Rehearsal Controls Pressure

I have just finished reading WITH WINNING IN MIND, an excellent book by World and Olympic Shooting Champion, Larry Bassham.

Bassham is the founder and President of MENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, an international consulting firm in Mental Management.

In his book he defines pressure and explains why mental rehearsals are the best way to conquer pressure in highly competitive situations.

But first let´s see how Bassham defines pressure.

Pressure can be divided in two parts: ANXIETY and AROUSAL.

Anxiety is fear, and, fear, Bassham says, can be controlled. Fear in itself is not necessarily bad. In golf, it allows us to plan our shots conservatively. One way of controlling excessive anxiety or fear, is simple experience. Once we have been in a similar pressure situation several times, the negative characteristics of fear are reduced.

The second part of pressure is arousal. Arousal is our level of excitement. The lowest level of arousal is deep relaxation. There is a point between arousal (excitement) and relaxation where our mental performance is maximized.

Mentally rehearsing a performance is key to achieving the appropriate balance between excitement and relaxation. Rehearsing your desired performance moments before we begin a golf game will help center our concentration and move us toward our optimum mental level.

Rehearsing that we are playing great golf will tend to relax us when we are facing a pressure competitive situation and help us get to this optimum mental level.

When anxiety and fear are bound to hit in a pressure packed competitive situation, rehearsal can also help by giving us mental experience, leading us to the optimal level when the time comes for real performance.

Larry Bassham tells us that he competed in the Olympic Games twice physically, but thousands of times mentally. When his day came to compete he was appropriately relaxed and won a gold and a silver medal.

In my opinion, the concept of rehearsal, as defined by Lanny Bassham, can also be used very effectively in golf.

García returns to the top with a great win at the Wyndham

What a great win by Sergio Garcia at the rain delayed  Wyndham Championship, that finalized this Monday morning. In the end he won comfortably by two, after a string of birdies on the second nine opened up a four shot lead.

And Sergio´s win makes it even more interesting at the top of world golf, considering the Fedex Cup playoffs, and Sergio´s almost sure participation in the upcoming Ryder Cup, all to be played in the next five weeks.

Is it the time for Sergio Garcia´s long awaited comeback, so many times delayed due to poor putting and a suspect mental attitude when faced with pressure?

All of us who admire his fantastic golfing ability and superb shot making certainly hope so.

The truth is that there have been many encouraging signs in the last few months. After a severe slump last year and a very real possibility of not making the 2011 British Open field, Sergio made the playoff in the BMW German Championship, and his second place earned him one of the last spots in the field. Afterwards came two excellent year end wins on the European Tour.

And during the first part of this year, his name has been on top of the leader boards frequently.

Interestingly enough, García has been talking very positively about his golf all year, with the unfortunate exception, of course, of the Masters, where he stated that he thought that he didn´t have the necessary ability to win a Major.

As far as we know, Sergio doesn´t really believe in working with a Mental Coach, but recently he speaks as if he indeed was working with one.

A couple of examples:

For the last few months, García stopped hitting full practice shots on the range before competitive rounds ( he would always practice the short game and putting, though). He explains his thinking in an video interview to a Spanish journalist ( entrevista) and feels that it has the benefit of starting play "fresh", without the mental burden of potentialy poor full swing practice shots on his mind.

The second example comes from his victory press conference this morning, when he was asked if his local "non professional" caddie had helped him in his great play. (García recently broke off with his long term caddie and plans not to make a final decision until the end of the year).

His reply, explaining that he took no advice from his caddie this week, is very interesting from the mental angle:

"Caddies are great, but sometimes I feel like I depend too much on them," Garcia said. "Instead of making a decision myself, I would wait for the caddie to make a decision for me and then maybe I don't feel comfortable with that and still try to do it. I wanted to start making decisions for myself, right and wrong," Garcia said. "Not all my decisions were good this week. Obviously misread some putts. I hit a couple wrong clubs here and there. But at least I was pretty much a hundred percent committed to most of my decisions and that was nice to see."

Not allowing doubts about our swing when starting play, and never, never hitting a shot without a full commitment, are key elements of any sound on course Mental Method.

Good on "el Niño", Sergio García.

At 32 years of age he isn´t a kid anymore, but has plenty of time to fulfill his great potential, and to win several Majors.

UNCONSCIOUS PUTTING, the excellent book by Dave Stockton

I have just finished reading this very interesting book by  Dave Stockton, currently considered the number one teacher of putting and the short game in the world.

Unconscious Putting is quite a new book as it was recently published, for the first time, in September of 2011.

Stockton´s list of clients is, indeed, very impressive, and includes notables such as: Phil Mickelson, whom wrote the foreword, Rory McIlroy, Annika Sorenstam, Yani Tseng, Justin Rose, Matt Kuchar, JB Holmes, Martin Laird, Hunter Mahan, Adam Scott, Michelle Wie, Morgan Pressel, among many others.

Dave Stockton, together with his two sons, Dave Jr. and Ron, have continued a longstanding family tradition of teaching golf´s short game, that was started by Dave´s father, Gail.

