Caron 1

Jack Caron
Scott Merrow
Writ 1301-046
8th December 2014
Golf: Its Not As Scary As It Seems
When people think of sports, they think of fast moving, upbeat, and mostly
physical activity. Now consider golf, although it is not as physical as a sport like say
football or hockey, in golf one still exerts physical force when a golf club is swung. The
thing that distinguishes golf as a sport is the sustained mental capacity required to play
the game. In football, it is quick and the players do not have a lot of time to think
between or during plays. There is one instance in football when one team will try to
throw off the other team or get into the heads of the other players. This instance is known
as freezing the kicker. This is when a team will call a 30 second time out in order to try
and throw off the focus of the kicker on the opposing team. In a competition, golf is
typically five to six and a half hour rounds where a good golfer will hit no more than 72
shots if they play to par at the average golf course. A golf course is generally 6500 yards
in length, not including walking in between each hole. That translates to roughly three
and a half miles of walking, which means that each player has about two to three minutes
of walking between each of those 72 shots. Through out a total round that translates to
roughly two and a half to three hours where a golfer can lose his focus. The 30 seconds
that a kicker faces is virtually nothing when compared to the amount of time a golfer has
to potentially lose his focus. On top of losing their focus, fear can also enter the players
mind and affect the performance of that particular player. Taking that into consideration,

Caron 2
it is clear to see that golfers are not a big fan of fear. In fact, fear is a golfers number one
enemy and impacts even the best in the world, however there are ways to overcome this
fear and perform to the best of ones ability.
Fear affects the game of every golfer. It affects them in one-way or another and
the best golfers out there are the ones who are able to overcome this fear consistently.
There are many different types of fears that can play a role during the round that a golfer
plays. According to Dr. Gio Valiante, a top psychologist in golf and author of Fearless
Golf, fear is the universal truth to golfers of all levels (4). The fears golfers face can
range from fear of failure, embarrassment, and the unexpected, to fear of different types
of courses and the various hazards that those courses contain (Valiante 4). These are all
common fears that golfers will go through during a round of golf. Fear can come into
play not only during a round, but also during practice. Timothy Galleway talks about The
Do-Instruction, which is a command to do or not do something in his book The Inner
Game of Golf. He goes on to state that when these instructions are difficult, to understand
or perform, it can instill a fear of being judged that can hurt the player in their learning
environment (73-74). Even during practice, golfers can become fearful about different
situations. Fear can embed itself into almost any situation in golf.
These different types of fears can impact a golfers performance in many different
ways. Fear and anxiety can impact your physical movements, which in result can hurt
your swing. According to mental training expert, Patrick Cohn, the fear of three putting
or hitting a ball out of bounds can make ones body tense up and this will cause a player
to over control and steer their swings (15). The fear that the golfer experiences causes the
relaxed body, that a smooth golf swing requires, to tense up and this will impact the

Caron 3
swing. Mark Wright also agrees with this statement when he informs in his article, Fear
Could Be Killing Your Golf Game, that fear of failure can raise tension in the body and
this can impact swing movements (Wright). What wright is suggesting is that fear can
impact the body physically which alters swing movements and hinders performance.
Along with physical movements, fear can also hurt the way that golfers think
about the game. Fear can cloud the minds of golfers. Wright informs that fear of failure,
along with creating physical tension, may also create mental tension which can hurt
rational, clear, and creative thinking (Wright). This shows that the thinking of a golfer is
key to their performance and success. He then goes on to explain how he has used the
wrong clubs or the wrong types of shots because of this clouded thinking and lack of
confidence or fear of failure (Wright). The way that fear clouds his judgment can impact
the choices that he makes and thus impact his performance. Joan King from Positive
Mental Imagery agreed with Marks thoughts on clouded judgment. She also suggests
that Fear can cloud the perception of a golfer and confuse the golfer of what is happening
(King). What Joan is suggesting, is that fear can clutter the minds of golfers and this
makes it difficult for golfers to think clearly and make proper decisions on the golf
course. Not being able to think clearly and make proper decisions can add multiple
strokes to any golfers game.
All types of fear may get the best of any golfer, of all different levels. From
Saturday Mens Club at the local golf course to the PGA Tour, all golfers experience
fear. The difference between golfers on the PGA Tour and your average golfer is that a
PGA Tour Pro has the ability to consistently overcome fear. In some cases however, this
is not always true. Thomas Bjorns meltdown at a 2004 European Tour event is a good

