Mental Game
Mental Game Advice to Juniors from the Men’s World #1
As a Clinical Psychologist, I have found that pre and post-round interviews provide some of the greatest insight into the minds of professional golfers. In a recent interview before his win at the Saudi International, Dustin Johnson, the current men’s world number one, was asked what one piece of advice he would give aspiring junior golfers and I was pleasantly surprised by his answer. Dusti...
Happy at Home
After winning the 2021 Sony Open at Waialae C.C., Kevin Na was asked the typical post-round question, “What was the key to victory?” And, like the seasoned veteran that he is, Na gave the typical post-round response, “I just played my game, hit a lot of solid shots, and I felt comfortable…I was having fun out there”. If you watch the video of the interview, here, it’s hard not to s...
Your target is not always what you think it is, but whatever you are thinking is always your target.
Recently at GPC, I have been working with our students to increase their self-awareness. In my opinion, self-awareness is the key to change. Without knowing what’s getting in the way of your development, your chances of improving drop considerably and any improvement often emerges from dumb luck. Knowing where to look and what to focus on is critical as working with accurate information will onl...
How Do You Rate Your Mental Game?
With the 2021 golf season upon us, it’s time to start thinking about what you’d like to get out of this upcoming year from both your practice and on course play. What do you want this season to be about? Increased enjoyment of the game? Lower scores? Improved performance in tournament play? More effective practice time? Regardless of your motive, one thing is for certain; if you want to achiev...
The Autotelic Golfer
Take a moment to reflect on the last time you played really well; when you were at your best. What thoughts come to mind? What feelings? How did you act? If you are like most people, you’ll describe many of the same characteristics associated with being in the zone, or in a “flow” state. One of those characteristics commonly reported is a feeling of being disconnected from outcome; not knowi...
