Opinion & Analysis

Learning the mental approach to golf

Published

11 years ago

Aug 5, 2013

I have taken a lot of lessons in the 22 years since I started playing tournament golf. A few were from of some of the “best” teachers in the country, controversial as that term may be.

Interestingly, only one of those golf lessons ever addressed the mental process — how to approach and prepare for shots on the course to achieve an optimal result. A sports psychologist gave me that lesson 13 years ago, not golf professional, and it was also one of the most valuable learning experiences I ever had. But, few of the things we worked on during that first mental game lesson were beyond what a teaching professional can pass on to their students.

I work with sports psychologist and fellow GolfWRX Featured Writer Greg Liberto now, and continue to use ideas and habits I developed as a result of that first mental game lesson when I teach. Although most golfers stand to gain just as much by learning how to approach the psychological challenges a golf course presents from an experienced teacher, most students (and many teachers) seem to focus just on technique.

Like a lot of players, as I’ve matured, I’ve become a smarter golfer. In so doing, I’ve realized that my mental state before and during a round controls everything. A sense of calm and trust can control your rhythm, which controls balance and sequencing, and can thereby affect club head path, speed, face angle at impact and centeredness of contact. Calm and self-assuredness comes from practice and experience, but also from effective self-talk and visualization, and properly addressing negative thoughts when they arise.

Learning how to visualize your next shot and control what sports psychologists like Liberto call ANTs — Automatic Negative Thoughts — is central to developing a golf game that can stand up to pressure. Combine this with performance-based practice, and you can make faster progress and develop golf skills that are rapidly transferable to the course.

Any time you have an important round coming up you should prepare by trying to reduce your stress the day before. I often take a day off before playing in an significant event. Ben Hogan said that he would drive under the speed limit on the way to the golf course regardless of whether it was a tournament or not. Aside from preparing yourself away from the course, most of us know that a reliable pre-shot routine helps reduce stress and increase focus over the ball. Any good routine starts with the player standing behind the ball where he or she assesses the conditions and visualizes the desired ball flight. A golfer has to be able to see the ideal shot based on the conditions to execute it.

After visualizing the shot, the player should rehearse the motion that will produce that shot. How a golfer goes about aiming after that can be a matter of style, but it shouldn’t take long, and he or she should remain engaged with the target. Finally, the player needs to trust his practice swing and hit the shot he saw from behind the ball. The key is keeping the image of the ball flight in your mind’s eye while you are standing over the ball.

I’ll leave you with an example from a lesson I taught one of my students this year. One of my more talented juniors, we’ll call him Billy, came to me early in the season for a playing lesson. I met him on the range, where he seemed happy and calm, and was hitting the ball very well. It was a cold day and our course is a links layout that can be very windy in the spring. The temperature was barely 50 degrees and the wind was blowing close to 20 mph as we headed to our first hole.

Billy’s tempo changed on the first hole. He was rushing and not spending a lot of time behind the golf ball before hitting it. He wanted to impress me, and the wind was also probably making him feel he had to swing harder. We worked for the next several holes on having him settle down and think his way through shots before pulling a club and making a rhythmic swing.

We finally reached No. 8, a long par 3 over a 120-foot gorge. You have no other choice than to hit a good shot at High Bridge Hills’ 8th hole — there isn’t a bailout area anywhere on the hole. The shot was playing 174 yards into a crosswind that was quartering into us and to the right. We began talking our way through the shot, how the wind would affect it and what club to hit. Knowing he had to hit a 4 hybrid, I asked Billy what club he wanted to hit and his first words were, “I can’t hit my hybrid, it won’t get there.” The visually intimidating shot over the gorge and the wind had already beaten him.

I asked him how far his 3-wood went and he said 210 yards. I noted that hitting the ball long would leave him with a difficult downhill pitch. Then I asked him how far he hit his 4 hybrid and he said 195. I asked him to pull the 4 hybrid and stand behind the ball. He did, and then I told him to see the ball starting at the left side of the green and gently fading to land on the green pin high. Then I asked him to take a smooth practice swing that would produce that shot. He took two swings, after which I told him to trust that the swing he just rehearsed would make the ball fly to his target. He set up and hit the ball flush with a smooth, balanced swing. The ball flew perfectly, the wind pushing it slightly from left to right until it landed softly 15 feet from the flag.

