What Separates the Best from the Rest?

Jun

2007

What Separates the Best from the Rest?

Posted by Double Eagle in Mental Game

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This is something I’ve thought about a lot recently. I know it’s been discussed forever, but this is my take.

I’ve been reading Paper Tiger, the quest of writer Tom Coyne to go from weekend duffer to PGA Tour pro in a little over a year (review coming along shortly). I’ve been closely following Luke Swilor’s Road to the Tour. And I’ve obviously been thinking about myself. My goals, my dreams, and my (golf) fantasies.

Several times each day, I ask myself, “what separates the best from the rest?” By that, I’m asking what separates Tour pros from talented amateurs or from those who don’t make it on Tour. Really. What is it?

The way I see it, I’d wager that if you found a talented scratch golfer and put him on the driving range at a PGA Tour event, it would be hard to tell he didn’t belong. He’d probably fool most people. Most likely, he couldn’t make the cut, and probably wouldn’t have a shot at getting through Q-School.

Chances are, on the range, he’s as proficient as many of the Tour pros lined up along side of him. Long with the driver. Shapes shots well. Good consistency. Solid short game. Proficient putting.

So, why isn’t he out there already? What is it that separates him from the rest?

Let’s throw out Tiger, Phil, and that caliber of player for a moment. Those guys are clearly on a whole different level than most of their peers. Let’s just consider the middle of the road guys, and the guys who make it a career but maybe don’t win a lot.

I think if we look at the physical aspect, our scratch golfer is probably in the mix with those guys. Maybe some coaching and he’s right there. Let’s assume he’s as physically fit as many of the other guys. If so, then we have to look at the intangibles. There must be things that our friend lacks that the guys on Tour have. Here are the things that come to mind:

Luck. Getting through Q-School and winning on the mini-tours can come down to getting the right breaks. Both on and off the course. Getting a good bounce or catching fire at the right time can mean the difference between a player moving up the ladder or going home with his tail between his legs.
Desire. Could it be that our scratch player friend doesn’t want it bad enough? What about the ones that do? Are they working hard enough? What about the ones that are, but that still don’t make it? There has to be enough desire to make sure the player is putting the work in: practice, diet, fitness. All the things that need to be done to excel.
Determination. This goes hand in hand with desire. With desire, you want something, but determination makes sure that you’re not going to take “no” for an answer. Watch the movie “The Pursuit of Happyness” for a tutorial on determination. There must be enough determination to overcome all the things that make someone want to quit.
That leaves: Mental Game.

The more I think about it, the more I think that mental game could be the biggest factor keeping our friend off the tour (assuming that he has sufficient desire, determination, and luck). I don’t think that mental game is just limited to course management, though that’s a big part of it. I would include all of the following:

Excellent course management. Knowing how to play the course like a chess match.
Playing within oneself. A player must know his limitations and play to his own strengths.
Mental toughness. A player of that caliber must find a way to overcome fear. Fear of failure, fear of ridicule, whatever.
Along the lines of mental toughness is the ability to deal with pressure. At high levels, pressure exists internally and externally. The best players must find a way to deal with it.
There must be a great level of confidence. Confidence in his swing, in his mental game. Confidence that keeps him free from intimidation.
Aggressiveness. That doesn’t just mean always “going for it”. It can include the ability and desire to put opponents away. It can mean taking a chance when the chips are down.

There are probably many more aspects to the mental game, but those are the ones that come to mind right now.

I see all those aspects of the mental game as things that can be nurtured and developed. If that’s true, then it means that our friend, the scratch player, given the proper amount of desire, determination, and luck could develop the mental game to make it.

Am I off base here? I’m not trying to rationalize my own crusade or be unrealistic about my own chances. I’ve had these thoughts (and debated them with people) for a long time before I ever thought about pursuing golf.

If I’m wrong, it would be about the 38th time today.

Maybe it’s just that players at the highest level are born with a gift that none of the rest of us can ever achieve. My gut instinct tells me that’s not it though. I can accept that very special players, like Tiger, Phil, Ernie, Vijay, etc. are born with a gift that the rest of us can never achieve. And they still have to work darn hard.

I believe the difference between getting to the big show and going home to sell insurance is a fine line. For some players, the line might be razor thin. I do believe that the line can be crossed with luck, desire, determination and a developed mental game. I’m not saying it’s easy or that there’s a simple formula, otherwise it would happen all the time. I just believe it’s not completely out of reach as most people assume it is.

One other thing: I’m not trivializing the people who worked so hard and still didn’t make it. I’m not accusing anyone of lacking desire or whatever. Maybe those people have what it takes, but never got the lucky break they needed. Maybe they lacked some critical component of the mental game. Or maybe they didn’t have the toughness (or financial backing) to weather the storm.

I really want to hear your thoughts on this.

