mental game

In Full Swing

March 19, 2023 by Paul Monahan

Paul Monahan GGA Mental Game Coach

March 19, 2023

If you have been anywhere near Netflix the past month, or talked to a golfing buddy who has been, you know that the documentary Full Swing was released on February 15^th. Full Swing follows a cast of top PGA / LIV Golf players throughout 2022, and chronicles the challenges, ups and downs, struggles, joys, complexity, and many other facets of what life is like at the elite levels of professional golf.

If you haven’t seen it yet, I think you’ll like it. Go check it out. If you have been watching it, I suspect you’d back me up.

Because this game we love is so mental, there are lots of moments throughout the Full Swing series that give us a glimpse into the mental dynamics of the PGA Tour player. But one thing came up in episode two that was, on the one hand a little surprising and on the other, quite validating.

The surprising part of episode 2 for me was – spoiler alert – how profoundly Brooks Koepka was struggling mentally in 2022. I think many people could see he was struggling on the course in 2021, and into 2022. His play during that stretch was not what we were used to seeing compared to the incredible results he posted over the prior three years.

But he’s had back issues, and other injuries…and because we don’t usually get a detailed behind the scenes look at players like Koepka, we never really know for sure what is going on for most golfers on the PGA Tour.

Full Swing has allowed us to see what we would normally not.

The validating part of episode 2 for me showed up in the juxtaposition between Koepka’s struggle and Scottie Scheffler’s breakthrough. It was validating because of what I wrote in this column just 10 months ago regarding the dynamics behind Scheffler’s amazing run of four victories in 57 days early in 2022. You can revisit the article from May 2022 here: Scottie’s Secret.)

In that article, I assessed that Scheffler’s success was as much a function of his productive mental game as it was the physical and mechanical skills that he was bringing with him onto the course.

So, without going into the detail (and spoiling if for those who have not seen it), I would invite you to play a little game:

Watch season 1 episode 2 if you have not yet, or
Go back and watch the episode again if you have already seen it

… with the intention of exploring two things:

See if you can identify the differences in mental games between Koepka and Scheffler. (Look for the answers to questions like: What thoughts are they anchored to that serve them? What are they stuck on that does not? How are they processing the game as it comes at them? What kind of language are they using about the game and their success or failure in it…etc.

See if you can capture the key elements of Scheffler’s mental game model (hint: it’s not complicated) and see if you can operationalize that model for yourself… that is, bring it out onto the course with you when you play.

The more I spend time around this game, the more I am convinced that we all need to start with building the inside game skills first. It is foundational to everything else. It’s a must have for maximizing and optimizing all our outside game skills… so that we can play at our best when it means the most. So that we can overcome the challenges of the game no matter the stakes or situation.

Have a great week!

-Paul

Paul Monahan, PCC is a Peak-Performance coach, member of the International Coach Federation and a certified COR.E Performance Dynamicsä Specialist. He resides in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife Paula and is the proud dad to three young men.

Why Having an Expert Model Is Good For Learning

February 26, 2013 by admin

2013 Monograph Series, #2 How Your Brain Really Works

Note: The goal of this series is simple – find practical applications of the latest brain science research to how one learns and stores movement. This includes all aspects of golf.

By Ron Cruickshank, Ph.D., Master Instructor, Toronto Canada

Recently, on TV, I watched Nik Wallenda, of the famed circus family, walking a high wire above an interstate in Sarasota, Florida. Just a few months previously he captivated millions of people on TV as he walked a high wire strung above Niagara Falls in conditions that included wind and mist. Each time I watched, an overriding question occurred to me. “How the heck did he learn to do that?”

His answer of course is that he was tutored by his famed Uncle Karl Wallenda and that he is in the 7^th generation of circus performers, dating back to 1760 during the era of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In a recent interview he said, “People say I’m insane all the time, but they don’t understand that this is something I’ve done since I was 2. It’s just in my blood.” In reality, from an epigenetics perspective (see last article) this is a very accurate statement. Nik Wallenda had a high quality model available to him for learning high wire walking from birth.

