By Richard Todd
Sports psychologists have said for years that, “attitude impacts performance.”
I never whole heartedly believed that until I recently reviewed some data on the topic.
ShotScope, a world leader in golf GPS and automated performance tracking and analytics, has been studying data they collected. They have the ability to draw information from a very large data pool across the world and their research has been responsible for statistically, contradicting many accepted beliefs of golf.
A recent article showed that high handicap golfers who, upon hitting a poor shot, will have a higher probability of hitting the next shot just as poorly. Better golfers with lower handicaps do not have similar behaviors, for they understand the only thing that matters is the next shot they are currently addressing, not the previous one.
This is further supported by the number of ‘second shots,’ or mulligans, that land exactly where they were intended to finish initially.
When presented with a difficult shot, how often have you experienced a mishit, skull, shank, or sliced attempt, that may have only gone a few yards. A mulligan, however, taken from the exact spot, resulted in a purely struck shot that appeared to be struck by one of golf’s greats?
Or, as I like to say in those circumstances,
“That first guy is a hack, but the second guy is not too bad.”
Do you think this is false news and the statistics are skewed? Professional athletes in all sports understand the importance of a positive mental attitude and mental visualization. You can’t let the previous mistake affect the next swing of the club, 3-point shot, or forward pass.
Hundreds of sports psychologists make a living by helping pro athletes, as well as, golfer’s control their mental acuity for overall game improvement. Even those golfers that shoot par, or better, on the toughest courses in the world understand how their mental perspective plays a part in their overall score.
The next time you are golfing and hit a shot with an outcome different than what you expected, don’t get mad and kick the cart tire, slam your club into the ground, or wrap an iron over your knee, simply take breath and focus on your next shot.
After all, isn’t that one of the main tenets of golf that make it just like life? After a mistake, it’s most important what you do on the next shot, or how you rebound after a major setback in your life.
Keep a positive attitude and look forward to the next shot!