Teachers live for the smile Billy gave me after hitting that shot. It came as no surprise that he felt so good after that that he holed the putt.

Until 25 years ago, good golf psychology was considered an intangible that players simply either had or didn’t. Later it became the realm of professionals — something that only a few sports psychologist like Greg Liberto, Dr. Dick Coop or Dr. Bob Rotella were able to grasp and communicate to their privileged students. Many of the newest generation of golf teachers, however, have read many of these experts’ books and have adopted their teachings in their own development as players. If you can find a teacher who has implemented mental coaching as an integral part of their playing and teaching, chances are you will get more out of their instruction and achieve your playing goals faster.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans betting preview

Published

21 hours ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.

TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.

Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.

However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.

Past Winners at TPC Louisiana

2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)

2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks

Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)

Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.

This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.

McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.

Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)

Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.

Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.

Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)

Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.

NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 LIV Adelaide betting preview: Cam Smith ready for big week down under

Published

21 hours ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After having four of the top twelve players on the leaderboard at The Masters, LIV Golf is set for their fifth event of the season: LIV Adelaide.

For both LIV fans and golf fans in Australia, LIV Adelaide is one of the most anticipated events of the year. With 35,000 people expected to attend each day of the tournament, the Grange Golf Club will be crawling with fans who are passionate about the sport of golf. The 12th hole, better known as “the watering hole”, is sure to have the rowdiest of the fans cheering after a long day of drinking some Leishman Lager.

The Grange Golf Club is a par-72 that measures 6,946 yards. The course features minimal resistance, as golfers went extremely low last season. In 2023, Talor Gooch shot consecutive rounds of 62 on Thursday and Friday, giving himself a gigantic cushion heading into championship Sunday. Things got tight for a while, but in the end, the Oklahoma State product was able to hold off The Crushers’ Anirban Lahiri for a three-shot victory.

The Four Aces won the team competition with the Range Goats finishing second.

*All Images Courtesy of LIV Golf*

Past Winners at LIV Adelaide

2023: Talor Gooch (-19)

Stat Leaders Through LIV Miami

Green in Regulation

Richard Bland
Jon Rahm
Paul Casey

Fairways Hit

Abraham Ancer
Graeme McDowell
Henrik Stenson

Driving Distance

Bryson DeChambeau
Joaquin Niemann
Dean Burmester

Putting

Cameron Smith
Louis Oosthuizen
Matt Jones

2024 LIV Adelaide Picks

Cameron Smith +1400 (DraftKings)

When I pulled up the odds for LIV Adelaide, I was more than a little surprised to see multiple golfers listed ahead of Cameron Smith on the betting board. A few starts ago, Cam finished runner-up at LIV Hong Kong, which is a golf course that absolutely suits his eye. Augusta National in another course that Smith could roll out of bed and finish in the top-ten at, and he did so two weeks ago at The Masters, finishing T6.

At Augusta, he gained strokes on the field on approach, off the tee (slightly), and of course, around the green and putting. Smith able to get in the mix at a major championship despite coming into the week feeling under the weather tells me that his game is once again rounding into form.

The Grange Golf Club is another course that undoubtedly suits the Australian. Smith is obviously incredibly comfortable playing in front of the Aussie faithful and has won three Australian PGA Championship’s. The course is very short and will allow Smith to play conservative off the tee, mitigating his most glaring weakness. With birdies available all over the golf course, there’s a chance the event turns into a putting contest, and there’s no one on the planet I’d rather have in one of those than Cam Smith.

Louis Oosthuizen +2200 (DraftKings)

Louis Oosthuizen has simply been one of the best players on LIV in the 2024 seas0n. The South African has finished in the top-10 on the LIV leaderboard in three of his five starts, with his best coming in Jeddah, where he finished T2. Perhaps more impressively, Oosthuizen finished T7 at LIV Miami, which took place at Doral’s “Blue Monster”, an absolutely massive golf course. Given that Louis is on the shorter side in terms of distance off the tee, his ability to play well in Miami shows how dialed he is with the irons this season.

