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8 Nov 2013 Gregg Steinberg, USGTF Level IV Member

Failing Forward

By: Gregg Steinberg, WGCA contributing writer When Dustin Johnson lost the lead to Ian Poulter during the final round at the WGC-HSBC, he did not force the issue and get too aggressive, leading to a blow-up hole or two.  The wiser and more seasoned Johnson has learned from his past mistakes.   He said he must be patient and stick with his game plan and let the scores happen. It worked, and DJ found the winner’s circle to what he called “the biggest win so far in my career.”   We all make mistakes. We all fail at times in our golfing life. We have all had a few terrible holes and many horrendous rounds. We have all seen the greatest golfers in the world fail, as well. However, the most successful golfers use failure as a springboard to greater days on the links.   Dustin Johnson has failed forward.  He has used his mistakes in the past as lessons well learned. Here are a few suggestions to fail forward in your golfing career:   1)      Be real about your mistakes. Realize that failing in golf and performing poorly at times is part of golf. Take it easy on yourself when you hit some bad shots and have a bad hole. One of the greatest golfers of all time, Ben Hogan, expected to hit five stinkers a round. 2)      Create a failing forward journal. After each round, write down five mistakes you made. Then write down what you learned from those mistakes and move on. The importance of this mental exercise is that you no longer dwell on the mistakes. Focus only on what is gained in knowledge from each experience.   But, don’t just think about what you should have done. Go out and practice the skills you need to improve, both mental ones and physical ones. As legendary basketball coach John Wooden once said, “Failure is not failure unless it is failure to change.”   Dr. Gregg Steinberg is a regular guest every Tuesday on “Talk of the Tour,” heard on the Sirius/XM’s PGA Tour Radio. He is a tenured professor of sports psychology and has been the mental game coach for many PGA Tour players.  Dr. Steinberg is the author of the bestselling golf psychology book MentalRules for Teaching Golf, which can be obtained by calling 888-346-3290. 

8 Nov 2013 Steve Williams, USGTF Level IV Member

Helping each player to find the tempo that is right for them

By: Steve Williams, WGCA contributing writer Everybody has a tempo that is right for them individually. There are those who have had great success with a quick tempo. Players such as Chad Campbell, Nick Price, Lanny Wadkins, Hubert Green, Tom Watson, Arnold Palmer, and Ben Hogan come to mind. Then, there are those with slower tempos, players like Payne Stewart, Fred Couples, Davis Love, Tom Weiskopf, Jerry Heard, and Julius Boros. All of these players have been successful! So, which is better…a fast or slow tempo? The answer is, the tempo that is right for that individual. The observant teacher will gain insight into which tempo is right for their student as they watch them practice and play. How do you get the golfer to swing with the tempo that is optimal for them? Let me make some suggestions, if I may. Here are some thoughts that you can experiment with for each individual. You can tell them to swing at a certain percentage of their full-speed swing. One individual might consider that he is taking a full swing when he swings at 80 percent. If you are trying to get him to slow down, you can suggest that he swing at 60 percent. This will work well for some, but not for others. I usually get better results doing it a little differently, though. I might ask them how far they hit their driver when they swing full and if they hit it perfectly. If they respond with 280 yards, I will ask them to swing slow enough that, if they hit it right in the sweet spot, they’ll hit it 220 yards. You might think that is a little ridiculous, because if somebody can hit it to 280, why would they be satisfied with 220? Well, I can tell you this: I have never, ever, had an individual swing the club that slowly after me putting that thought in their head, to swing so it would go only 220. Typically, they might back it off to 260 or so. This is the reason why I ask them to back it down to 220, because that is what it will take to slow their tempo sufficiently. For whatever the reason, this seems to work better with most people, rather than just telling them to swing at 60 percent. This can also be done using an iron. If someone tells me they hit their seven-iron 160, I might tell them to back it down to 130. Again, they’ll never back it down that much. Virtually every time, when swinging at a slower tempo, the golfer will notice that their balance is better, they hit the ball more solidly, and have not lost any distance. In actuality, once they get used to this slower tempo and the muscles have had a chance to adapt to each other, they will notice while playing golf (if they are observant) that their rollout distance is greater than when they swung the club faster. This is due to less effective loft at impact because of a better release. When you need to tell someone to swing faster, the key here is to recognize whether a fast tempo is beneficial or detrimental, and then helping them to find their optimal tempo. Then, leave a clear picture in the student’s mind as to which thought helps them to achieve the right tempo for them. Good golfing!

