 One of the very common behaviors with players
at all levels is to gather information in the
warm up areas immediately before a round
about how things are going in one’s
game. “How am I hitting my irons
today?” “What’s the driver doing?” “How is
my putter feeling in my hand?” “How is my
touch around the chipping greens?”
Additionally, many players when on the
competitive golf course are in a continuous
mode of evaluating what’s going on in their
game. To the extent that this helps players
make reasonable minor adjustments when on the
course, many golf experts would suggest that
this is a helpful and positive thing. The
challenge for most players is to do this
evaluation- both before and during a
competitive round without misinterpreting the
information that is being gathered.
To clarify this point, it is helpful to
understand the difference between two
concepts: trait and state. A trait is
essentially a characteristic that is
relatively permanent. Regularly people use
the term in reference to things like one’s
personality traits or behavior traits.
Simply put, it is something that one does on
a very regular basis- with or without
consciously doing it. On the other hand,
when one speaks of a state, it is more
related to an immediate, but temporary
condition. We speak about someone’s state of
mind or mood state in reference to something
we experience in the here and now.
What does this have to do with golf? Far too
many players- even the best in the world- pay
too much attention to the immediate state
their game is in. In the moment of the swing
feeling a little off or a few putts not going
in the hole, many players focus on the state
of that part of the game. “My putter’s off
today.” “Something is wrong with my
driver.” “I’m chunking everything with my
wedges.” There are typically two major
problems with this- 1) Players have a
tendency to over think and become mechanical
with this type of analysis and 2) A player’s
confidence suffers during that examination.
Players forget to remind themselves about
their traits as a good putter, driver of the
ball, or ball striker.
Let’s use an example. After missing a few
putts on the practice green before a round or
a few during a round, rather than paying too
much attention to the state one’s putting is
in, it is much more productive and helpful to
remember the foundation upon which you stand-
your traits- as a putter. “I make putts all
the time in practice, they’ll start to
fall.” “I’ve been working hard on my putting
and hit some great putts that just didn’t go
in, just stay patient.” “I’m a good player,
relax and get to the next shot and things
will be fine.”
As a general rule, when things feel shaky in
the moment, it is much better to remember the
work that has been put in to develop one’s
game, the capacity to hit good shots, and
previous situations where things didn’t feel
great and turned out OK. This type of
emphasis on the traits of one’s game will
keep most players confidence high, and
prevent the tendency of paying the wrong kind
of attention to what’s going on in a round
and allowing and letting that negatively
impact confidence in that moment.
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