Life on Tour

Golfers must face countless challenges in the heat of competition. Outside of this competition it is not necessarily different. This particular week exemplified that as a delayed flight and an even more delayed golf bag had us not being able to play a practice round for the event. This made for an interesting mental challenge for me and Ben.

Ben had come straight from Ireland where he finished his Amateur Career at the Arnold Palmer Cup. So to add to the chaos, a lack of rest was yet another factor. The first round of the event never got going with severe rain from dawn till dusk. This was a welcome delay as it gave us a breather and the chance to properly prepare to start the next day. The unknown factors at play continued when the final round of the tournament got cancelled halfway through through due to yet another rain delay. At the point of stoppage, we were 5 under par through 8 holes. That impressive start was wiped away as if it never occurred moving us back to our starting point on the leaderboard. I found myself, as a caddy, feeling so hard done by. Just when the putts start falling, the heavens open and wipe it all away. Ben, on the other hand was able to simply accept it and had seemed to have no desire to justify or over explain any events to others. This reminded me of how powerful a mental skill that is. Taking each and every outcome (both positive and negative) in your stride. making the realisation that no matter your effort or desire, you are owed nothing and deserve no more than the next person.

So next time you feel hard done by or that the chips have been piled against you for no good reason, take a moment, take a breath and leave it behind.

After the first weeks chaos, we entered the next event with enthusiasm and optimism looking to build off of the positives from the week before. The cutthroat nature of competitive golf means that in every event more than half the field will leave empty handed after 2 days of play. For Ben, who was new to the Professional game and not accustom to missing Cuts on the Amateur circuit, the outcome goals were far beyond simply making a cut and playing on the weekend. Golf is however, a sport where ones expectations are often not met, not unlike life…

The margins between winning an event and missing a cut are miniscule. What can play on the mind of an elite golfer is the score difference between those two outcomes. It can be difficult to keep spirits high when you are not getting the outcomes you desire. You can prepare well in every aspect and even perform well on the course in most but that never guarentees a score to match. If one aspect of your game, either physically or mentally lets you down for just a moment, the resulting effects on score can be drastic.

A few missed putts and bad breaks saw us miss the the cut by 3 shots. For Ben, it was a case of learning the nature of the professional game and realising that even the best players in the world miss cuts and it will be no different for him as he begins his career. For me, the main learning was realising how the smallest of decisions or changes in momentum had such a large impact on score. This worked both ways as it was easy for me to imagine how if a few situations went differently, we could have found ourselves up at the top of the leaderboard and in contention.

A career in golf is a marathon, not a sprint but also one where you can find yourself at the back one week and all the way at the front the very next week. Keep this in mind regardless of where you are in your journey.

Momentum and its affects on performance were at centre stage this particular week. With most of field posting low scores, the player that was able to get on a run of momentum would be leading the way. Momentum does however, work the opposite way too. A performer can often find themselves feel helpless when a string of bad results come their way.

On the first round of the event, another competitor playing with us experienced the highs and joys that come with a streak of momentum. I can safely say I have never seen someone hole so many long putts hole after to hole to seemingly no end. A course record breaking round of 10 under par 62 was the result of such momentum. We settled for a 2 under par 70 which from tee to green felt just as good as our playing partner but we had no resulting score to match. The difference between us and our playing partner?… Momentum.

We know about momentum and its affects on potential performance but the main question is why does it all happen that way. Although momentum has an effect on physical performance, it itself is a concept that is born of the mental thoughts and processes of performers. As humans in a competitive environment, our mental habits are linked to our physical outcomes. Good results feed positive thoughts and similarly bad results feed negative thoughts. The extent to which they affect our thoughts comes down to our mental discipline in handling these outcomes.

Momentum or a lack thereof was the game changer for the week when it came to our finishing position. A potentially good run of holes was often foiled by lone bad one. A top 30 finish for the event was however a positive outcome for us.

There are many variables at play at the pinnacle of professional golf. These variables change from one event to the next and therefore do not favour the same competitors each time. This is what makes professional golf so fascinating compared to other sports. Outside of the phenoms (Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus), no one player is able to dominate from week to week over extended periods of time. This is not due to an issue of talent and skill but more due to the ever changing environments that professional golfers are flung into each event.

The variable with the most pull this particular week was the golf course itself. It’s no secret that certain golf courses suit specific types of players. This is why professionals are constantly chasing an all round golf game that can keep them competitive no matter the track. The course this week was wide open off the tee with little to no penalty for poor tee shots. Massive green complexes and minimal wind each day resulted in the dream event for long hitter. Although a considerable number of shots could be gained off the tee, converting the birdie chances was of course just as vital. Due to all this, there was a massive pressure on all the players to get off to a hot start. This pressure, along with key missed opportunities left us at level par and 9 shots off the lead after day one.

