mind coach

Resilience Is Your Super Power

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By Paul Monahan, GGA Mental Game Coach

College football is so exciting because you never know what is going to happen. You never know how teams will respond to adversity.

A while back I was watching one of the Marquee College Football matchups of the week – and can’t help but think about how well both teams responded to challenges and setbacks.

If you watched the Penn State vs. Ohio State game, you know that the Nittany Lions scored on the first play of the game, and added another touchdown only a few minutes later to go up 14-0 early in the first quarter. And they led until just under two minutes in the game.

Penn State has an incredible team, and you could hardly blame the Ohio State players if they felt a little deflated early on. I mean, how do you get back in the game when you are dominated so thoroughly and so soon?

What you may not know however is that the Ohio State team has a unique resource: a peak performance coach by the name of Tim Kight who teaches resilience – something I believe is a real Super Power when it comes to realizing your best performances. Kight’s goal: to help the OSU football players master a new language and produce supportive self-talk to navigate through setbacks successfully.

Kight’s work is not the only thing that determines the team’s results. And it doesn’t always produce the results they want. But more often than not, his work cultivates a performance dynamic for the players to operate from a productive mindset and play their best, no matter the situation.

Mental and emotional resilience – the capacity to bounce back from challenges, disappointments, and setbacks quickly – is such an essential part of golf as well.

In today’s column, I will present some concepts that may allow you to think differently about setbacks, and help you to build your capacity to be resilient while practicing and playing.

I believe that with some intention and awareness, you can build MORE resilience into your practice and play so that this single-plane-swing journey is a lot easier and way more fun.

How?

First, we have to start with some basics.

There is only one reason why you experience adversity, but it’s probably not the reason you think.

Here’s how we often process challenges on the golf course our self-talk sounds like this:

Seems logical, but the truth is quite different.

You see, you’re not upset because you drove it into the trees, skulled a wedge across the green or missed that easy four-footer on the last green.

You’re mad for a much more fundamental reason.

That’s right. You’re upset because the REALITY you are experiencing does not align with your STORY about what you SHOULD be experiencing.

(Read that again. It’s super talented.)

You’re not mad because you drove it into the woods. You’re crazy because your STORY says you should be able to hit the fairway…or perhaps that guys like you don’t run it into the woods.

The stories you anchor in critical moments shape how you interpret each moment. And when your reality and your story are misaligned, it’s easy to understand any moment as bad, negative, disappointing, frustrating…etc.

If you played golf with me when I was 20, you’d understand why I threw my clubs all the time…or why I played the game so frustrated.

It wasn’t because I was producing terrible shots. (Though there were LOADS of those!) It was because my STORY and my reality were not aligned. My story was: “I should be able to produce great shots all the time.” And yet my fact was entirely different, and it was hard to be resilient.

So what to do?

I believe that there are three easy ways to build more resilience in your golf game.

  • Be more aware of your internal mechanics:

Awareness is both a skill and a discipline. When you bring knowledge of your own mental and emotional state to the golf course, you can improve how you play and experience the game.

But you need to work at it…and be intentional about it.

Your brain is continually monitoring your environment looking for nominal conditions. And when situations fall outside of theoretical – when reality and story are not aligned – red flags go up, and your emotional intensity rises.

But missing a four-footer just means that you lost a four-footer. The event itself is neutral. It doesn’t say anything until you – guided by your internal mechanics – decide it does.

So pay more attention to your internal mechanics…the part of your brain that signals potential danger – and that can take you out of productive thinking if you are not careful.

And when you are facing adversity ask yourself: Is this a disaster …? Or is this something more benign?

Take a few moments the next time you show up to practice or play, and try and assess your own mental and emotional state. And work to be more aware of when your internal mechanics are trying to hijack your game.

Heard It a Thousand Times … The Grip…

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By Tim Graves, PGA

From: jay@log….
Subject: The GRIP!
To: Tim Graves <timg@gravesgolf.com>

I’ve heard it more than a thousand times…

I finally figured out just how the grip ‘feels’.  And now I am able to  confirm that I have the grip correct.

Positioning on the handle…

Correct overlapping of the trail hand little finger…

Lead hand thumb comfortably in the crease of the palm pad of the trail hand…

I was amazed when I finally ‘felt’ the proper fit of my hands on the club handle.  I always fidgeted with my grip before coming to address—and thought it was correct.  But when I accidentally did it right, I ‘felt’ it immediately.

After all the hands-on instruction, I never really got it.  And I just sort of stumbled into it while fidgeting.  The result was immediate transformation and much improved direction, distance and accuracy with all clubs—especially my driver.

Thanks for harping on the importance of the Grip.

Merry Christmas to You and Yours!

