Think

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.

Stay CURIOUS My Friends

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Last year my wife and I joined a bowling league with a bunch of friends and now bowl once a month from September – May. It’s been a lot of fun learning what it takes to be more consistent, to roll the ball where I want to and to post higher scores.

And since I’m pretty competitive, I wanted to play at a high level if I could! So, I got my shoes and was fitted with a new ball. (Plus bag, rosin, slide powder, ball cleaner, you know, the works!)

(For your dangerous bowlers, you know that bowling is very complicated with lots of subtleties and nuance…it’s pretty fascinating!!)

For as long as I can remember, bowling has been a family tradition around the holidays. And this year was no different, except that we bowled twice while our boys were home. During one of the games, my son Joe decided that he wanted to throw my ball and so he rolled it a few times.

My new bowling ball is a “hook ball” …one that will hook to the left for a right-hander like me. It requires a different delivery methodology compared to a “straight” ball…and so it has taken me a little while to get used to it.

Joe is a pretty level-headed thinker. And when he first threw the ball, he immediately knew that he must have done something incorrectly. But he was calm and collected and in essence turned to me and just said. “How did that look?”

I offered him a couple of thoughts on how he could get closer to the model as I understood it, and he gave it another try. This time he got a lot closer, and the ball had a nice gentle right-to-left hook. Not perfect. But he made progress right away.

I believe that Joe’s success came from a willingness to be open to feedback AND a genuine curiosity about the process. He wasn’t stuck in his story or impacted by imperfect results. He took action, observed and tried to analyze what he saw. All without a lot of negative emotion, even though he didn’t get exactly the results, he might have hoped for it.

When is the last time you were curious about something? You know that feeling..a genuine interest in and wonder about what is happening, how something works, or how to make a specific thing better.

When we are truly curious, we are in a state of optimal receptiveness, and open to discovery. Being curious can be fun.

The journey of improving in bowling, our golf swing – or anything for that matter – is always enhanced when curiosity shows up for us. However, expectation often shows up instead. And when this happens, our emotional state intensifies as we measure reality against our story about what SHOULD be happening. (Not a great plan for maintaining a productive performance mindset.)

Frustration, anger, and irritation at the things that go “wrong” are how often we experience challenges. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You CAN shift your thinking – and your outcomes – by anchoring to CURIOSITY in those same difficult moments.

What does curiosity sound?

When you hit the driver OB on your first hole: Instead of: “Way to go you, big dummy!!” Try this. “Hmmm. That’s interesting. I wonder why that happened?”

When you miss that important putt: Instead of: “You are the WORST human being ever!!!!!!” Try this “That’s interesting. What can I learn from that?”

I know it seems a little far-fetched to engage in that kind of dialogue with yourself…but believe me, it works.

You have the right to be angry. But that anger may cause you to disconnect from your best thinking and ultimately, your ability to perform well.

Larry Senn, the author of Up the Mood Elevator, says that if leaders wanted to perform at their best, they have to work on being more curious. He said that the leader who can be curious about the things happening in front of them is FAR more able to tap into the best version of themselves.

Why? Because being curious creates a different feeling for us. It allows us to stay open and objective, and less judgmental or even annoyed.

The same is true for anyone who wants to perform at their best. Anywhere. Anytime.

As you start the new year and think about what you want to accomplish on the golf course, think about a commitment to cultivating CURIOSITY…the sense of wonder and real discernment that can lead to leaps in your skill and performance development.

So perhaps a motto for 2018 is one we can borrow from a famous beer commercial – with some modification:

All the best for a happy and prosperous 2018!

-Paul

PS…I’d love to hear how your ability to be curious in the face of challenge impacts your game. Drop me a note and let me know how it’s going: paul@paulmonahancoaching.com

Paul Monahan, PCC is a Peak-Performance coach, member of the International Coach Federation and a certified COR.E Performance Dynamics™ Specialist. He resides in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife Paula and is the proud dad to three young men. He works with elite-level performers and leaders, helping them to expand their awareness so that they perform at their best more consistently.

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