Golf can be Mental

Sat Nov 3, 2012 by Dave Phillips

I thought I would share with you a little lunch conversation I had yesterday with Senior PGA Tour player Peter Jacobsen.  Peter has always been known for his wit and candor and is definitely one of the most likeable and approachable players on the tour.  What you may not know is that Peter used his personality to unlock his playing potential.  

During lunch he told us of a story, that I think all of us at one time or another have found ourselves in.  He spoke of how during competition he would feel the pressure and not play to his potential, the pressure would cause his normal personality to retreat behind a wall of seriousness that matched the situation he was in.  The problem was that whenever he started to analyze and think about his game and try and match the traits of other great players he would simply crack under the pressure and was unable to finish the job.  It was not until he got some advice on his mental emotional state, that he made it to the winners circle. 

The point being that we often try and copy our idols and struggle to ever feel comfortable under pressure, but if you understand who you are and are able to control your own environment you can compete at any level.  What he meant by this was, his happy go lucky personality needed to be a part of his competitive play, if you watch Peter at a tour event or in front of the crowd he is usually the one engaging the crowd and relishing the opportunity to make people around him laugh, he basically turns the crowd into a security blanket that he controls, as a result he created the perfect environment that allowed him to play golf without pressure. 

If you’re interested in understanding who you are and how your personality will effect your play under pressure you should take a personality profile test like the DISC profile for golfers at the www.mentalgolfworkshop.com. The results of tests like this will help you deal with any situation you encounter on the golf course. 

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