Mental Training Column
Having been in this profession for over 20 years, I no longer feel disappointed or offended when my answer to "what do you do for a living?" brings on a blank look on the part of the questioner. Most people outside of sport have never heard of sport psychology, and many people in sport have little knowledge about the nature of the job itself. In a nutshell, golf psychology- or mental training for golf- is consultation and education that exposes a player, instructor or team to the skills necessary for excellence in performance. These skills are in conjunction with, but not contrary to, the technical and physical instruction that might be given by an instructor or physical trainer.
When I ask people what percentage of their golf game is mental, I rarely get a number less than 75%. Conversely, when I ask people what percentage of their training time is devoted to working on the mental game, the answer is rarely greater than zero. I believe the biggest reason for this is that people don't know how to work on the mental game and don't know where to look for answers to their questions. Understanding how to deal with lapses in concentration, accumulating frustration, increasing anxiety, decreasing motivation, slipping confidence, and breakdowns under pressure are all among the many areas that are dealt with in the context of mental training. The purpose of the future columns that will be posted here on the NCGA website is to provide a resource to help find answers to the mental game questions. It is our intention to expose every NCGA member to the information that can help them be the most mentally strong player possible.
I look forward to the opportunity in the columns to come to answer your questions and share the information that is utilized by many of the best players in the game today.