Putting the motivational aspect aside, the prevailing question I wish to address is how does one really learn to walk on a tight rope (or learn a competent golf swing)? Walking on a 5/8 inch wire is a very demanding task that requires complex balancing and timing skills in a hazardous environment. Also in consideration is emotional management (fear), mental focus (at 200 feet above the ground you best be paying attention and able to delete extraneous input) and the mechanics such as cable tension, wind, rain, mist, lighting, your grip on the balancing pole, the weight of the pole, its composition as well as host of other things that could influence the outcome. Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

To help us answer this question I turned to golf expert, trick roper and western humorist, Will Rodgers. Actually, I don’t know if he played golf, but I found the following quote attributed to Mr. Rodgers and decided he must have intimate knowledge of golf. He said. “Long ago, when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today it’s called golf.” Only a man familiar with the game could have this kind of insight.

Anyway, relative to learning, Will Rodgers once made a sage and apropos observation. He said there are three strategies men use to learn:

The ones that learn by reading.
The few who learn by observation.
The rest that have to pee on the electric fenceand find out for themselves.

In the vast amphitheater of options available to us for learning golf, I think this is an accurate categorizing of the learning process most of us use to learn the game. Think about the process by which you learned to play golf.

Did you read Ben Hogan’s classic book Five Lessonsor one by Nicklaus, Player, Snead, Jones, Ballard and a host of others then try to learn by matching the pictures and absorbing the dialogue? (Learn by reading)
Did you discover Natural Golftapes or Graves Golf CD’s and attempt to learn visually?
Did you have a teacher or golf mentor and seek to imitate what he or she did? (Learn by observation)
Did you get some clubs and start banging away, learning along the way from your own mistakes and success? (Peeing on the electric fence)

Perhaps you might have used all three methods or some composite. I know I did. I started as a number three learner (electric fence guy) when a golf team member in college gave me an old Arnold Palmer putter. Pretty soon I bought an old used set of Wilson Staff irons, some Sam Snead woods and began to read Golf Digest and anything else I could find. I spent most of my spare moments (and some study time meant for Chemistry III) going to the golf course and in the evenings would hit wedges on the soccer field. I was on the path to becoming a nice solid 90’s shooter until the soccer Coach found a series of deep divots next to the goal.

I studied hard and remained committed- hitting a LOT of balls. I spent a bunch of money, attended some golf schools and while I got somewhat better I realized it was because I was developing a really good short game. My ball striking was still just moderate at best, but I never knew how I would hit it from day to day. The truth was, I didn’t know how to get better and my model was to just keep peeing on the electric fence and hoping I would get better.

It wasn’t until I became aware of and adopted Moe Norman as a swing model did I actually start to get better as a ball striker. For the first time in my golfing career I could depend that my swing would show up reliably. Improved results began to happen. The question for us here is – why did adopting a model help my learning process? The second question of more import to you is – will embracing a model speed up the learning process in acquiring an effective golf swing for you?

Will Using an Expert Model Accelerate Learning?

The answer is yes. The use of an effective model to learn from is better than not having one. Learning that is only based on error and correction (peeing on the electric fence) can be highly effective, but it takes a long time and doesn’t always produce the results because you might not figure out a cognitive solution to the problem. Unlike Moe, you could actually hit a million balls and not get better if you don’t make the correct adjustments along the way.

By the way, I am not ignoring the obvious counter to this statement – without his experimentation, Moe would not have discovered his bio-mechanically improved method to strike a ball. However, unless you have time to hit 1-2 million balls over the next few years while keeping track of what makes your muscles sore, I believe it is more effective to find a good model and emulate.

Fundamentally, having an expert model can reduce the amount of reasoning effort and problem solving necessary on the front end of learning a sound golf swing. Having the correct (proven to work by the expert) information saves you time because you don’t have to discover everything for yourself. You can literally short-cut the process by getting the right information before you start beating thousands of balls while you search for ‘the secret in the dirt’.

Practicing without error is not the objective. We learn best through discovery as the brain stores constant iterations and then improves. Having a model allows us to discover concepts governing the movement, and therefore we aren’t just mimicking the movement, we are giving ourselves a ruler to measure ourselves against. This is really a form of what the neuroscience people call augmented feedback – in other words, this is feedback you can get from an external source and not your own senses.