Jay C. / Pie Town, NM

*****
Additional Grip Help / Instruction: Go to: https://gravesgolf.com/product-support/

Click on GGA Grips (2 Instruction Videos about proper grip / hold of club)

Smooth Authority

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By Tim Graves, PGA

Mark W. (East Saint Louis, MO)

To: Timg@Gravesgolf.com

Hey Tim;

I just wanted to say thank-you and to share my experience playing yesterday due to some freakishly warm weather in St. Louis.

This month I have been working on my putting, chipping and pitching (into a tarp) in the basement for a few minutes daily and tracking the time spent. It’s amazing how spending 7 to 12 minutes a day per discipline can add up – so far this month I’ve practiced my putting stroke alone for 3 hours plus (23 of 27 days). I have incorporated your teachings on ball position, shaft lean and hands down the line and continue to work to ingrain them.

Your tips during the FF <Fast Forward> presentation – specifically the single trail hand drill that Tiger used, and the short backstroke to promote acceleration – were golden. Yesterday – the first real round in over 6 weeks – I had 30 total putts with no three putts. What’s more – I had several 4-6 footers that due to your acceleration drill went in the hole with smooth authority!

Thank-you for all that you do to share your insights – very grateful for you and the GG team.

Mark

Enjoy your day – “The Best Is Yet To Come”

Fast Forward Information:

http://gravesgolf.com/fast

Winter Training – Get Ahead of Your Buddies

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By: Tim Graves, PGA

It’s the off-season for golf. Your golf buddies are eating turkey and getting fat. I can’t think of a better time to get the edge on them. So get off the couch and let’s get practicing!

Students often ask how to improve their games in the off-season. And most of you who have participated in our instruction know that we strongly promote many types of practice away from the driving range – in your own home, even while you watch football.

We have quite a few options for working on your game in the winter. Here are some ideas:

1) Always work on flexibility strength and fitness. Remember, you are an athlete if you play golf. Train like an athlete. See our Single Plane On Demand App and in particular our “Flexibility and Exercise Video” for more information. Also “Improve your Move” Video is great for indoor training.

2) Practice positions in front of a mirror – all of the positions of the swing. Training on creating new habits / new positions in front of the mirror. Remember, the slower you do it, the faster you will get it. Use the Single Plane Position Trainer to work on positions in front of the mirror. Work with a online coach to make sure you are training correct and working on habits you need to improve.

3) Find (or build) an indoor studio where you can hit balls into net. Use video to look at your swing and compare to Moe and model the Single Plane Swing. Indoor – Net practice is great for making changes in the winter and with a net you will still be focusing on swing positions rather than ball flight. A VERY good thing.

4) Practice your short game inside, in particular your putting stroke (using Excalibur Trainer) and chipping stroke. Remember, short game is just smaller version of full swing. Working on short game will not only help you scoring part of game, but can also help your full swing (aka – “Two Birds”).

5) Work on your mental game over the winter. Green / Red and Grey Zones (Preshot, In-Shot and Post Shot routines). Work on improving your practice regimens, work on improving your mental game on and off the course.

I can’t think of a better time to work on your game: swing, flexibility, short game and mental game over the winter. You are not rushed over the winter, anything you improve will get you ahead of those who are not practicing and you will not be working hard in early spring trying to get back to where you were when season ended last year…

We can help.

STRONGLY recommend looking into our Winter Fast Forward Training Program. Includes full swing, short game, fitness and flexibility and mental game training / work over the winter. A three month program starting in middle of December that will guarantee improvement and getting you ahead of all those “sitting” over the winter.

More information about Winter Fast Forward Training Program: CLICK HERE

Or email me at timg@gravesgolf.com

I will be happy to get you information about our Winter Fast Forward Training Program.

“Mind Boggling” – Holy Crap / Brighten Your Day Email Part 2

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By Tim Graves, PGA

From: D A JENSON <jenson*****>
Date: Mon, Dec 8, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Subject: Follow-up
To: Tim Graves <timg@gravesgolf.com>

Hey Tim, 

This is Dean Jenson again.  I just got the email with your video about my email.  I was chuckling when you described what I was likely doing in my swing.   You nailed everything, of course. 

Just to fill in some blanks, I had the body damage mentioned from my sports activities earlier in my life.  Boys will be boys.

I spent one winter looking at different golf swings and settled on the single plane because of the reduced strain on the back and lead knee.    

My ACL damage was significant.  If I slipped a little shoveling snow, I would be down on the ground instantly.  I had to be very conscious of foot placement. I got the ACL replacement when pro athletes started returning to their sport after having the procedure done.  The problem for golf was 15 years of conscious and subconscious knee protection.  Correct lead knee movement and trail hip motion took years to override the self-protection mechanisms. 

