GOLF PSYCHOLOGY

“The Psychology of Scoring”

Dean Sunseri, MA, MED

            Would you rather have a beautiful swing and score higher or have an ordinary swing and score lower?  I would like to have both.  Swing mechanics and scoring are two separate disciplines of great importance in golf.  A golf swing is the mechanical sequence of movements that move the golf ball to the target, while scoring is the ability to get the ball into the hole with the least amount of strokes.  Raymond Floyd is known for his tremendous ability to score, and we will explore his mind set in competition. 

            The first rule is to play “comfortable.”  Playing comfortable means to know what you are capable of, and playing at a level just inside that boundary.  On a tight par 4, if you are comfortable driving with your 3 wood, and half-way comfortable with your driver, play your 3 wood.  Even if you might hit your driver in the fairway, would you rather be in this fairway 8 out of 10 times with your 3 wood, or 4 out of 10 times with your driver?  Stay within your comfortable boundary until you build greater confidence with your driver.

The second major rule of Raymond Floyd is to avoid the Big Mistake.  Instead of hitting a slice around the tree, carrying the water, to softly land on the green because you pulled off a similar shot 8 years ago, you may want to punch the ball back into the fairway, keeping it short of the water.  Floyd says that he rarely will hit a shot, when he is in trouble, that he could not pull off 3 out of 4 times.  Even though the result of the punch may not be extraordinary, it will get you on some good turf, and the easy punch will begin a new cycle of confidence.  In the discussion about mistakes, Floyd states that golf is a game of mistakes, and the winner is often the one who has made the least.  What a wonderful approach, to accept the fact that mistakes will occur, yet one must strive to minimize them. 

What about the mental approach to a shot?  Floyd believes that every great scorer is obsessed with the target on every shot.  Yes, it is ok to be obsessed with the target, and it will be the only time in your life that you can be obsessed without being labeled with a diagnosis of a mental illness.  He also advocated that you get totally immersed in the shot you’re about to hit.  What value would be gained by knowing what is the score that you are shooting?  Is this important to helping you with the next shot or will it stop you from getting totally immersed in the present shot?   Forget about the score, and focus intently on your next shot. 

          The final insight that Raymond Floyd teaches about scoring relates to the first question.  Would you rather be a great swinger or a great scorer?  He suggests that if you are having a difficult time on the course, accept your swing pattern, and work around it.  Work on changing your swing pattern on the driving range with an instructor.  A common mistake is to get absorbed into the mechanics of you swing during a round, and almost forget the target that you attempting to hit.  Floyd puts it this way, “The more you think about how you want to hit it instead of where you want to hit it, the more difficult you’re making the game.”

          In summary, avoid the big mistakes by playing comfortably within your game, while getting totally immersed and obsessed with the intended target.  It sounds a bit like hunting.  Well, maybe it is hunting; yes, hunting for those “birdies.”    

Reference: Floyd, Raymond. The Elements of Scoring. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.

 Dean Sunseri, MA, MEd, is a specialist in Sports Performance Psychology and has coached Golf Tour Professionals, NFL Football Players, Professional Baseball Players and Professional Hockey Teams.  He can be contacted at ds@ihaveavoice.com or 251-626-5454.