The science is clear – the most effective way to learn a movement skill is to have an expert model to observe and then have expert feedback to reduce the number of iterations you must perform to learn the skill. That is it!

In practical terms the best strategy sequence for learning that optimizes the way the brain works is as follows:

Adopt an expert model (Moe Norman is the one we recommend)
Observe and attempt to reproduce the behavior (images, CD’s, training aids)
Get regular expert feedback (put yourself on film and observe, get a lesson, attend a school or send in a tape and get feedback)

What do you have to lose except a poor golf swing? As I researched Nik Wallenda I ran across this quote and thought it superb. He said, “Fear is a choice. Danger is real.” There is no reason why you can’t have a reliable and consistent golf swing if you are willing to go about it differently. This isn’t rocket science folks.. this is brain science!

Why changing proves difficult

September 10, 2011 by admin

Over the past 7 1/2 years of my time learning, and now teaching the Moe Norman Single Plane swing to golfers worldwide, one of the most common frustrations that arise is the difficulty of making a change in the mechanics or movement. Through years of observation, I’ve found that it’s not due to a lack of desire to make the necessary change(s), nor necessarily from a lack of effort.

Sometimes, I’ve seen making changes be difficult due to lack of flexibility or mobility in a necessary body part, however, those things can be overcome a majority of the time.

I’ve always found it fascinating that when a golfer is presented Moe Norman’s Single Plane swing, and understands the golf swing as a motion to achieve an ideal impact position, they’re desire to use and match Moe as the ideal human model is very, very high. I mean, the Single Plane swing just makes sense.

But the question still remains, Why is changing or making changes to the golf swing, difficult?

To shed some light on the answer to this questions, I want to take you back to your childhood. The first question I have for you is this: How did you learn to tie your shoes?

Funny questions, I know, but think about it for a minute. Tying your shoes today is a mechanical process that you don’t even think about to accomplish. You just tie your shoes, right?

As the father of a 7 year old boy, this story is current for me, as we’ve been working with him to teach him to tie his shoes for about 9 months now. (Maybe he’s just a slow learner, or maybe he’s more interested in wearing shoes now with Velcro, but I digress).

When you learned to tie your shoes, you had someone show you how to do it. You watched as an adult demonstrated how to tie the shoelaces. Then, maybe they took your hands and tried to guide you through the process. And then you tried it on your own, and although you likely can’t remember, you probably didn’t ace the tying on your first solo try. As time passed, and you continued to practice the task of tying your shoes, you first were completely incompetent at completing the task, then you gained some competency, then, with practice, you gained mastery.

Now, thinking back on learning to tie your shoes, do you still tie your shoes to this day exactly like the person who showed and taught you? I’d be willing to be that you do.

So let’s bring that story into the context of our golf swings. As we do, let’s first think about the process you went through as a child learning to tie your shoes.

First, you had a model. Someone showed you how to do it.
Second, you watched the model demonstrate the task, likely over and over.
Next, you tried to imagine yourself completing the task
You then tried the task by yourself and likely failed miserably
And you continued to practice the task, failing, correcting, and failing, until at some point, you were able to accomplish the task.
With more repetition, you then mastered the task, and it became a subconscious habit.

When it comes to the golf swing, my belief is that we can have no better model than Moe Norman. The greatest ball striker to ever live is a pretty good model in my book. Many reading this will have watched Moe’s swing, or even purchased instruction from us about learning the swing, like the Single Plane Solution. And if you’ve watched Moe’s swing, have the instruction, you likely have tried to implement what you’ve seen, and this is the point that most golfers get stuck.

Some of the most comical comments I get from golfers go something like this; “I purchased your DVD’s, watched them yesterday, and tried Moe’s swing on the course today, and it just didn’t work.” The unfortunate and sad part of that comment is that the golfer skipped about 4 steps in the learning process, and made a judgment on those results.

Changing any dynamic bodily movement must go through the learning process, and in my years, this is where most golfers cheat themselves; they don’t submit themselves to the learning process, and lose any chance of making truly significant and positive changes to their games. It’s a sad reality of this game, however, for those who understand that there is a process of learning and submit themselves to that process, the rewards are great.

