Although golf is known as a chivalrous game with numerous rules of etiquette to follow, there are
times when it is hard to restrain your emotions.
This is a game that can infuriate and frustrate, often bringing out the worst side of your personality. Swearing, throwing clubs, breaking clubs - once ‘golf rage’ takes hold - it is hard to overcome!
The triggers of self destruction are clear. We can all play the game of golf, but when things start to fall apart it becomes a personal drama that feels befitting of a lead role
in a Shakespearean tragedy.
Golf is about rhythm and tempo, not temper and tension. Easier said than done when you miss your fifth tap in from two feet or shank yet another ball off the tee and out of bounds. Unless you possess the most easy going personality you may experience feelings of anger no matter what level of golf you play.
Many golf professionals seek help from a golf psychologist to improve their mental toughness. eat GOLF! met with Allison Dyer, a BASES Accredited Sport Psychologist and BPS Chartered Psychologist to find out what assistance she can give and how to get yourself out of the habit of only seeing red. If you can relate to Adam Sandler’s performance in the golfing comedy Happy Gilmore, then keep reading!
Do you find it difficult working
with an amateur golfer?
Amateur golfers tend to have an untrained swing and an untrained brain. Ideally you want a trained swing and a trained brain. More often than not, pros will have a trained swing and an untrained brain. At the end of the day with amateurs, if you haven’t got a trained swing you’ve got to work on that first. That’s the priority. With all the psychology and mental control in the world, if you can’t hit it down the fairway then it doesn’t matter how mentally tough you are, you’re not going to score well.
Do you find that seeing a sports psychologist carries a certain stigma?
No I don’t. In the past it did but public awareness of the direct link between performance success and sport psychology has risen. Most people know that the top golf professionals have a sports psychologist. I don’t think the term “sports psychology” is an unusual term any more. Golfers are used to hearing it. Most golfers who are serious about their golf have a basic understanding of what sports psychology is - they are just not sure how it can help them. You do occasionally come across individuals who ask if I’m going to question them about their childhood or they think I’ll turn up in a white jacket and ask strange questions or bleat on constantly about positive thinking and being a winner, but that doesn’t happen so much now because people are more clued up about it.
Getting started was quite difficult because there were people who didn’t really understand what sports psychology is. They presumed you had to be at your wits end to see a sports psychologist. Slowly but surely I’ve educated people and showed them I can help them. I don’t have a magic wand!
