By Paul Monahan, Graves Golf Mental Game Coach
Cam Young was in contention at the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic. But he had a problem.
The 27-year-old rookie of the year (2021-2022) has played some amazing golf lately – including shooting a 59 at the Travelers a week before the Tour stop in Detroit. And he has had seven runner-up finishes in his career, including two 2ndplace finishes in majors. But at this point, he has not cashed a winner’s check on the PGA Tour.
Cam is an incredibly talented player, but he also seems to be in struggle right now.
And while it might be understandable – his level of struggle totally avoidable with the right understanding of how the mind works.
You see, frustration for Cam Young (or any of us) is not a result of “bad” stuff happening in his golf game. It’s a result of how he thinks about what is happening. But only 100% of the time.
He likely has a story (as you do) about where he should be in his game right now. How many victories, trophies, winners’ checks, and even playing exemptions he should have by now.
So when reality – the thing that is happening in front of him – does not line up with his story, he gets frustrated. And when he gets frustrated, he tends to disconnect from his skillset. And that’s The Problem.
It’s true for him. And it’s true for us.
So, the next time you start to spin up and feel frustration on the course, remember that you are not frustrated by what happened. You are frustrated by your thinking about what happened.
Change your thinking, and you can be ready to play the next shot.
Dwell in the unproductive thinking, and you can say goodbye to the scores and the victories you have been hoping for.
-Paul Monahan
Author: The Most Important Game
Paul Monahan, CPC
Paul Monahan Coaching and Consulting