In conclusion, in order to get past the difficulty of making changes that most golfers have, you simply have to return to your youth and understand that you must crawl before you walk, and walk before you run. The process of learning doesn’t exempt us because of age, experience, or wealth. It must be adhered to, and for those that do, regardless of age, experience, or wealth, the rewards they reap are worth the effort and time that the process requires.

To your success,

Scott

IT

January 6, 2011 by admin

As the story goes, I was playing the Canadian Tour – and we had reached Toronto, the East Canada swing. I usually only hung out with Moe on the East side of Canada because he was there in the summer. This particular time I was playing the tournament at the Royal Woodbine Golf Club, a golf course very near the Toronto Airport.

Moe showed up the day of the practice round as I was warming up on the driving range. I asked him to hit a few balls as all of the players on the tour gathered around to watch. After he hit balls for about an hour with a crowd of 25 CPGA tour players, we decided to have lunch in the clubhouse.

At the time in my career, I was struggling with-Moe’s swing – my clubface was closed at the top of the backswing and, as a result, I often hooked the ball. Moe seemed to know what I was going through and as we were eating our sandwiches he said, “You won’t believe your eyes when you get it – you won’t believe your eyes”.

At the time, I really didn’t understand fully what he meant. I obviously knew that he saw a problem in my swing and I understood the “It” part but I didn’t comprehend what he meant by “won’t believe my eyes”.

Many years later, after a bit of frustration of still hooking the golf ball that I changed my lead hand grip to a fully neutral position (I struggled with this for a long time). Of course it felt horrible and I hit the ball terribly for a month or so. My swing, however, looked very good on video but because of the grip change the clubface was in a perfect position at the top of the backswing, however, I struggled with squaring the face at impact and fully releasing the club. (This is very common if you have a strong lead hand grip).

After taking some time to practice, fighting through the frustration, and working on the feeling of the lead hand position for a few months, (and to be truthful I really can’t even understand how exactly), one day the ball began to sound different than any time I had practiced before.

What was even more exciting was that my shots began to have the most incredible flight. I was hitting a 5 iron and I can honestly say I had never seen my ball fly so high, pure and straight. Since then, I have never had a problem with my grip and I have never lost it. Later that year, when Moe he saw me hit the ball he said ‘I told you so, you can’t believe your eyes- can you?” – He remembered our lunch in Toronto.

So what was “It” that Moe was referring to?

The “it” Moe talked about was simply the feeling of great swing mechanics, which resulted in great ball flight. More specifically the perfect movement of the golf club AND the movement of the body that created it.

If you had the privilege to see Moe strike a golf ball in person, you would have immediately noticed the sound and flight of the golf ball. Moe often described it as “pure”. This pure sound and flight were the result of great swing mechanics. Moe had “It”. “It” is similar to making an apple pie. You have all of the ingredients but it only tastes like apple pie when all of the ingredients are correctly mixed and properly baked.

“It” is when a child learns to ride a bike. At first, riding requires training wheels then, eventually he feels how to balance, pedal and steer. Suddenly, when the training wheels are removed, he is riding the bike. He gets “it”.

“It” is the result of having all of the right ingredients in all of the right places, at the right time resulting in a perfect result.

In my case, “It” was years of hard work, trial and error, studying Moe’s move, talking with Moe, making changes, plenty of frustration and hours and hours of practice. These were my ingredients.

“It” happens when you, at the subconscious level, are able to perform the given task without thinking about it. It just happens because, at a very deep subconscious level, that can only be reached through practice and repetition, “It” is the only way you know how to do it.

So, what are your “It” ingredients and how do YOU get it.

Well, this is what we (the Graves Golf Academy) are all about. Helping you get the ingredients you need to get “It”. The ingredients might vary for some however, there are definitely certain things that are the same for everyone.

One thing that I recommend is to do your best to “shortcut” this process – one way to do this is to use video analysis and get consistent and frequent instruction in the process while you are developing and changing your swing. If you do this, you can speed up the process and with a little hard work and practice, you won’t believe your eyes either.

Are you a One-Percenter??

