Slumpbust Like Rory Mcilroy

By: Gregg Steinberg, WGCA contributing writer Not long ago, Rory Mcilroy was the number one player in the world. With four majors, amazing power and youth on his side, it seemed like Rory would dominate golf for years to come. Then he fell into an amazing putting slump. Rory recently mentioned that he lost his confident so bad that he only believed that he could make 3-footers. Anything longer than that would be a struggle—and it was! Then Rory did something very smart to break out of his putting slump. He changed everything. He changed his putting instructor, his grip and his putter. It worked. He went from one of the worst putters on the PGA tour for the past two years to having one the best putting performances at The Deutsche Bank Championships. He won this event with his laser like irons along with his amazing putting! Rory McIlroy was following a psychological process to break out of a slump: Change can help eradicate a slump. Newness of a grip or club gives you a different mindset and with this renewed mindset comes renewed confidence. Next time you are in a slump, or you have a student in a slump, you may want to try a simple strategy: Change. This small step can result in a huge leap in performance for the better. The IGPA is endorsed by the USGTF and the International PGA. Please check out both organizations. The IGPA is running a 1/2 price special on all products. Please contact mentalrules24@msn.com if interested. The IGPA is also running a Sept and Oct promo for the mental game/golf psychology certification course. Type “iggy199” in the promo code to get half off the course. About the author: Dr. Gregg Steinberg is ranked by Golf Digest as one of the world’s greatest sports psychologist. He is the head sports psychologist for the IGPA and USGTF. He has worked with PGA winners such as Brandt Snedeker and Brian Gay as well as NCAA championships  golf teams such as UF and University of Alabama.