How to play without fear: conquer anxiety on the course by making 'mastery golf' your goal

Golf Digest, April, 2005 by Gio Valiante, Mike Stachura

IF THERE IS A U NIVERSAL TRUTH FOR GOLFERS of all levels, it is fear: fear of failure, fear of embarrassment, fear of the unexpected, fear of poor judgment. It is fear of long courses, of narrow courses, of hilly courses, of flat courses. It is fear of water hazards and sand bunkers, of short putts and long putts. It is fear of playing with certain people or against certain people or even in front of certain people.

We fear things that in reality aren't there, like that flagstick that looks to be inches beyond a bunker but isn't. It is even fear of knowing we are afraid, and it gnaws on our consciousness, undermines our skills and infects our confidence.

What golfers of all abilities must come to see is that maximizing their potential in golf--the truest of all golf goals--begins and ends with one requirement: You must learn to deal with fear, to embrace its challenge to your skills and to overpower it so you can think clearly and play your best. Anything less invites the insidious decay of doubt and inconsistency.

Fear is the most critical impediment to playing golf to your greatest potential, and it is the one thing that great champions manage to overcome. In the simplest terms, the greatest golfers play fearless golf.

Understanding fear in golf begins with understanding why we play the game. In professional psychology, the reasons individuals choose to engage in a particular task or activity are called achievement-goal orientations. That's fancy language, but what it means is that we choose to do something for a certain end, a particular objective; in short, we are motivated by the activity because it enhances our sense of self, our personal well-being. Those objectives govern our approach to the activity from the outset. These orientations are critical factors that influence a person's level of motivation and achievement, as well as the degree of anxiety and fear they experience as they engage in those activities.

The danger of playing ego golf

The primary motivation for some golfers--we will call them ego-oriented golfers--is to earn recognition from others. For these golfers, what others say about them is powerfully important, sometimes more important than improving and developing their game. While preparing to hit a crucial golf shot, their minds are often divided. One side is trying to focus on executing the shot; the other side is busy worrying about what other people "will think of me if I blow it." One can easily understand how such extraneous concerns can interfere with the mechanics of golf. Golfers whose attention is focused on raising their personal stock in the eyes of others--or even in their own eyes--often become indecisive and uncertain with the club in their hands.

When you require the approval of others, you give them the key to your emotions--and you forfeit a fair amount of control over your confidence, too. Ego golfers view a bad round of golf as humiliating, debilitating and embarrassing. As a result, they play with the ever-present sense that such humiliation is just around the corner. That, friends, is called playing with fear.

For the ego-golfer, a round of golf can be an emotional roller coaster--euphorically high at certain times, excruciatingly low at others--all depending on how they think they are being viewed and evaluated. (That sense of evaluation isn't limited to outsiders. An ego golfer's self-evaluation can be just as destructive.) They move through the golf course trying to show off with good shots and trying to avoid hitting embarrassingly bad shots. Curiously, they have an equal tendency to play overly conservative at times and wildly aggressive at others. Facing any kind of pressure, ego golfers inevitably must do a dance with the dreaded "c" word: choke. Whether they are trying to hold off opponents, protect leads or play "just good enough" to maintain whatever slight advantage they have, choking is never far from their thoughts.

In contrast to those who play because they want the attention and admiration of others, some golfers have as their primary incentive a desire to learn, improve and excel. A focus on learning and personal development is inconsistent with worries about how our results will be viewed by others. Professional golfers who play to excel are better able to disregard outside contingencies like rankings, scores, other peoples' opinions and even prize money. A recreational golfer whose reason for playing is to learn and grow, and even relax, cares very little about how others in his foursome will view his tee shot.

In both of these cases, a golfer's attention is on things related to hitting better golf shots: swing mechanics, strategy, course conditions, thickness of the rough, tempo and location of hazards. Because their minds are undivided as they prepare to hit a golf shot (rather than being disrupted by the potential reactions to the shot), these golfers are better able to stay focused and remain composed during their round. And rest assured they're enjoying themselves a good deal more and worrying a lot less than their self-obsessed and self-conscious counterparts. These golfers hold the key mentally to conquering fear and achieving success. They exhibit what psychologists call a mastery orientation. Regardless of your ability, if you're trying to optimize your skills only a mastery approach to the game will work consistently. Only a mastery approach will allow you to play fearless golf.