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HappyRock said:

Some nice thoughts here. It has been often printed that switching from amateur to pro status is wildly different. I think the mental game is probably the main difference. I suspect that creating the belief that you can succeed will go a long way to achieving success. Concepts like obstacle thinking vs. opportunity thinking, positive self-talk, etc are great areas for improvement.

Also, How much of the mental game is learned, and how much is personality?

I would also offer that some non-golf factors might be involved too. Families, close relationships, money management, support, networking, public presence come to mind.

With your goal to be pro someday this article begs the question, what are you doing right now to address the areas that you think will be necessary for success?

Billy Bondurak discusses some of these qualities in his mental game series.

http://www.pga.com/improve/features/mentalgame/

Posted on June 15th, 2007 at 10:11 am

Greg Bartz said:

Another great post Mike, and I agree with HR’s comments. His non-golf factors affect many hopefuls I’m sure.

I think there are some scratch golfers that are just lazy (I know a couple, not scratch, but hcp 4 or less). These guys got to their skill level without really trying. They are comfortable being the best around without ever seriously working on their game. Seeking the next level carries way too much commitment and hard work. So, sometimes Mr. Scratch just does not have the desire.

That brings to mind the time when John Daily, as Tiger walked by on his way to the range, asked Tiger to take a break from all the practice and join him for a beer. Tiger responded that if he had John’s talent he wouldn’t have to practice.

-G

Posted on June 15th, 2007 at 12:03 pm

Double Eagle said:

Great comments guys. Let me address some things that HappyRock and Greg each said.

HR,

The other stuff you brought up definitely factors into the equation, especially the non-golf factors. My pro was on the PGA Tour in the 70’s and give it up to be closer to family.

I’m also intrigued with your point about how much is learned and how much is personality. The psychology of golf (and of sports in general) is very interesting, and I think I want to dig deeper into that subject.

Regarding what I’m doing to meet my own goals, I’m dieting and exercising to improve my physical health. I’m practicing to improve my physical game. That leaves my mental growth. And growth is exactly what I need. I think the biggest thing I’m doing is exposing all my flaws here. It’s not easy to tell a bunch of strangers that you don’t have discipline or whatever. That helps me see my weaknesses and helps me see where I need to improve. When I identify these weaknesses, I really give myself things to work on during rounds, at the range, at home, etc. It’s hard to lay out specifics here on the spot, but I think I’m going to hit some of these topics in upcoming posts. Time for a “Mental Game Week”.

Greg,

I agree with your assessment of many of the scratch golfers. Often times, they just don’t have the drive to do what it takes. Some might even have the drive, but may not actually know how to get the job done.

That Tiger Woods quote is one of my favorite golf quotes of all time. It says a lot. Both about the raw talent of John Daly (that he’s accomplished what he has without putting in a fraction of the work of his peers) as well as the fact that he could possibly be a much better player with a little more dedication. At the same time, I’m a huge fan of his and don’t fault him for the way he does things because in the end, we each have to do what makes us happy.

Posted on June 15th, 2007 at 1:07 pm

Talk is Cheap: Achieving Goals » Life in the Rough said:

[...] my recent post about what separates the best from the rest, HappyRock asked me what I’m doing to achieve my goals. I addressed it in a follow-up [...]

Posted on June 16th, 2007 at 2:54 am

Podium Sports Journal » Blog Archive » What Separates the Best from the Rest? said:

[...] to an entry in Life in the Rough, mental conditioning is a key ingredient for rising to the top of the golf world. Although the [...]

Posted on June 18th, 2007 at 3:38 pm

Dave said:

Wow, I don’t visit your blog for a few days, and all of a sudden I have an hour’s worth of reading to catch up on!

Along the lines of your post, I’ve though a lot about what separates me, a 15 handicapper, from a single-digit handicapper. My friend Jeong is a good example, he’s maybe a 9. What was said about the driving range applies to me and Jeong as well. I doubt you could tell the difference. I can hit the shots he can hit, and physically I’m probably better off. When we both make good swings on the course, I’d say my shots are actually better than his. The difference then, is consistency.

I admitted to myself last year that “inconsistent” is simply what bad golf looks like. I played this morning and my good holes were textbook: fairway, green, two putt. If you saw those you’d think I was the man. But I didn’t break 80, and the reason is because my five worst shots were horrendous. I have a feeling that if you followed a mediocre tour player for his Thursday and Friday rounds, you’d see the same thing: thirty holes of excellent golf combined with six duds.

Posted on June 20th, 2007 at 2:22 pm

A few days?!

What can I say? Once I start going I can’t shut up! I took a day off today so you can catch your breath.

Those blow-up holes are a real problem for players of all levels. I’m finally getting mine under control again.

It kind of reminds me of Paper Tiger. Thanks for the recommendation. (I just finished reading it and will post a review tomorrow or maybe Friday.)