Go for the gold
Tom Iredell, head golf pro at Bear Creek in Hilton Head Plantation, posed a question the other day: “What are the two most important things for being a great putter?”
I said (1) putter face control and (2) the length of the backstroke. That is, you have to manage the face of the putter head so that it is square to the line at impact. And you can control distance by varying the length of your backstroke.
Tom said very good, but he was thinking of two other things: Every good putter (1) thinks he is going to make every putt and, at the same time, (2) doesn’t care when he doesn’t.
I thought that was rather profound. And I thought it was curious that a psychologist picked two physical things, while a golf pro picked two psychological things.
A great putter stands over each putt and has an image of it going in the hole. The image is so vivid that it is hard for him to believe anything else could happen. In fact, the great putter sees the ball in the hole before he even putts it.
Then, if he does miss, he doesn’t get upset about it. He takes it in stride and just knocks in the comeback putt. He thinks, “How could it miss? I am such a great putter.”
As Jack Nicklaus once said, “I made that putt … it just didn’t go in.”
I’m sure when Steph Curry shoots a basketball, he is certain it will find the center of the hoop. And on the rare occasions when it doesn’t, he may be shocked but then he just goes after the rebound or waits for a pass back out for another shot.
Alberto Tomba once called his father from the top of the ski slope to tell him that he was about to win another Olympic gold medal. And if somehow Alberto didn’t win, his patented response was, “Who cares? It won’t affect the party tonight!”
Tennis players, quarterbacks, pitchers and dancers all have the same thing: one-track minds focused on success, tunnel vision fixed on the ideal outcome, and maybe a little shock if it doesn’t happen. Picture Scottie Scheffler with his hand over his mouth in disbelief. But then the player moves on as if the miss never happened.
This type of thinking even applies to life. A confident boy thinks he could get a date with any girl he chooses. And when he gets shot down, he just says, “Who cares?” and moves on to the next attractive option.
A successful candidate applying for jobs fully expects to be hired by everybody. But when rejection happens, she doesn’t miss a beat and just moves on to the next job application.
A great comedian exudes the expectation that everyone will laugh uproariously at his joke. And if it falls flat, he just makes another joke out of that.
It is worth noting that Babe Ruth struck out 89 times the same season he hit his historic 60 home runs. The same lesson applies to life: You have to be willing to strike out if you are going to take big swings at your ambitions.
Dr. Tom Dorsel is Professor Emeritus of Psychology and a clinical/sport psychologist in Hilton Head and Pinehurst. His best-selling book is “GOLF: The Mental Game.” Reach Tom on Facebook or at tom@dorsel.com.