In must be mentioned that Dave Stockton, now aged 70, was a magnificent player on the PGA Tour and on the Champions Tour.

He won two Majors on the regular tour (the 1970 and 1976 PGA Championships) as well as nine other regular PGA Tour tournaments. On the CHAMPIONS tour he won a total of 14 tournaments, including three Majors (a US Senior Open and two Senior Player Championships).

To me, a firm believer in the value of controlling the mind on the golf course, the Stockton Method just made all the sense in the world . My putting has improved impressively using his techniques, and is for sure the reason that, for the first time in my life, y am playing off a + 1 handicap (-0.6 slope index).

Unconscious putting, or putting from the unconscious mind, teaches us that the putting stroke is a small and simple stroke, that depends almost entirely on the sensation of "feel". Stockton tells us that when the golfer is concentrating on technique or mechanical thoughts, the necessary sensation of "feel", that is so fundamental for a solid stroke, is alienated.

Instead of being trapped in the mechanics and positions for hitting putts, or thinking about the stroke, the golfer should only be concerned about focusing on the line and rolling the ball to the hole.

Dave Stockton

Stockton says: " The key is to transform each putt in an unconscious act, just as we do when we sign our name to a document".

The book isn´t very long, some ninety pages, but a fascinating read for golfers of all handicaps, specially those who frequently putt in pressure situations.

Not surprising at all are Rory McIlroy´s comments, after his great win in the 2012 PGA Championship, crediting Dave Stockton for his magnificent putting performance. 

McIlroy wins the PGA Championship with a little help from Dave Stockton

What a great performance by Rory McIlroy to win the 2012 PGA Championship, at the difficult Kiawah Island links golf course in South Carolina.

And the highlight of McIlroy´s game was an absolutely superb putter, all week long. In the end he was no match for the world´s best golfers and won by an amazing eight strokes.

For me, a big believer in Mental Golf, and the importance of  controlling the mind in competitive situations, I was fascinated by Rory McIlroy´s post round press conference last Thursday.

One of the journalists present asked Rory the following question:

Q.  Talking to Dave Stockton the other day, he reckoned you're the oldest 23 year old he's ever known; the sparkle you've got in your game since seeing Dave last week and this week, how beneficial has he been?

RORY McILROY:  It's been great.  I worked with Dave a little bit in Akron last week.  I know we made a slight adjustment to my routine and my stroke, and it made a huge difference last week.  I felt so much better on the greens than I did at The Open.

He sort of just said to me, "You know, just go out there and have fun and enjoy it and smile."  That's something that I've really tried to do the last two weeks, and it's definitely helped.

This last bit of advice from Dave Stockton is pretty common coming from golf Mental Coaches.

The objective is to get the slightly frustrated golfer, who is having a bit of trouble getting to the top of his game, to relax and become a little more positive, to be able to play  more with his unconscious mind, the mind that has the power to help us hit great golf shots.

Dave Stockton is, today, the number one teacher of the putter and the short game in the world. His recent book (published last September) is called Unconscious Putting, is excellent,  and is a must read for any golfer in search of improving his game on the green.

I read this great book last January and  since then I have personally applied some of Stockton´s techniques with a great deal of success. In fact my handicap index is at an all time low right now, +0.6, and my putting has been key in acheiving it. 

Stockton suggests we putt with the unconscious mind, using the visualization technique to "see" the line of the ball rolling to the hole and dropping in.

With this superb win, Rory McIlroy moves back to number one in the world confirming, in my opinion, a spanish language article I wrote last June, after his US Open win : "El Porqué Rory es el próximo Tiger" ("Why Rory is the next Tiger").

It´s just that if we consider that Rory McIlroy has a near perfect golf swing, that he possesses an incredibly strong  mind for a 23 year old, and that when he faced a problem in his putting stroke, he did not hesitate to seek help from the best (Dave Stockton), there is no question in my mind that he is a golfer that can make a run at Jack Nicklaus´ 18 Major titles.

Keegan Bradley wins the Bridgestone Invitational (and the long Rotella/ Bradley relationship)

Keegan Bradley won the Bridgestone Invitational of the World Golf Series, played at the Firestone Country Club, in spectacular fashion on the seventy second hole.


Keegan Bradley

Bradley shot a brilliant 64 in his final round, and  a superb 31 in his final nine holes.

His putter worked like a dream (26 putts, today) and was the key reason for his win.

This reminded me of a couple of stories about the Bradley family that can be read in Bob Rotella´s most recent and excellent book, The Unstoppable Golfer. In this book, Rotella, the famed Mental Golf coach, underlines the key value of the short game and putting.

It so happens that one of Rotella´s first clients, some thirty years ago, was the great Pat Bradley, Keegan´s aunt, a winner of 31 regular LPGA events and 6 Majors.

Rotella tells the story of a very intense Pat Bradley that took too much time when reading putts. Rotella suggested she cut down her putting routine and simplify the process by just trusting her first impression, her "unconscious" read. Together with this he suggested that Pat use the visualization technique and to "see" the ball rolling toward and into the hole before initiating the stroke.

