from high handicappers to European tour players. My experience tells me that Golf is the most mentally demanding of all sports and training the brain to cope with this is crucial to success for players of all abilities.
In all my posts, I’ll do my best NOT to use too much complex scientific and psychological terminology, which can be confusing. Instead I’ll be seeking to explain in simple terms what is happening in the human brain during the golf swing and during the game itself.
In the last month, the golf headlines in Europe have been dominated by David Lynn’s victory in the Portugal Masters. His win could certainly be described as a rags-to-riches story. Lynn played as rookie on the US PGA Tour but moved back to Europe and had only a single victory to his name in the last 15 years. That success came in 2004.
The 38-year old began his improvement when he finished second behind Rory McIlroy in the 2012 USPGA Championship and, last weekend, the 38-year old went one better and produced an amazing final round of 63 to finish on eight under and secure victory.
So what can Lynn’s return to the presentation podium tell us about golf psychology? Well it seems to me that David has really worked out how to manage his confidence levels on the golf course. Confidence is not real; it is simply a reflection of what you are paying attention to.
Low confidence levels
If David keeps paying attention to the fact that his win record on tour is poor, and he is just not as good as some of the other golfers he is competing against, then his confidence will not be in a good place. This will not help him to play his best golf.
Better confidence levels
If David starts to pay attention to his strengths as a golfer, and the fact that he can shoot low scores in big competitions, his confidence will be in a much better place. Good confidence is essential for winning golf.
However, as we all golfers know, keeping confidence levels high can be difficult on the golf course. Your brain is continually looking for reasons to tell you how bad you are at golf, and why you will probably hit the ball into the bunker, or miss the 2 foot putt.
The good news is, with practise every golfer can get better at controlling their confidence levels on the golf course.
Jon Finn
Golf Psychologist