Caron 4
example of this. During this event, Bjorn walked off the course in the middle of the
round, saying that he was fighting demons in his head. According to the article, Stress
and Fear in a Waiting Game Golf, written by Damon Hack, Bjorn said shortly after
leaving the course I just saw trouble everywhere, the fairway looked tiny. The green
seemed to be the size of the hole. There was nothing but fear (Hack). This shows that
even the best golfers in the world experience the same fear that a beginner may fear in
their first competition. On top of feeling the same fears, every once in a while a
professional golfer will not be able to control these fears, like in the case of Bjorn.
Thomas Bjorn is not the only professional golfer who has experienced these fears
while playing the game of golf. Many other champions have confessed of experiencing
the same fears that Bjorn displayed, those fears just may not be as easy to see. Bobby
Tway, who was the 1986 PGA Championship, states shortly after the Bjorn incident All
of us go through it, there are tons of stories like that. It would be nice, when things are
going bad, to raise your hand and say, 'I'm tired,' and bring someone else in like they do
in other sports, but we can't call a timeout and bring another set of five guys in" (Hack).
Here Tway compares golf to other sports in general, saying that there are no substitutions
in the game of golf, which can prove to be difficult in most four-day tournaments. Even
Tiger Woods, the worlds number one golfer at the time, experienced these fears. Ted
Purdy, winner of the 2005 Byron Nelson Championship, states, Even Tigers
introverted. Hes to himself. With every golfer, there is a lot going on in their brains, but
you just cant see it. Inside, were churning and burning (Hack). This shows that even
the best golfer on the earth experiences fear when playing golf. The key difference

Caron 5
between Tiger and an amateur is Tigers ability to, day in and day out, over come this
fear and play golf with confidence and perform to his highest potential.
There are many different techniques and methods to over come fear in golf. One
good way to overcome fear is self-visualization. In golf, it helps to visualize the shots that
you want to hit and mental prepare what you want to do in reality on the course. Joan
Kings first way to overcome fear is exactly this. She informs that in order to overcome
the fear of a particular shot, club, or hole one must visualize hitting the perfect shot in
that situation and also visualize the ball hitting the target and feel the happiness of that
success (King). Being able to visualize the shot helps the golfer to over come negative
thoughts of hitting a bad shot, and in their mind they see the shot that they want to hit and
have the confidence to hit that shot. According to Stanley Popovich and his article, Do
Not Let Fear Affect Your Golf Game, you can also use self-visualization before you are
even playing. He suggests that you visualize yourself playing in a big tournament and
playing in front of a large audience. By doing this it helps to reduce the fear and stress of
the upcoming situation (Popovich). Mentally preparing oneself for an event can help
improve performance in that event. Self-visualization can help you create positive
situations in your head that overcome fear and make it easier to perform in reality.
Throughout a round of golf, a golfer will ask themselves many questions in order
to analyze the golf course. However, more often than not these questions are focused on
the wrong things and Dr. Valiante suggests guiding questions in golf. He believes that
bad questions that are focused on the uncertainty of future events produces fear, but these
questions should be replaced with good, mastery oriented questions (202). Questions that
golfers should ask themselves during a round should be specific and focused on how they

Caron 6
are going to improve their performance throughout their play. Valiante has three
questions that guide his concept of playing fearless golf. The first question should be
asked before a round of golf is played. Golfers should ask themselves what are my
obstacles/what is my strategy today? (210). This question helps to prepare the golfer for
the round that they are going to play and prepare them to win. The second question
should be asked on the tee box of each hole. Golfers should prepare for the hole by
asking what is the best strategy for this hole? (215). By asking this question a golfer
prepares their mind for shots they may play on this hole and which shots would be ideal
for that hole. The third question should be asked when addressing the ball. In order to hit
the correct shots golfers should ask what is my target? (218). By picking a specific target
to aim at, ones mind is focused on the target instead of fear of making a bad swing or
fear of who is watching you. The target helps to distract the golfer from their fears. These
questions help to prepare the golfer for the fears that they may face instead of running
away from those fears.
Self-confidence is one of the best mental methods to overcome fear. If one has
confidence in their swing then they will be able to hit the short they want and as a result
get the scores that they want. According to Don Greene and his article titled Fight Your
Fear and Win, one of the components to fighting fear is perspective. The way the golfer
looks at situations and themselves shapes their actions and self-confidence is how that
person feels about himself or herself going into a situation (2). With the right attitude and
mindset, a golfer can change their perspective on a situation and ultimately change the
outcome of the situation as well. A big part of self-confidence is having positive
thoughts. Stanley Popovich informs that having a small notebook with positive

