Is this golf psychology?

... or just plain goal setting.

Introducing!!!
'golf psychology'

Golf psychology is emerging into the modern game at a rapid pace. Sports psychologists have long been involved in amateur sports, especially at olympic level and many golf pschologists have popped up around the pro tours.

There are many of my colleagues, along with myself, now coming round to the idea that we are also going to have to consider adopting this concept at a more professional level. On this page I would like to discuss what I have learned and used regarding better goal setting in golf.

It must first be clarified how best to set goals in this game. Goals must be set in three important areas: performance, experience and learning. If we look at any task in life it can be split into variations of these.

A child learns to ride a bike and the actual performance is enhanced by experience of wobbling and falling and then learning from these experiences, eventually achieving sufficient balance to travel longer distances until they gain an uncanny level of aptitude.

Most children learn these rather difficult tasks by allocating sufficient emphasis to each of these three qualities. Golf psychology helps to point out that this is not a complicated process but adults struggle to devote enough attention to all three.

In golf we are far too result orientated and this usually means we are so involved in performance that experiencing and learning are very much secondary. It is important to address this shortcoming and I would describe this with the following examples.

My performnce goal is to stay in the present and to approach each shot on its own merit with total disregard for what has already ocurred or is still to come. For others this could be to break 90, improve stats on fairways hit, or even to putt with a smile.

My experience goal is the enjoyment of my game and I find this easier to achieve when it does not rely on results. I will endeavour to enjoy the weather, the surroundings and having good rapport with my playing partners.

I think by setting my sights on these takes a lot of pressure off my performance. But only when I do this with sincerity and not by putting on a happy face, as I put it. I can personally see through such guises and I am sure my partners can see through it when it occurs.

My learning goal is to be aware of and organise the balance between the first two goals, which usually helps with my concentration and temperament. In a nutshell, if you are sufficiently aware of the first two, you will be enhancing your learning.

After every wobble or fall, do not surrender, pick yourself up and reaffirm your goals. By doing this you are going to get better at all three of these qualities: An efficient performer who has improved his learning curve through awareness of experiences.

I recently shot a 5-under 67 which is a marvellous score no matter how good a player you are, and I am not that fantastic. I am normally quite content with anything in the mid 70's. I achieved this because I have managed to balance these three goal qualities.

Golf psychology has taught me how to improve performance just like a child does and I am truly thankful.

S.MacD.