December 20, 2010 by admin

I attend a group called Strategic Coach – an organization to help assist entrepreneurs on making progress, expanding their businesses and building value in our perspective industries. Strategic Coach is about businesses and people, just like you and me, making a better world buy creating valuable companies and most of all valuable products that SERVE people. For what use is a business if it does not serve? I love the organization. I inspire me and my business to do and be better. It also provides a fresh outlook at goals and progresses each quarter. It has become my way of refreshing my outlook at the golf business.

The “Coach” as we call it, consists of various business owners from numerous types of businesses. From accountants to restaurant owners and of course, a golf instructor. The “Coach” is a way of entrepreneurs helping each other.

While no business is easy, I am amused at how many people look at their business as “tough”. This especially holds true for the golf business. But in our coaching class, one thing is amazingly obvious. There are standouts – no matter how difficult their business is. And most of the Coach participants are standouts – these are people who take the extra steps, go the extra mile and believe in themselves. So much so that they invest substantial amounts of time and money to get do whatever they can to succeed. The “Coach” is about the successful people becoming more successful. It is about people helping themselves, expanding their awareness and developing their potential and then helping others.

It is the subject of “developing potential” that I want to explore – or what I want you to explore. What we have found in the “Coach” is that all of us, no matter what business we are in, have a 1-percent club. The 1-percent club is those of us, whether accountants or golfers, that exceed beyond the “average”. You know who I am talking about. These are the guys and gals that, while everyone is sleeping in bed, they are going to the gym, or hitting an extra 50 putts before dark. But what I have found, is that these 1-percenters have a particular mindset that sets them apart. This mindset allows them to see the world differently and because of it, expand their own worlds.

Without sounding too abstract, doesn’t it make sense that we are all a product of our decisions and thoughts – because we act upon these thoughts?

Let me take this concept directly to your golf game because, usually during a golf season, I see many of the 1-percenters at my golf schools. To put it another way, I don’t see the 99-percenters because they would never come to a golf school. Why? Because the 99 percenters don’t understand the importance of instruction or taking extra steps to achieve a goal. So to better define the 1-percenters, let me start by defining the 99 percenters with one main attribute that they all seem to have in common – they complain about not being better than they currently are.

Why do I find complaining so interesting. Because it’s not that the 1-percenters don’t complain. The difference is that the 1-percenters complain and then do something about it. The 99-percenters don’t. I have found that one of the main differences between the 1-percenters and 99-percenters is simply taking action. The 1 percenters are always taking action. They are doers and changers. If something doesn’t work, they try again and again and again. The 99 percenters might try but then, if it doesn’t work the first time, they quit – complain and then blame someone or something for their failure.

I see every year – during schools as I watch students improve and progress. Just being at the school is a good start toward the 1-percent club however, it is the follow-through that gets you the merit badges. What do I mean by follow through? Follow through is what happens after the school in the following months and years.

Here is something that the 1-percenters know that the 99-percenters don’t.

Progress takes time

This is the toughest thing for golfers to accept. But here’s the problem: Golf swing progress should be measured by a technique not ball-striking results.

I have heard professionals say it numerous times – that you should improve in every lesson but this depends on what you call improvement. Personally, I have never seen anyone change their golf swing in ONE lesson. While I have seen dramatic progress the goal of a lesson is to get the proper feelings of what is correct. Then you can go train.

To Train means to repeat feelings.

My love for teaching comes from helping people feel what is correct – and watching their light bulbs go off. Then, after training the feelings, results come in a huge way. I sometimes don’t get to see the ball-striking results but seeing the changes in student’s feelings during a school is what keeps me teaching.

As in my coaching class, we all strive to be in the 1-percent club. Or at least we would like to think that we are. The question we must ask ourselves can be honest, is whether we deserve to be in the 1-percent club. Ben Hogan, when asked to give a lesson to a friend of mine said “no”. He said “dig it out of the dirt”. Obviously, Hogan considered himself a member of the club. Digging it out of the dirt was Hogan’s way of saying that you have to work for it and when you do, it pays off.

We are heading into 2011 looking back at 2010 in our rear-view mirrors. Can you honestly say that you were a 1-percenter las year. No matter whether you answer yes or no, all you have is now, today. So what will you do today that can get you into the 1-percent club tomorrow. I don’t know about you but I’m making a list of goals. I’m headed for the 1-percent club. Why? Because I don’t really like complaining.