I am not going to get into my shoulder and arm issues.  However, after talking with other students at your schools that I have been to, I feel relatively unscathed.  I suspect overcoming self-protection mechanisms might be slowing down other students’ learning processes as well.  I first had to slowly hit each position and hold it and tell myself that it was a safe position for me to be in. I had to repeat those slow movements a lot before I could speed up my swing.  Your comments about the 25, 50, 75 then full swing are great practice methods for the swing.   But they were also very helpful for tip toing in to find out my body parts could perform the movements safely. 

I decided last Thanksgiving that bike riding indoors and outdoors would be my main source of exercise for life.  Watching pro bike races got me interested in training.  Training harder got me into the pro rider’s health habits.  That got me and my wife into better nutrition, which was already good thanks to my wife.   I started getting into joint mobility and stretching after seeing and listening to you and Chris.  My wife made stretching a little competitive as she would ask me if I could do some of her Yoga poses.  I couldn’t, and my hips would actually cramp up just from sitting on the floor and spreading my legs out.   That was freaky.   I have been working on hip flexibility regularly for the last year and will continue whole body mobility as long as I breathe.   I am conscious of and work towards keeping full shoulder range of motion.  The golf swing itself helps with that.  The golf exercises from Chris, of course, are tremendous.  I may not get stronger, but flexibility will help maintain my golf swing’s range of motion.  It appears to me that range of motion is most important for the proper swing positions to take place and create the effortless power you talk about regularly.    

In the last month I have begun to feel effortless power.   I actually feel I need to slow the swing down.  I was always trying to swing hard to make up for a less than perfect swing.   Maybe it is not slowing things down but just using less tight muscled-up force.  I have reached a connectedness in the swing where I can feel I am hitting the ball hard; it sounds different as well.   The ease of the swing now makes me feel I could easily do 36 holes a day if I wanted to.   It is just mind boggling seeing the changes in the last 2 months.  

This is getting a little long again, sorry.  Apparently, I don’t do short emails.    

Thanks Again,

Dean Jenson 

Practice Slower, Play Faster

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By Paul Monahan, Graves Golf Mental Game Coach

Sounds like a directive. Right?

Actually I think of it as a mental game approach. Here’s why:

At almost every Graves Golf school I attend, lots and lots of students are doing their level-best to achieve the Single Plane Swing model. But many, if not most suffer because of two important missteps.

They practice too quickly. And they PLAY the game too slowly.

Interestingly, these are not execution missteps (caused by lack of focus or an inability to understand a strategy)…they are mental game failures.

Let me explain, first with the concept of Practicing Slower.

The Single Plane Swing curriculum that Todd and Tim Graves and their instruction team have refined over the years is based on the very latest in skill development research: that we learn best from slow, deliberate and proper practice movements. (Not beating balls over and over again.)

One simply cannot groove and assimilate new body positions without this kind of work.

Moe Norman famously said to Todd and Tim that he once spent an entire day holding what we call position five. Why? Moe said he wanted to “…make it stronger.”

Just last week I heard Todd tell the story that when one of their Master Instructors was converting from conventional to the Single Plane Swing, he was known to spend hours on the practice range working on one thing: perfecting his move into position one.

Why won’t most students spend their practice time like this? One word: Their EGO.

It’s more satisfying to the EGO to hit ONE great shot every once in a while rather than spend the time needed to master a position or two.

In other words, even though it is a rational-enough concept (practicing slowly during your swing development), it is much harder to do because a part of your brain wants to “show the world” what you are capable of.

The harsh reality in all of this is: Until you SLOW DOWN and develop a deliberate practice regimen that includes far MORE correct body movement and far LESS actual shots with a ball, you will continue to delay the mastery of the Single Plane Swing. (Sorry. That’s just the way it is.)

This requires cultivating the awareness that your EGO will try to sabotage a regimen like this. It requires that you learn to tune into your mental and emotional tendencies…and be disciplined enough to stay on track with the deliberate, deep practice that will yield the changes you are looking for.

Dan Coyle wrote about this in  The Talent Code…and Todd and Tim refer often to the research and insights from Coyle’s work. Skill development comes from deep, deliberate, proper practice.

Now let’s address Playing Faster:

When it comes to playing the game, most players play too slowly. Specifically, they tinker and hover too long over the ball when they are hitting their shots. This causes paralysis by analysis – and yes…this is an actual technical term.

Sian Beilock, in her book Choke chronicles the trouble we get into when we linger over a golf shot too long. Basically, she explains that the part of our brain that is responsible for moving the body in space (procedural memory) switches off in those moments, and then our working memory takes over. This causes over-thinking and less-than-optimal muscle movement. (And yes, often is causes: The Choke)

The antidote? Play faster. Stop lingering. Pull the trigger over your shots sooner. This will prevent over-thinking and will allow you to play golf more as a reactionary sport…and you will be able to execute shots up to your talent level, not BELOW your talent level.

So if you want to get better this year, do yourself a favor and tune up your Mental Game skills: create a discipline to practice slower when off the course, and to play faster when on it.

Have Fun!

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