Think

Opportunities are Everywhere

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By: Paul Monahan, Graves Golf Mental Game Coach

Note: Two years ago, following a week at the Alumni Camp in Orlando, I wrote about how we have opportunities all around us to practice tuning-up our mental game. As you get back on the course in more normal settings over the next few weeks – wherever you are – keep in mind that there are LOTS of opportunities to strengthen your mental game:

Just had a great week in Orlando at the GGA 5-Day Alumni Camp.

It was a fun week of learning, instruction, growth, as well as some great conversation about what it takes to perform at a high level.

My job at the camp last week was to help the attendees to expand their awareness of the mental and emotional dynamics that allow them to show up at their best.

Said a little differently, I was there to help them learn how to tune into their energetic presence…the mix of physical, mental emotional and other elements that merge to form what I refer to as performance energy.

I believe that the key to performing at your best consistently over time is to build awareness of self… and a knowledge of how the things around you are impacting your thoughts.

How does the experience of standing on the first tee with an audience of other golfers watching you impact your ability to access your skills? Does it make you feel nervous? And if it does, can you identify the actual thinking that produces that nervousness?

If you can identify the thinking, then you are well on your way toward increased awareness. And then you can do something about thoughts that are unproductive, versus ideas that are supportive of your efforts, goals, objectives…etc.

For example, you might realize that you are nervous because you don’t want to be embarrassed by duffing your tee ball into the woods. You don’t want the harsh judgment of others. Understandable.

But what’s another way to look at that? Perhaps all the guys behind you want nothing better than to see you hit it well. They too are capable of hitting it into the woods – by in their minds, they are behind you, pulling for you to hit a great shot.

Or perhaps, they don’t care that much at all. So then you can forget about all that worry and anxiety. After all, it’s just misplaced energy.

All that is left, then is for you to step up and hit it where you want to. (And accept that you can handle the results…no matter where the ball goes.)

We talked a lot last week about increasing awareness of what is happening on the golf course to play better golf.

But here’s the interesting thing: you can practice increasing your awareness all day long, anywhere you go. In traffic. At work. In your interactions with colleagues or those closest to you. There are opportunities ALL DAY LONG to tune into the thought patterns that are driving how you interpret your experiences.

My message to the group last week is the same message I give you here: if you want to improve how you play on the golf course, practice growing your awareness of self in every moment you can. Not just on the golf course, putting green, or during play, but in every situation you experience.

Try it this week. You will be surprised at how easy it is.

The opportunities are everywhere.

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

PROCESS = FREEDOM & RYDER CLUB OBSERVATIONS

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By Tim Graves, PGA & Bob Ciminera

From: Bob

Many thanks to you (Paul Monahan), Tim, and James for an excellent AI School last week.  The technical teaching and the constant encouragement were very motivating to me in my quest to improve my game.

To answer your questions:

1. My key insight was that Process = Freedom.  Starting with the word Trust followed by the Big Ideas you listed above … gave me an immediate feeling of liberation as I worked on my game all the way through the short game school last week.

2.  With respect to the Ryder Cup, I had the privilege of being invited by one of my suppliers, DP World, to be a live pectator over the weekend and flew from the Short game school to be there on Saturday.   I spent about 5 hours at the match until I decided that was enough and watched the rest on TV!   

My key insight was in alignment with what Tim said during the AAI school.  There was more pressure at this event for these guys than any other event.  The crowd was every bit as loud and rude as expected.  Great shots by the US were cheered loudly but shots that on any other day would be excellent were heckled by the crowd as if they could do better.and that was for the home team.  The reverse was true for the Europe team, bad shots were cheered and good shots …well … that quieted the crowd.  Creating an ironic motivation for the away team !.  Of course that did not shut up some of the more vocal, and drunk participants which I mostly spared myself of by leaving at 230PM.  The only saving grace perhaps was that the cheapest beer was $16.

It was clear that the Europeans as a group were better prepared to deal with that.  It seemed that the US preparation had the effect of increasing pressure on the team and ultimately overwhelmed whatever processes they had as they got up to make a shot.  There were many examples of this, the most obvious one was the missed birdie putt on Sunday that was left short for the match.  

Viktor Hovland provided one of my favorite quotes from an interview before the match which exemplifies the learnings from the AAI school:  When asked how he felt about the hecking at the match, he said “There’s going to be some comments here and there.  They won’t really come close to the thoughts in my own head.”  

I felt bad for Viktor Hovland that he had to withdraw especially in light of Tim’s connection but at least he contributed to a winning Ryder cup team.

Finally, I would love to see Tim and you do a podcast with your insights on the match similar to what you did for the Masters. 