8 Nov 2013 Arlen Bento, USGTF Level IV Member

Learning to breathe can really help your golf game

By: Arlen Bento, WGCA contributing writer I have been teaching and coaching golf to skilled junior players for many years, and one of the things that I always want to keep learning about is how to get my players to play their best went it really counts.  I like sharing these lessons, because it can help many players and coaches to play their best golf. For years, I have tried all types of motivational talks, ideas and game plans, and it seems that under pressure, most players struggle and shoot higher scores than they would in a practice round or internal team match. Over the past four years, my high school team has been fortunate to win three state district titles but no regional titles.  Each time we advance to the regional we don’t play to our capabilities. So, this year we had the opportunity to work with John Denny, a professional mental coach who works with a computer program called Heart Math that has really helped my players.   The website is http://john-denney.com/blog/cat/heartmath/ The program is based on making players understand what emotion does to the body’s heart rate, and how an increased heart rate makes the body’s nervous system react.  This increase in heart rate under pressure makes it extremely difficult to make a good golf swing with confidence when the heart is racing.  Usually in golf, the increase in heart rate is caused by factors in golf like hitting a bad shot, being upset, feeling nervous, or playing in front of a large crowd. With the help of the Heart Math program, each player was hooked up to a computer to help them monitor their heart rate.  They were each asked to think of a bad shot or some memory of a bad golf hole.  As they developed their negative thoughts, we were all able to see what their increased heart rate looked like on the computer screen.   The program displayed the way their nervous system was handling their increased heart rate, and it was showing a series of jagged-looking lines that showed tension and pressure. Then, the program gave each player a new way to lower their heart rate by breathing and produce a series of smooth, wave-like patterns, which signify a calm, balanced heart rate and a nervous system that would allow players to make better golf swings and stay focused as they play. The results were incredible.  When players were thinking about bad thoughts and the computer system was in a red color mode with jagged lines, with three deep breaths at the right breathing cycle, all players were able to lower their heart rates and remove tension from their nervous systems to create a calm, balanced point to play golf.  The computer showed this as a green mode with wavy lines. The secret of the deep breaths were that each breath, in and out, had to have a new pace of 2-3 seconds per in an out.  So, this meant 2-3 seconds on the in breath and 2-3 seconds on the out breath.  This was a big change for most players.  Most players were used to taking in a big breath and letting it out quickly, which did not help lowering the heart rate to a level that was conducive to playing golf. Each player was taught to work on taking three deep breaths using this new in and out breath cycle, 2-3 seconds in and 2-3 seconds out.  By the third cycle, all nervous system tension was gone.  Completely gone! So, how has this helped my team? Well, John told me that if the players started using the breathing technique, they would eliminate the high scores or balloon rounds that are associated with tension.    The first day we went out to play a qualifying match after using Heart Math, all of my players shot nine-holes scores below 38; all seven players.  The next week, we won a big tournament and we shot our lowest score of the year as a team, 298.  Our team is now 8-1 and is poised to win another district title, and maybe this year with the help of Heart Math, we can win our first regional.

1 Nov 2013 Gregg Steinberg, USGTF Level IV Member

Find comfort first

By: Gregg Steinberg, WGCA contributing writer When Ryan Moore stepped up to his four-foot putt on the 18th hole to win the playoff against Gary Woodland at the CIMB Classic, he backed off. He was visually disturbed. He looked at his putter, wiped the face and started his routine over. Then, Ryan got into his putting stance and sank that pressure-packed putt for his third win on the PGA TOUR. Afterwards, Moore admitted to his nerves and stated that he felt uncomfortable when he first got over that putt to win. Importantly, Ryan proclaimed that any time he feels unsure, he will back off his putt and start his routine over again. Starting over allowed him to reset his mind and greatly contributed to his sinking that winning putt at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & CC. Unfortunately, many amateur golfers do the opposite. When they feel a bit uncomfortable over a putt, they usually do not back off. They are thinking about their playing partners and what they may think of them, and, how silly they may look if they don’t putt this ball right now. In turn, they just go ahead and make the stroke, usually leading to a poor stroke and a poorer result. To improve your mental game and make more putts under pressure, follow Ryan Moore’s lead. Here are some mental game recommendations: 1) At times the nerves will get to you, especially if it is an important putt. When those nerves come, back off the putt. Take some deep breathes and roll your shoulders to shake out those butterflies. 2) Like Ryan Moore, hit the restart button. Don’t just jump into your stroke–restart your routine from the beginning. 3) Stop worrying about what your playing partners will think of you if you begin your putting routine over again. Once you start making more putts under pressure, they will only complain that you are taking their money! When we observe and listen to what the best golfers in the world do under pressure, then we will understand what really works under pressure. Follow Ryan Moore’s putting strategies to boost your success on the course!