It is a matter of common golf knowledge that pressure generally results in higher scores. We recognize that most of us do not play as well in tournaments as we do in casual golf. Too often practice rounds prior to a tournament do not give us a good clue as to who the winners will be.
The reason for the higher scores is the addition of psychological variables. These psychological variables are not generally present except under tournament conditions. Since most of us do not participate in many tournaments, we have the fear that generally accompanies action in an unknown area. We play a worse game than we are capable of playing. Those who are tournament tough, but who are no better golfers than others, come much closer to their normal scores.
Some golfing gamblers have taken advantage of this by making bets that are larger than their opponents are accustomed to. The story is told of a football coach who was also a good golfer. When he was winning his matches, the pressure would naturally be on his opponent, and there was no problem. When he was losing, he would keep on refreshing the bets and would inevitably recoup on the final holes or hole.
On one occasion, he had a short putt for a par on the final hole. His wealthy opponent had one several feet longer. Considerable money was involved in the bet. Unfortunately, his opponent sank his shot and the coach missed.
When another golfer commiserated with him about the tough luck, the coach was silent, then slowly said, “No, it wasn’t tough luck. I just outsmarted myself. I’ve been so much in the habit of betting this way that I overlooked one thing. I forgot that my big bet meant so little to this man that there was no pressure on him.”
Here are a few ways that pressure can be reduced:
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Over-learn. Learn any golfing skill to a higher degree of skill than you need. Pressure will cause you not to perform as well in play as in practice, but you will have enough skill in reserve so that the pressure won’t show.
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Do not “fresh” bets when you are losing. To paraphrase Newton again, “a person who is losing will continue to lose and a person who is winning will continue to win.” Let your opponent be under the pressure of recouping losses. Of course, this situation must be assessed each time.
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Practice pressure play. There is more than one kind of pressure, so one must subject himself to each in order to develop immunity. Match play, medal play, tournament play, etc, all have there own special pressures. Continuous play under each type will gradually immunize you.
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Never play a careless shot. If a person will adopt the attitude of never playing a careless shot-no matter what the circumstances-the tendency to succumb under pressure is lessened.
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Do not expect to play better than your average golf. As your golf records will show, the laws of probability will determine your score. If you try to do better than you can do, it will introduce an additional emotional variable and you will play a worse game than usual. It is best to let the score take care of itself. Otherwise, you may shoot a poor score on a day when you might normally be destined for a good one. You cannot prevent the appearance of scores either better or worse that your average if you simply let the laws of chance or probability take over.
Golfers are people, and all the things which affect people affect golfers. It could be helpful to outline three effective methods which can be used to take care of a particular psychological condition.
First - deliberately suppress the thoughts which are disturbing. With practice this can be done as Scarlett O”Hara did in Gone With The Wind, when she said, “I will think of that tomorrow.”
Second - shut out distressing thoughts with mental or physical activity of a somewhat extraneous nature.
Third - make a deliberate effort to think as many optimistic and pleasant thoughts as possible.