focus on
MENTAL
How the Professionals Prepare
We sat down with Coach Gary Gilchrist and interviewed him on how
his professional golfers mentally prepare for a tournament.
BUILD CONFIDENCE If you really want to peak at a certain time, it starts way before a tournament and with
COACH GARY GILCHRIST
my Pros it starts before the season even begins. It’s important to build the confidence needed to go
out there and play up to ones potential. There are different areas one can build confidence in
- one can be fitness, getting healthier and stronger and feeling good about yourself. Another
way to build confidence is rest and balance, spending time with your family and friends and
having quality time. There are lots of ways to build a players confidence. For example, most
recently Lydia Ko needed to get comfortable with her equipment again to build confidence.
LYDIA KO
SET GOALS Once you’ve built up your confidence, thatis the time to set realistic goals. There are two types of
goals: outcome goals and process goals. Some players if they come off of many wins, like Ariya Jutanugarn did this
past season, the focus will be on good process goals so the outcome goals can be reached again. In this scenario you
have to ask yourself, what got me there last year? For these Pros it’s going back to their game and really focusing on
their strengths.
DISCIPLINE It’s important to make sure that mentally you’re going through your routines
again, making sure you have a great plan of practice and drills. Mental game is much more
than attitude. It’s being smart on the course and having discipline - it’s not the amount of
time you practice, but the quality of your practice.
MORGAN HOFFMAN
PLAY TO WIN Today you’re either going to play to make cuts or you’re going to play to win. If you play to
“Athletes live to
reach their full
potential through
hard work and
dedication driven
by their
will to win.”
make cuts, or just appearing to play, than anything can happen. However, if you’re playing to win then you’re going to
have to be more aggressive on the golf course. This means not second guessing yourself. Lots of players
second guess themselves, and they want to play safe - but they play too safe. Suddenly instead
of hitting it to ten feet, you’re hitting it to 20-30 feet and that can bring in 3 putting. One
doesn’t focus on consequence. Focusing on the consequences leads to playing defensively.
But if you play to prepare to win, you play aggressively to smart targets. If you’re going to
say to yourself “I want to win a tournament or have a Top Ten finish” - then you’re going
to have to play like a Top Ten player - and that means you always prepare to win.
PAULA CREAMER