US Open Week! Special guest to talk about choking in golf

 

Choking in Golf 

Part 1 

Steven B. Gordon, Ph.D., ABPP 

Licensed Psychologist 

Board Certified in Behavioral Psychology 

What is choking?  

In 2023, while playing at my club, I competed in a nine-hole shootout where the highest score was eliminated on each hole. On the last hole, needing a three-foot putt to force a playoff, I changed my putting routine, missed the putt, and finished second. Reflecting on my experience. I realized that what I felt was a classic example of choking, which in sports refers to failing to perform as expected under pressure.  

Two notable instances in professional golf are: 

• Jean Van de Velde in the 1999 British Open: Leading by three strokes, he hit multiple errant shots, ending with a triple-bogey and losing in a playoff. 

• Greg Norman in the 1996 Masters Tournament: Leading by six strokes, he scored a 78 on the final day, losing to Nick Faldo. 

These significant "chokes" remain memorable for golf fans. 

Imagine a recreational golfer is faced with a three-footputt on the 18th hole to win an important match. The golfer shortens his/her customary routine and wants to drain the putt to win the match. Unfortunately, the putt is missed, and great disappointment is experienced. Now that the match is over, the golfer immediatelyrepeats the same putt from the same distance for practice; the ball is struck perfectly and as the ball rolls into the hole the golfer utters the common refrain, “Second team All-American.” The player choked on the first putt when everything mattered and when it did not matter choking did not occur. 

Choking under pressure typically results in less-than-optimal performance. There are three components to choking: physical sensations, motor responding and thinking. Each golfer has his/her own unique fingerprint when it comes to these three components. 

See below: 

 

 

Physical sensations	Heart beats more rapidly, hyperventilate, muscles become tense, sweating
Motor responding	Fast movements, talking more rapidly
Thinking	Negative self-talk

 

Why does choking occur?  

Golfers often choke when the stakes are high. Key moments like hitting a tee shot accurately, chipping close for an easy putt, or sinking a crucial three-foot putt can lead to choking. Thoughts like “I must make this” or “Others will think I am a choker” can cause failure. 

What to do about choking? 

In one study, novice golfers learning to putt did best when they focused on the specific and required movements. However, more experienced golfers do not need to pay attention to every aspect of the mechanics involved in the golf swing.  In one study of experienced golfers, best performance was carried outby having golfers focus on general aspects of their intended movement, or what psychologists refer to as a "holistic cue word." For instance, rather than contemplating the precise position of their wrist, they contemplated descriptive adjectives such as "smooth" or "balanced." To make the experiment a bit more realistic, and to induce some anxiety, the scientists awarded a modest cash prize to the best golfer. The researchers found two interesting results: the first was that anxiety only interfered with performance when it was coupled with self-consciousness. Golfers who thought about the details of their swing, such as how to position their hips, hit consistently worse shots. The second interesting result was that there was a way to ward off choking. When the expert golfers contemplated a holistic cue word, their performance was no longer affected by anxiety. Because the positive adjectives were vague and generic, they did not cause the athletes to lose the flow of expert performance or overrule their automatic brain. The best athletes do this automatically as they have found a way to resist the pitfalls of pressure. Hank Haney wrote that Tiger Woods’ ability to clear his mind at combustible points in a tournament was unparalleled. 

The benefit of the "holistic cue word" approach is that it does not require performers to stop thinking entirely, as this can be excruciatingly difficult, especially under pressure. Instead, the experiment suggests that golfers can still contemplate their behavior-they just need to do so without thinking about specifics. In this sense, focusing on a vague aspiration can be an elegant distraction, a simple thought that can keep us from thinking too much. So, the next time you are faced with that important three-foot putt, think “smooth and balanced” and do not forget to pick the ball out of the bottom of the cup!