Your Body Wants to Do What You Tell It! Managing Your Internal Dialogue

November 1, 2010 by admin

The purpose for working on your mind game is to optimize your mental, emotional and physical states while engaging in the game of golf. This series on the Mental Game is focused on providing you techniques to accomplish this objective.

Technique: Managing Your Internal Dialogue

Bill was a shot ahead in his club championship on the final day. On the first tee he pulls his drive deep left into the woods and he immediately begins to berate himself with a series of invectives that culminates in slamming his driver back into his bag. He walks down the fairway shaking his head and mumbling to himself. “You dummy… you idiot, what a dumb way to start.” The day goes downhill from there as the mistakes begin to accumulate. Remember that day? Perhaps you’ve started a round this way yourself?

I have an important question concerning the above scenario. How does your brain and body know you are just kidding and don’t really mean it? The answer is, it doesn’t.Whoops. Do you really want to send a message to yourself that you are a dummy? Do you actually believe this message? I think not. When analyzed, this is just your way of demonstrating your disappointment in yourself and your performance in that moment.

Let’s examine this phenomenon for a minute. What we know is that your body is always arranging itself to support the state you are in, whether you are aware and conscious of that state or not.

For evidence I would ask you to try the following. Stand up and demonstrate being mildly depressed. Having done this demonstration dozens of times I know what you will do. You will drop your shoulders, look down and to your right, change your breathing to your abdomen area and let your entire body go into a slouch. The reason, you KNOW what a state of depression looks like and can represent that state in your body. It is your body’s way of doing what you are asking.

Now, try the same exercise, only this time, demonstrate being very exuberant. You will pull back your shoulders, look up and begin to breathe briskly from your upper chest and most likely begin to smile slightly. Again, your body is arranging itself to support the state you are instructing it to adopt. With this arrangement, comes an entire supporting internal set of chemicals, both good and bad.

Here is a statement that most people find profound once they understand the implication for self-management. For every thought, you have there is an associated physiology. For every physiology you have, there is an associated thought.

That’s right. Your body is always listening to your dialogue and seeking to put itself into a supportive state, even if that state is not resourceful. Remember my example of how Bill’s performance went downhill as he told himself he was a dummy and an idiot? He was literally undermining himself by ensuring his mind and body and emotions were in a non-resourceful state. He wasn’t giving himself a chance

Managing Your Internal Dialogue

Unless you are electrically or chemically altered you have a constant stream of dialogue running through your mind. Your internal dialogue is that omnipresent voice that is constantly pumping out advice, warnings, adulation, or admonitions. Often times your dialogue is plainly nonsense. What I want you to understand is that your body and emotions are paying attention.

Therefore, it makes sense to be aware of what instructions you are issuing and practice positive dialogue and techniques when seeking to become skilled at any sport (or anything else in your life). This approach holds true whether you are practicing on the range or playing around.

There are two approaches to managing your internal dialogue that I’ve found work well.

Block the dialogue for a brief period. With training and practice you can learn to shut your internal dialogue down briefly (10 seconds is really good). If you are plagued by too many thoughts during your swing, try these techniques.
1. Try humming during your shot. You can’t hum and think at the same time.
2. Focus on your breath by being aware of the air coming in and out.
Become aware of when your dialogue turns negative and learn how to re-program your thoughts into a positive direction.
1. Develop a series of ‘go to’ positive statements about specific conditions you will experience in playing golf. You hit a bad shot and your thinking is to “store this as feedback for getting better” or “how lucky I am to be out here playing golf”or “what an interesting game”.
2. When you become aware of negative thoughts, give yourself 20 seconds to let go of the negative emotion. Go ahead and have the negative emotion and then let it go.
3. Establish what we call the 10-YARD RULE.This means you never allow yourself to ruminate on a bad shot more than 10 yards from where you hit it. Rumor has it that this is one of Tiger’s secrets.

Practice these management techniques prior to getting on the course or range and you will shorten the time between having a negative dialogue and eliminating it. Remember, your objective is to optimize your performance, so keep your resourcefulness at peak states and give yourself a chance.

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