“Golf – why we love a game that sends us nuts!”
Retired psychiatrist, Jim Taylor explains why 300,000,000 of us worldwide are addicted to a game
that brings us so much frustration…and how you can hit the perfect shot without moving a
muscle!
Mental As Anything – too many times
A walk around any suburban golf course will likely expose us to the antics of a range of humans, not all of
it pretty. They don’t play the game for a living yet often behave as if their very livelihood depended on
their ability to do so.
With such potential psychological pitfalls this game sounds like an emotional minefield. Yet, it is one of
the world’s most popular participant (300,000,000) sports. What is going on here?
As humans we tend to remember the good moments and erase the others (conveniently) from memory.
Human behaviour around poker machines is based on this model. This is powerful stuff. An event
lasting no longer than a matter of seconds (in a game of 4-5 hours duration) can result in a high likelihood
of the whole process being repeated. This is why golf becomes an addictive game. This is the same
with poker machines.
The Tiger in Us All…from hero to zero and back again!
Earlier this year Tiger Woods missed the cut for the British Open. Tom Watson, aged 59 years, lost the
title in a play-off to Stewart Cink.
So, the best player had, for him, two uncharacteristically bad days. Also, a 59 year old, who last won a
major golf tournament 32 years ago, played like a man possessed for the entire tournament.
The vast majority of amateur golfers receive handicaps exceeding 18 shots per round, yet we also gain
some insight about the inherent difficulties of the game and the common psychological dilemmas it
produces.
So what inspires us so much about these players? There is a psychological argument that says…”we
see of ourselves in others”. Whilst many of us may doubt we have such capabilities, we at least get to
live out a fantasy of what may be. And we love it!
The Pain of Perfection…and its hidden pleasures.
One of the key psychological features of golf is the constant, repeated reminders we receive about
success or failure. This hints at an expectation we have of perfection (or the lack of it) every time we hit
the ball and yet, at an intellectual level we all know how rarely the perfect shot is hit, even by the greats.
The very nature of perfection is that it is something to be aspired to rather than actually attainable. As
soon as gymnasts started scoring 10’s the bar had to be raised.
Drive for Show, Put for Dough – how beginners can earn big bucks too!
The big dollars are not only earned by the pros. Many a business deal has been sealed on the
greens…and any old ‘hack’ can achieve this. The golf course provides a relatively relaxed, confidential
environment with the opportunity to build rapport by ‘sharing’ a common interest and maybe a few quite
ones at the 19th hole.
Recruitment on the course can also be very effective. An element of scrutiny of performance increases
the sense of humiliation and shame when failure occurs. Emotional responses are up for appraisal as if
golf can unearth carefully hidden personal flaws.
Burn Baby Burn!
Depending on the accuracy of his or her shots, the average golfer will play for 4-5hrs duration covering 6-
8km. For an 80kg person this equates to an approximate burn rate of 290 calories per hour or
1,160 per game. Of course there are other medicinal benefits as well; increased vitamin D, greater
flexibility in the joints, cardiovascular workout.
Buddy Up…what goes on the green stays on the green!
Three mates of mine meet every Wednesday afternoon for a game of golf at a particular course in country
NSW. They have a pact that when they reach the 9th
hole they share whatever secrets they are not
disclosing to anyone else…and what goes on the green stays on the green!
Golf provides a wonderful time to ‘bond’ with friends or family away from other distractions…before
retiring to the 19th for a few quite ones. For blokes this is the equivalent of retreating into their caves
at home.
Women Stronger Than Ever
Despite tough economic times, Australian ladies’ golf has announced a boost in prize money and a new-
year schedule featuring a record five successive tournaments from late January. (p.84 Daily Telegraph,
Sep 30, 2009).
Mind Over Matter - how to hit a great shot without moving a muscle!
There are some basic skills from psychology which can be of help with this potentially frustrating game.
The two most powerful are imagery and setting SMART goals.
Imagery
Research in the USA in the 1980’s on high school basketball players divided them into two groups. One
group practiced free throws for 30 minutes per day on the court. The others simply imagined shooting
baskets from the free throw line for 30 minutes per day. You guessed it; the ones who used imagery
performed much better when they were later tested.
This is a skill which can be practiced on the range, but also in that 10 minutes before you fall asleep
each night. Simply imagine playing a couple of holes at your course, but do it in some detail – from
assessing the shot, choosing the club, taking it from your bag, teeing the ball up (if appropriate), the
practice swing, hitting the shot then seeing the ball fly through the air and landing.
When on course you imagine hitting this shot and seeing the ball fly during your pre-shot routine. For the
pros, the imagery is the most important aspect of their pre-shot routine. Often when a pro backs
away from a shot it is because his imagery of the shot isn’t clear, sometimes because there is a change in
conditions since he first imaged the shot. You will notice this on television coverage of major events.
Goals – how SMART are we?
This valuable acronym is not just for the golf course. It can be applied to both the work place and our
personal lives.
S
= Specific – goals should be described in very ‘specific’ terms. In golf this could be something as
specific as “to reduce my handicap to 15 or below by the end of the year or to reduce the average number
of puts per round by 2 by a particular time”.
M = Measurable - goals should be “measurable” in some way. This doesn’t always mean a numerical
measure, as referred to above. It could be a rating scale from 0-10 about your general enjoyment at the
end of a round of golf.
A = Attractive - goals should be “attractive” and consistent with our general life values and align with
the notion of providing us with some sense of achievement and pleasure.
R = Realistic – goals must be “realistic”. This should be obvious to most in the sense that our inherent
ability to play the game and the time and money we have to commit to the process of improvement will
effect what we can realistically aspire to.
T = Timing – the importance of “timing” makes goals more effective if there is some reasonable time
constraint eg. by the end of the year, within 6 months.
Jim Taylor is a retired psychiatrist with 38 years in medicine. He now practices as an Executive Coach
specialising in change management and peak performance coaching. He can be contacted on 0404 880
NEWS 
