A comedian once said that the difference between golf and tennis is that in tennis you want to kill your opponent and in golf —you want to kill yourself. One bad shot can fill you with anxiety and terror. How do we avoid getting caught in this emotional sand trap?
As Tiger Woods once said, “I think the guys who are really controlling their emotions are going to win.” He’s right, my story proves it.
Anyone who knew me from my playing days at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, would describe a reasonably skilled player but a head case who could shoot the team’s lowest round one day, followed by the highest on the very next.
My sophomore year, I posted a 68 at Bryan Park Golf Club, our long, challenging home course. The next day in a ‘Challenge Match’ with Duke University I shot 99! With five balls out of bounds and missed every putt outside of 3 feet, and hooking a tee shot, nearly taking the head off of the opposing team’s coach
Insomnia often preceded these wild performances. I’d be up all night, roaming the campus with a sand wedge, pitching balls from lantern to lantern. I clearly had issues.
Historically, I would put my golf coaching skills up against anybody, but not my playing chops. I never thought of myself as a talented player. Not even remotely.Self-defeating thoughts and emotions made it seem impossible.
Neurologist Dr. Zuzanna Belisova explains, “Anxiety is to live in fear of the future”