This battle with the expectations of a certain level of performance can often get in the way. Especially when the chips (ie, the aforementioned variables) are stacked against us. In these moments it becomes even more crucial to stick to your identity as a player and not try reinvent your own wheel of performance. Stick to your processes and your game plan and you may be surprised at the outcomes.

An excellent second round of 7 under par 63 followed day one’s frustration but that unfortunately left us 1 shy of the cut line (a tour record high of 8 under). This was yet another reminder of the brutal nature of professional golf.

After a weeks rest, the second half of the Tour was underway. The golf course this week was much different to the four previous and demanded accuracy off the tee and precise approach play to small green complexes. To add to the difficulty, strong gusts were forecasted and in a tree lined course this would result in swirling and unpredictable wind. We looked forward to these challenges and made a point of it to frame them in a positive way in the lead up to the event.

Momentum and its effects on outcome were a center point in previous weeks and it was no different in this. Starting off strong is imperative whether that be through making birdies or clutch pars in tough situations. Maintaining momentum through the ebbs and flows of your round is the key to putting a competitive score together. To do this, your decision making needs to be clear and aligned with a functional game plan.

Having a game plan that suited the course and the conditions was where we fell short in the first round. A tree lined course with swirling winds demanded a conservative approach and a hell of a lot of patience. Early on in the round we were faced with an approach to a back pin location. A good distance that perfectly fit a full 7 iron… the only dilemma was the wind and its constantly changing direction. What followed was a perfectly struck shot that flew straight over the pin and 15 yards over the green leaving us short sided and with no good options on the next shot. Failure to up and down and suddenly from 2 well executed shots, we left with a bogey. In hindsight, it is obvious that the priority on that shot was to be short of the hole. This one hole was the catalyst for the rest of the round, in fact, that one approach shot on that one hole was. It proved to me the importance of every detail in your decision making as the knock the on effects on momentum should not be understated.

It is important to understand that making a bogey on that hole was not the problem, recovering from a bogey is no big deal at this level of golf. The way we made the bogey was the real issue. If it was the result of a badly executed swing then so be it but it hits harder when the execution was good but the decision making wasn’t. Maintaining momentum is crucial and one of the biggest momentum killers is a mistake over an area where we have a semblance of control. At a high level of performance it can be easy to beat oneself up over any mistake that was unnecessary and the resulting reaction is often to try to hard to make up for it. Carrying the weight of that past decision with makes tackling the next one more challenging.

A struggle to find momentum continued for the remainder of round 1 which left us too much to do in round 2 to make the cut.

After the previous week’s disappointment, we entered this week in Winnipeg looking to bounce back. The phrase “bounce back” was both relevant before the event and also during as we faced challenging scenarios each day that would make or break our weeks performance.

Dealing with adversity is a fundamental skill a professional golfer needs to master. In measuring how any one athlete can deal with adversity, you analyse their bounce back ability in both outcome and attitude. Coming off our worst performance (from an outcome perspective) the week prior, we knew that the reaction this week had to be positive at the very least.

Our start to round 1 was poor and the from a base ball striking perspective, the worst since the start of the tour. Knowing the levels of scoring that were needed to compete each week it was a simple case of now or never to turn things around. Ben made one little comment to me after the 5th hole and I knew he had it in him to be get back on track. He told me the following…

“Norman, for a second there, I almost felt sorry for myself. Not again.”

What followed was one hell of a bounce back with 7 birdies in the next 12 holes. This mental fortitude and never give up attitude is common place amongst the world’s best and is a key separator between elite performers and those who are not. This poses the crucial question, what processes and behaviours are in place for these elite performers that give them this ability to bounce back? The answer is their self-image… this is the sum of their attitudes, habits and behaviours which creates their personal comfort zone. A top level performers comfort zone is likely someone else's nightmare scenario. Pushing your level of comfort requires you to delve into the realm of discomfort, over and over again until the imaginary limitations you have set for yourself are no longer. This process is not bound by a start and end point but instead requires constant attention and discipline aimed at improving.

This is what Ben has become an expert at, the daily positive habits and mental reinforcements that he belongs and has no limitations on what he can achieve.

The bounce back was complete with another cut made when the chips were laid against us.

Week 7 took us out of Canada and down to the States, more specifically, a small lake town In Minnesota called Brainerd. Once again, another stunning venue and a great opportunity to put in a good performance.

Ben and I were very clear on our goals for the week. On the one hand, the outcome goal which was clearcut, a top 15 finish and we would qualify for the Championship event in the week to follow. On the other hand, and more importantly, was to be unbeatable at sticking to our processes while keeping our self talk positive no matter what. Self talk was a common theme of Ben and my discussions throughout the weeks on tour. We knew the power our words and thoughts would have on our potential performance, therefore keeping it in check was crucial.