Mental Side of Golf - Guest Post, Dr Steve Gordon!

  

 

The Mental Side of Golf: To Think or Not to Think

Steven B. Gordon, Ph.D., ABPP

Licensed Psychologist

Board Certified in Behavioral Psychology

Diplomate in Behavior Therapy

 

At Laurel Creek Country Club Mark is standing over a straight six-foot putt on the 18th hole. He needs to make this putt to win his match. He paces off the distance and the last thought he has before he pulls the trigger is “Don’t be short.” Dave is standing in the par 5 fifth fairway after a tremendous drive leaving him 230 yards to the pin and a chance to get on the green in two. His last thought before hitting the ball is “Don’t pull it left into the water.” So, one guess as to what happened to Mark’s putt and Dave’s second shot. You guessed right! Mark left his putt short,and Dave hit his shot into the water. These scenarios are all too common and golfers report that they have these negative thoughts (i.e., self-talk) very often. These thoughts occurwhether  playing a $5 Nassau, the Thursday night Men’s League,  a friendly game of couples golf or the many tournaments at Laurel Creek Country Club. What is going on here and more importantly what can be done to escape from the tyranny of negative thinking?

What Is Going On?

What do you think happens if I tell you for the next 60 secondsnot to think of pink elephants? You guessed it! Although you might try to think of something else eventually you will have the thought of a pink elephant. This finding has been found in many psychological experiments. The conclusion is that once you’ve got it you can’t get rid of it and the more you try to get rid of it the stronger your attachment becomes to it. Psychologists refer to this as fusion (sticking something together). Mark and Davefell victim to their own private thoughts. Mark was fused with his thought “Don’t be short.” while Dave was fused with his thought “Don’t pull it left into the water.”

What Do You Do? 

The first step to escape from negative thinking may sound counterintuitive as it involves noticing, which means to pay attention to the specific words. The paying attention piece begins the process of defusion (i.e., separating from the thought). Paying attention begins with saying to yourself something like the following: “I am aware that I am having the thought don’t be short.” or “I am aware that I am having the thought don’t pull it left into the water.” This begins the process of not “being” the thought but rather the golfer who is “having”the thought. This now creates a space to change the pattern of thought.

The second step is to use replacement which means substituting the opposite of the original fused thought. The opposite of “don’t be short.” is “be long.” The opposite of “don’t hit it left” is “hit it right.” The new replacement thought should be your last thought before pulling the trigger.

In summary, use the two-step approach of noticing your original negative thought and replacing it with a positive thought. Swing away and have fun!