In addition to the LIV finishes, Oosthuizen won back-to-back starts on the DP World Tour in December at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritus Open. He also finished runner-up at the end of February in the International Series Oman. The 41-year-old has been one of the most consistent performers of 2024, regardless of tour.

For the season, Louis ranks 4th on LIV in birdies made, T9 in fairways hit and first in putting. He ranks 32nd in driving distance, but that won’t be an issue at this short course. Last season, he finished T11 at the event, but was in decent position going into the final round but fell back after shooting 70 while the rest of the field went low. This season, Oosthuizen comes into the event in peak form, and the course should be a perfect fit for his smooth swing and hot putter this week.

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Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: What really makes a wedge work? Part 1

Published

5 days ago

Apr 18, 2024

Terry Koehler

Of all the clubs in our bags, wedges are almost always the simplest in construction and, therefore, the easiest to analyze what might make one work differently from another if you know what to look for.

Wedges are a lot less mysterious than drivers, of course, as the major brands are working with a lot of “pixie dust” inside these modern marvels. That’s carrying over more to irons now, with so many new models featuring internal multi-material technologies, and almost all of them having a “badge” or insert in the back to allow more complex graphics while hiding the actual distribution of mass.

But when it comes to wedges, most on the market today are still single pieces of molded steel, either cast or forged into that shape. So, if you look closely at where the mass is distributed, it’s pretty clear how that wedge is going to perform.

To start, because of their wider soles, the majority of the mass of almost any wedge is along the bottom third of the clubhead. So, the best wedge shots are always those hit between the 2nd and 5th grooves so that more mass is directly behind that impact. Elite tour professionals practice incessantly to learn to do that consistently, wearing out a spot about the size of a penny right there. If impact moves higher than that, the face is dramatically thinner, so smash factor is compromised significantly, which reduces the overall distance the ball will fly.

Every one of us, tour players included, knows that maddening shot that we feel a bit high on the face and it doesn’t go anywhere, it’s not your fault.

If your wedges show a wear pattern the size of a silver dollar, and centered above the 3rd or 4th groove, you are not getting anywhere near the same performance from shot to shot. Robot testing proves impact even two to three grooves higher in the face can cause distance loss of up to 35 to 55 feet with modern ‘tour design’ wedges.

In addition, as impact moves above the center of mass, the golf club principle of gear effect causes the ball to fly higher with less spin. Think of modern drivers for a minute. The “holy grail” of driving is high launch and low spin, and the driver engineers are pulling out all stops to get the mass as low in the clubhead as possible to optimize this combination.

Where is all the mass in your wedges? Low. So, disregarding the higher lofts, wedges “want” to launch the ball high with low spin – exactly the opposite of what good wedge play requires penetrating ball flight with high spin.

While almost all major brand wedges have begun putting a tiny bit more thickness in the top portion of the clubhead, conventional and modern ‘tour design’ wedges perform pretty much like they always have. Elite players learn to hit those crisp, spinny penetrating wedge shots by spending lots of practice time learning to consistently make contact low in the face.

So, what about grooves and face texture?

Grooves on any club can only do so much, and no one has any material advantage here. The USGA tightly defines what we manufacturers can do with grooves and face texture, and modern manufacturing techniques allow all of us to push those limits ever closer. And we all do. End of story.

Then there’s the topic of bounce and grinds, the most complex and confusing part of the wedge formula. Many top brands offer a complex array of sole configurations, all of them admittedly specialized to a particular kind of lie or turf conditions, and/or a particular divot pattern.

But if you don’t play the same turf all the time, and make the same size divot on every swing, how would you ever figure this out?

The only way is to take any wedge you are considering and play it a few rounds, hitting all the shots you face and observing the results. There’s simply no other way.

So, hopefully this will inspire a lively conversation in our comments section, and I’ll chime in to answer any questions you might have.

And next week, I’ll dive into the rest of the wedge formula. Yes, shafts, grips and specifications are essential, too.

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