GOLF

Last week and in previous weeks, I made the comment that, in my opinion, club players, juniors, and amateurs who compete get more upset over missed off line off center shots than PGA Tour players.

It’s mind blowing to me that a golfer who plays once a week, even twice a week, who may or may not even practice, who shoots in the high 70s to 90s, has an expectation of performance that is greater than a tour player.

I have heard stories and even observed truly skilled professionals walk up to an amateur with legitimate skill, display anger and emotion through words or actions and simply say something like this:

“I know that shot upset you, as they put their arm around them. Let me help you with what’s important first. You really aren’t that good.”

Most who experience this are clueless right away and shocked later when they realize what the expert was trying to help them with, and that is, ‘Hey, this game takes much work, while requiring competent technique. Even when this is achieved, look around at the greatest who play hit plenty of off line off center shots’.

The reason I know this to be a fact is this was said to me frequently in my early beginnings. My wife finally helped me understand this in 1994 on a long drive back from Lake of the Ozarks.

George IV, Wesley, and Mary Chandler were in the back of our van, but she simply used the truth as her guide.

“Did you try to hit the off-center or off line shot on purpose?,” she said. “Did you give it your best? How did your reaction to the shot contribute or help you while you were playing?”

You see, in the first two round, she observed a certain behavior and in the third round, she witnessed another.

In my third round, my patience ran thin and my emotions were exposed. She compared my reactions of the first two rounds with the third that simply revealed an “expectation” difference.

In pro golf, the weekend or the final two rounds is “showtime” or “go time.” My expectations of performance, while playing to make the cut in order to play the weekend were low, where when I was playing for pay, the expectations higher. This caused me to try harder and I got emotional as if the shot was missed.

Valerie made me aware of this in a very diplomatic way too and it changed everything.

I got back and began looking into her observations and signed up for my first sports psychology workshop that Doctors Bob Rotella and Richard Coop were teaching.

Later, I found Dr. Morris Pickens to study under and he took the concepts of “acceptance & expectation thinking” and helped me restructure my playing mindset.

I’m on the way to the Memorial Invitational in Dublin, Ohio starting Thursday where the greatest mind of all time holds a PGA Tour event that my son Wesley was invited to participate by the great Jack Nicklaus.

So I will continue next week on this mental game journey inspired by the “Golden Bear”. I’ll close with the best Dr. Mo advice he shared with me on developing a sound mindset:

Take 3-5 minutes every day to work on your playing mindset which in part is your attitude and emotions during your round.

It’s my opinion that your attitude can be conditioned and is under your control as is your expectations of performance.

In local golf, the boys high school golf season ended last week with the S.C. High School League state championships.

In the Class 5-A division, Lexington finished in fifth place, Blythewood eighth, River Bluff 14th and Dutch Fork 16th.

The Wildcats’ Dillon Hite finished in the top 10 individually in seventh place to earn All-State accolades.

In the Class 4A tournament, defending champion A.C. Flora finished in third place. Chapin placed 13th and Airport tied for 15th. The Falcons’ Nic Poole finished tied for second place as an individual.

In the Class 3-A tournament, Mid Carolina finished in sixth place, Gilbert 10th and Brookland-Cayce 15th.

P.J. Jacobs of Mid Carolina finished tied for seventh and Blake Dimsdale finished tied for 10th to earn All-State honors for the Indians.