In the years that followed, Pat Bradley won it all with her new putting routine, and became an LPGA legend.

Her new expertise on the putting surface was key as she was never a long hitter of the golf ball, but she was smart enough to understand that golf tournaments were won on the green.

A few years ago, Pat Bradley suggested to nephew Keegan that he work with Rotella.

Soon after, Rotella told Keegan the story about how Pat had vastly improved her putting through the visualization technique, and "seeing" the ball´s trajectory and "seeing" it drop into the hole.

And the young Bradley thought it made all the sense in the world.

Since then, Keegan Bradley uses the same visualization Method on the green, a technique that is based on the power of the unconscious mind, with such success that in just a few months he transitioned from the Nationwide Tour (now the WEB.COM Tour), to his win at the 2011 PGA Championship and this huge win at the Bridgestone Invitational yesterday.
In his victorious press conference yesterday, Keegan Bradley stressed, over and over again, how much fun he is having, and how much he enjoys being in position to win a golf tournament.

Well, it so happens that this positive attitude is no coincidence. In his The Unstoppable Golfer, Rotella tells the story of when he asked Keegan to have dinner with him and an up and coming young college golfer. Rotella then asked Bradley to tell the young player what he had learnt from working with him.

Keegan Bradley said:  "I´ll tell you what I have learnt from Doc: to have more fun at golf, to let go of doubt, to let go of fear, and be into your target".

As a Mental Golf coach all I can say is that Keegan Bradley´s success is no surprise to me. There is no question that Rotella´s wise lessons have been learnt well by this great young American golfer.

To be happy and have fun on the golf course, to let go of doubt and fear, to be "into the target" and to visualize putts going into the hole are techniques that help the golfer to better cope with competitive pressure with the help of the powerful unconscious mind.

A very popular Fred Couples wins the Senior British Open

Thanks to a great performance in the final holes, including a birdie-birdie finish, Freddie Couples won the British Senior Open at Turnberry, Scotland, by two strokes.

Everybody admires this great golfer for his great swing, so relaxed and loose, for being such a nice guy, and yes, also for his Hollywood  type good looks !!!!!!

When living in Florida in the eighties I was lucky enough to see Couples play, several times and up close. What a super swing. Elegant, relaxed and loose, that gave him great distance and the nickname "Boom-Boom".

But also, a great and intense competitor.

From the Mental Golf angle, I have learnt a couple of very good lessons from Fred Couples.

The first is that it is never necessary to force in order to hit a longer ball. On the contrary. Couples shows us that  a relaxed, easy and loose swing allows us to hit it longer.........and, obviously,with much better control and less risk.

The second lesson is one I picked up from a Golf Digest interview. Couples was asked what he was thinking about when hitting an important shot. Freddie´s answer.......just perfect from the Mental Golf point of view:

" I don´t think of anything. I just remember a great shot I hit in similar circumstances and shoot".

What Couples does is utilize a very recommended mental technique.

Visualization.

There are two ways to make use of this technique just before hitting the ball. Visualize a perfect shot in detail, or, like Freddie, recall a similar great shot we have hit in similar circumstances.

With this great win Fred Couples now has three Majors to his credit: One Masters, one Senior Player´s Championship (earlier this year) and this British Senior Open, that gives him a spot in the British Open field in Muirfield 2013.

Can we dream of Freddie winning  another Major ????. Something that Tom Watson missed out on by, just, millimeters in 2010 ?.

To win a British Open as a Senior would indeed be a crowning moment to Fred Couples´outstanding golfing career.

The eye doctor who helped Ernie Els win the British Open

One of the highlights of Ernie Els´ victory speech last Sunday at Royal Lythams, was his special thank you to fellow Southafrican doctor Sherylle Calder, who has been key in his short game and putting turnaround this year.

According to Sherylle Calder´s web page, she teaches a "visualization" program called  Eye Gym, and she is very well known in South Africa and in Great Britain for helping a host of elite sportsmen and women, and teams, from Rugby, Hockey and Soccer, to cannoeing, shooting and, of course, golf, among others.

What doctor Calder does, some call it visualization, in principle, does not have too much to do with the mind. Basically she teaches a program that trains the player to effectively use his/her vision and to appropriately use the eyes.

EyeGym is basically a computer based software program that teaches visual training. The technology involved is last generation high tech, and the training drills are the result of years of experience in coaching visual performance skills on a worldwide basis. It is a one in a kind training program, second to none, according to doctor Calder and her many loyal and satisfied clients.


Sherylle Calder

 Some of the benefits are the effective use of both eyes with maximum coordination, better timing when striking a ball, better spacial awareness, a more efficient and longer decision making process and a higher capacity for focus during extensive periods.

Very interesting to me as a Mental Coach is Calder´s claim that through better eye and vision training, more accurate messages are sent to the brain.

Some feel that Els´ British Open win is almost miraculous. After all he tried everything for ten years without results.And he now is back at the top, thanks to this great win and his close relationship to the extraordinary doctor Sherylle Calder.