Caron 7
statements about your golf game can help to manage negative thinking. He suggests that
whenever one is feeling stressed, just open the notebook and read the positive statements
and it helps to manage the negative thinking (Popovich). Being able to remember positive
thoughts during a round can help a golfer take those positive shots from the past and
recreate them in the present time. Having a good sense of self-confidence can be one of
the many ways that golfers over come fear in the game of golf.
Confidence and positivity is crucial to overcome fear in golf. Playing with
confidence and positivity can reduce physical tension according to Patrick Cohn. He
states that one must approach a pressure situation with confidence and a positive attitude
and then they will be able to overcome the fear of that situation (Cohn 78). By being
confident in the situation you are able to overcome fear. Cohn suggests a technique that
he finds to work rather well. He calls it breathing away the tension. He suggests that
controlled breathing can be a simple and effective way to deal with fear and reduce
physical tension (Cohn 78). By breathing easily and controlled it helps to relax the body
thus making it easier to make a relaxed and smooth swing. Being able to swing smooth is
key to hitting good shots and performing at a top level.
A more elaborate version of self-confidence for golf is self-efficacy. Dr. Gio
Valiante strongly believes in self-efficacy and dedicates an entire chapter to it in his book
Fearless Golf. He defines golf self-efficacy beliefs as a golfers belief in their ability to
hit the shots required to shoot the scores they want to shoot when it matters most (124).
Again a golfers confidence in their ability to perform under pressure or just in general is
key to overcome fear in the game of golf. He goes on to explain how to create selfefficacy by believing in the possibility of our potential (196). He also suggests that

Caron 8
golfers must create specific requirements for each shot and see each shot as different
shots and visualize those shots in all different situations and circumstances (197). By
treating each and every shot individually a golfer can prepare them to overcome fear in
all different situations. Valiante closes the chapter by explaining that fearless golf is
solely dependent on the golfers will to do everything in their power to execute swings at
precise targets (197). He is suggesting that in order for a golfer to improve it comes down
to their motivation, will and focus. It all comes down to how much a player believes in
their own talents and that is the key to playing golf successfully.
Fear can impact all golfers and plays a major role in the difference between the
average golfer and the number one golfer in the world, but there are ways to overcome
these fears. There are many different types of fears including fear of failure, fear of
embarrassment, or just a fear of the golf course itself. These different types of fears can
impact a golfers performance, by hurting the mechanics of their swings or even the
decisions that the golfer makes on the golf course. There are many different golfers that
experience these different types of fears and are impacted by them. Even some of the best
golfers on the PGA and European Tours experience the same fear that the common
golfers experience, including Thomas Bjorn and Tiger Woods. The difference between
the players on the PGA and European Tours is the way that they consistently overcome
these fears. There are many ways to overcome fear in golf through self-confidence, selfvisualization, positive thinking, and playing the game fearlessly. A golfer must practice
these different techniques throughout their practices and competitions in order to be
successful in the game of golf. Golf is not like other sports in the sense that the majority
of performing well is being able to keep the mind just as strong as the body.

Caron 9

Works Cited
Cohn, Patrick J. The Mental Game of Golf: A Guide to Peak Performance. South Bend,
IN: Diamond Communications, 1994. Print.
Gallwey, W. Timothy. The Inner Game of Golf. New York: Random House, 1981. Print.
Greene, Don. Fight Your Fear and Win. ExecuBooks. Broadway Books. 2001. Web. 7
Nov. 2014.
Hack, Damon. Stress and Fear in a Waiting Game Golf. ProQuest. ProQuest, 12 June
2007. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
King, Joan. Mental Lesson Plan 4: Overcoming Fear. Positive Mental Imagery. Vol.
IV, Edition 2, Newsletter Feb 2003. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.
Popovich, Stanley. Do Not Let Fear Affect Your Golf Game. FloridaGolferGuide.com.
APBICO, Inc., 2002. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.
Valiante, Gio, and Mike Stachura. Fearless Golf: Conquering the Mental Game. New
York: Doubleday, 2005. Print.
Wright, Mark. Fear of Failure Could Be Killing Your Golf Game. GolfMindShop.com.
Golf Mind Shop, n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.