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Psychology of Golf

The game of Golf has a long and storied history. The concept of hitting a ball with a stick dates back to the ancient Romans, with their game called Paganica; which involved hitting a leather ball with a bent stick. There was also a game in ancient China during the 900’s-1200’s that involved using several different sticks to hit the ball, becoming more like the modern game that we know today. The game of golf in its modern form is generally thought to have begun in Scotland in the 15th century. In 1457, golf was banned by the Scottish parliament because it interfered with archery training, which was considered essential for national defense at the time. The ban was lifted in 1500 and the game rapidly gained popularity among the wealthy of Scottish and British society.

Golf in the US

The first record of golf in America was in 1729 when the golf clubs of a Massachusetts governor are listed as part of his estate. The United States Golf Association was 1894, and the first organized tournaments were in 1895. They included the US Amateur Championship and the US Open

Golf Now

Golf has become more and more popular as the years have gone on; it became a professional sport in the UK in 1901 and in the US in 1916. Many technological advances have also taken the sport forward, including new ways of making balls, shafts, and club heads

Golf Psychology Origins

People have presumably been thinking about the psychology behind the game of golf since the sport was conceived in its modern form. Golf is a very mental game, requiring patience, focus, and lots of planning and strategy. The sport has always had the reputation of being mostly about the players mental ability to focus and continue focusing after making a bad shot.

Study of Sports Psychology

The psychology of golf turns out to be a very broad topic.  There are an array of possible topics that could be studied in golf due to the different aspects of the game.  Areas of golf such as putting, chipping and the full swing are all affected by the psychology of golf.  This is why golf psychology is examined through emotional management, focus maintenance, pressure and confidence. Golf psychology falls under the branch of psychology called exercise and sports psychology as distinguished by the American Psychology Association. This psychology is best thought of as the work of developing the mental skills associated with enhancing any type of performance. This implies that this could even be used for means such as team building which don’t apply to sports.

Emotional Management

Emotional management in golf is a key aspect in performing. This is why renowned golf psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella has created multiple rules in order for people to perform better. Dr. Rotella’s rules consist of believing you can win, not focusing on results, not getting down on yourself, being patient, ignoring unsolicited swing advice, embrace your golf personality, having a routine to lean on, finding peace on the course, testing yourself in stroke play and finding someone who believes in you. Dr. Rotella explains that believing that you can win will provide you with the motivation to work hard enough to actually win. He also sates that by not being focused on results you can stay in the present which helps performance. By not getting down on yourself one will have a more positive outlook which leads to an increase in self esteem and results. By having a routine to lean on, players will therefore be more comfortable when pressure situations arrive and will therefore perform better. This is coupled with what Dr. Rotella says about stroke play. The more times you play stroke play the more times you are testing yourself and making it more difficult, therefore taking pressure off in matches. All of these “rules” that Dr. Rotella comes up with assist in making many golfers perform better. This is especially the case under pressure situations.

Pressure and Confidence

One key aspect of playing under pressure is confidence. Confidence in golf would be the belief that one could rely on their game to produce the desired results. This is a key factor in pressure situations. Pressure situations arise when there aren’t a lot of holes left and the golfer feels the urgency that they have to win or perform well. Confidence arises from the repetition of a certain task which Bob Rotella describes with his rule that one should rehearse a routine that they can lean on. This is so one can use this routine in non pressure situations in order to reduce the pressure of pressure situations . This view is further asserted by Dr. Cohn, a sports psychologist, who asserts that positivity is also a key factor in the maintenance in confidence. With a negative mindset, Dr. Cohn says that one is less likely to perform well because they are focused on the negative outcome not the task at hand. He also states that visualization of these positive thoughts will also lead to greater confidence. By visualizing the positive image of a shot before it is hit, it reenforces the fact that the shot will be good which helps calm the nerves during pressure situations. This idea is also paralleled in the book Seven Days in Utopia where the golfer is taught to visualize his shots with positive imagery and not negativity. He is then shown to win a professional golf tournament which demonstrates the fact that he is a better golfer due to the positivity and confidence. (Cook)

Maintenance of focus

Maintaining focus is another key aspect in golf. There are lots of distractions that are present in the outdoors and it is easy for one to let their mind wander and to not be on task while playing competitive golf. Dr. Cohn describes focus as thinking about nothing else except the task that needs to be executed. In golf, it is imperative to actively focus on the shot at hand and to not listen to the inner voice or to focus on other tasks. To be able to effectively focus solely on execution, Dr Cohn says that it is important to have a routine, to click in your focus, to be able to recognize when the focus has slipped away and to refocus as soon as possible. By having a routine to do before every shot that is take, one triggers the focus that is needed to execute the actual shot. By thinking about what needs to be done to get the ball where the person wants it to go, the person needs to think about the movements necessary, therefore triggering the focus. The next step is to only think about what is going to make the ball go where it needs to which Dr. Cohn calls “clicking in”. The difficult part about this is that peoples minds start to wander. To prevent this from happening Dr. Cohn says that as soon as a person recognizes they aren’t solely focused then they need to refocus as soon as possible in order to see the best results. Another key aspect that William McCoy, who specializes in nutrition and sports, says that it is imperative to start each hole like a new hole in order to maintain focus on each shot instead of previous or future shots. This along with setting small individual goals for yourself, are the keys to maintaining constant focus on the golf course.

Relationship to Other Sports

One major difference between golf and other sports is that golf is played by the same rules no matter how good the players are. Professionals play by the same rules as amateurs where other sports there are different rules for people who play below the professional level. In addition, golf is one of the only sports where the play of your competitor doesn’t affect your play. In other sports there are teams or you are directly playing someone else, in golf you are technically only playing yourself. The play of your competitors has no affect on your score.

Prominent figures

In golf there are individuals who have made a great impact on the psychological aspect of the game. Golf psychologists give insights to players about how their own conscious affects their swing and playing style. Golf Digest asked 125 players on the PGA Tour, LPGA & Champions Tours to name golf's best mental-game experts. The responses from the players gave great insight on which the most prominent figures of the mental golf world are.

Bob Rotella, PH.D.

Bob Rotella is from Kestwick, Va. He was a former professor at the University of Virginia, Rotella, 64, Guided students to a total 74 tour wins. He has written seven books, including Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect. Students that Rotella has taught include Ernie Els, Graeme McDowell, Keegan Bradley, Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Raymond Floyd, Tom Kite, and Nick Price. Rotella is known for his philosophy, "Wanting to be good at something is one thing, but committing to becoming great and living your dream is the ultimate. Believe you can become the best at whatever your passion is."

Gio Valiante, PH.D.

Gio Viliante is from Winter Park, Fla. During his education to receive his Ph.D. in educational psychology, Valiante studied players' performances on tour. After time he decided to make this his profession. Players that have learned from Valliante include Justin Rose, Matt Kuchar, Camilo Villegas, Robert Karlsson, David Duval, and Tommy Armour III. Valliante’s most notable theory is "Think about why you play. By getting back to the love of the game, you'll worry less about results."

Pia Nilsson

Pia Nilsson is from Scottsdale. She is a former LPGA player (1983-'87) and Solheim Cup captain ('98). Along with teacher Lynn Marriott, the pair created an approach based on individual potential. This strategy has been proven to be incredibly effective, as she has taught three No. 1s in women's golf. Former students include Kevin Streelman, Suzann Pettersen, Choi Na-yeon, Ai Miyazato, In-Kyung Kim. The main philosophy is "Understand how a golfer balances six elements—the physical, technical, mental, emotional, social and spirit of the game."