Thank you again for a wonderful program.  I had high expectations and you, Tim, and James and the Graves team exceeded them.

Very much appreciated!

Best regards,

Bob Ciminera, AAI (Mental Game School) Alumnus

A Growth Mindset

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Paul Monahan GGA Mental Game Coach

Somehow, I have managed to meet so many amazing people in my life. People who have done incredible things, who love to challenge themselves, who understand that growth is a product of continuously revisiting important concepts, and who are ok experiencing a bit of discomfort because of it.

Truth be told, many of them are a part of this amazing Graves Golf Academy community. 

Without exception, these are people with a growth mindset – the term made famous years ago by researcher Carol Dweck in her book Mindset, The New Psychology of Success.

In Mindset, Dweck draws a distinction between those who operate with a fixed mindset – believing that it’s too risky to try new things, and those who operate with a growth mindset – believing that a fulfilled life is one in which we are constantly learning and growing until the day we die.

Speaking of growth mindset and amazing people, a few weeks ago I spent three days with my friends Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilsson at their Vision 54 school in Scottsdale. This was my third visit in the past four years. And it likely won’t be my last. 

Why not?

Because I continue to learn about myself and grow as a player and a coach. Because I continue to learn how to access the best version of myself – and not just my golf self. And because I see myself as a person who is on a growth mindset path.

In this reflection, I thought I would pass along a few things that I took away from my most recent experience at Vision 54.

Number one: I was taking too long in the Think Box (Red Zone)

I didn’t realize it, but I was flat-out spending LOADS of time back behind the ball as I prepared for each shot. In my (ego’s) defense, I sure that I was considering all kinds of worthy things like: wind direction, distance to the pin, distance to cover, target, envisioning the shot shape, and many more I’m sure. The problem was twofold. It was taking too long. And it wasn’t helping me.

Pia helped me to see that I could benefit greatly by spending less time behind the ball. I learned to quickly get a good yardage, pick the right tool, pick my spot in front of the ball, trust my intuition, and then get in the play box. It made a big difference.

Number two: I was thinking way too much in the Play Box (Green Zone)

This was a little surprising to me. But as I moved through the first day of on-course play, it occurred to me that I was bringing far too many swing thoughts into the green zone with me. The green zone is supposed to be the place where we aren’t thinking much at all, and where our only job is to get settled, pull the trigger and making a great swing. (Todd Graves says he likes to “play empty”…his term for describing what’s on his mind when he is hitting the ball.)

Funny thing – I thought I was doing a decent job in the green zone. But it became apparent to me as I thought about it that there was an opportunity to grow in this area. Luckily, I was in the right kind of space to explore that. 

Number three: My Memory Box (Gray Zone) was not nearly as positive as I thought it was.

Many people I know would peg me as a fairly positive dude. In fact, most of the time when I play, I am able to see the outcomes of my errant shots as feedback, not failure. (One of my favorite Chuck Hogan rules.) But I was little off that week, and what we noticed was that I was putting more negative energy on my less-than-perfect shots. And it was impacting my game. (In fact, at one point, Lynn asked me where the “real” Paul was. Apparently some other guy showed up in my place!)

So I took a breath and committed to anchoring to productive or neutral thoughts after each shot, and never the negative ones. It was harder than I thought. But soon I was growing the skill again of staying “up” and energetic after each shot, no matter the outcome.

Number four: Tempo is a great playing focus for me on the greens.

When I focus on tempo while putting, creating a calm measured feeling of back and forth through the ball, and NOT rushing, stabbing, or jerking the putter at the ball, everything works better. I found that my pace was outstanding, and my line was great too. Putting is so much more fun for me if I commit to feeling my tempo through to the end of the stroke.

Number five: I learned a ton from my fellow classmates.

For example, one player, made incredible strides because she figured out a way to NOT turn inward when she was struggling. She realized that for her, she had more resilience and played better if she stayed social and compassionate toward others even when she didn’t feel like it. At the end of the school, she reported that this was one of her most important takeaways.

Another player also made great strides in her Memory Box (Gray Zone) when she learned to compare herself only to herself – and to stop measuring her progress against others. 

Operating from a growth mindset is not the default mode for most humans you know. (We love certainty – and we struggle with change.)  But to truly grow, it means we must be willing to move into exploration mode. It means that we must move a little out of our comfort zone. It means that we must challenge our thoughts about who we are being, or what we have been doing. And that’s not always easy.

But for me, it’s the path I choose because I believe it makes life and golf (What’s the difference – right?)  so much more fulfilling. And because I just like hanging out with all you amazing people. 

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.

In Full Swing

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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 15th. 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:

  1. Watch season 1 episode 2 if you have not yet, or
  2. 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.

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