Why the Mental Game
is Important to
College Coaches
IJGA student-athletes hoping to play golf at the
college level know that coaches have a difficult job
trying to determine the best young athletes to repre-
sent their team, school and community. College golf
coaches must evaluate hundreds of potential recruits
every year and any edge an athlete can demonstrate
is a tremendous advantage. Experienced coaches
can get the measure of your golf game in ten min-
utes. But success in competitive golf requires more
than just a sweet swing and a long drive.
Often times athletes with superior physical gifts
that should make them a star in their chosen sport
somehow fail to realize their full promise. Whether
their day-to-day performance never lives up to ex-
pectations or they crumble when the game is on the
line, something significant is missing from the player’s
repertoire.
What is the missing intangible?
Mental toughness.
Elite college programs know the difference between
greatness and mediocrity is not that big, but it takes
players with something special to bridge the gap.
Mental toughness is the natural or learned psycho-
logical ability to cope with the many demands of
competitive sport and it is the edge that sets a
gifted athlete apart from less committed oppo-
nents. A mentally tough junior golfer will remain
determined, focused, confident and in control under
pressure. They possess a resiliency that keeps them
on track when things are going well and especially
so when they are not. More than this, though, this
mental quality helps young athletes manage the full
spectrum of challenges they face on the course, in
the classroom and in their personal lives.
When coaches take a closer look at a standout ath-
lete, they will be seeking to determine both the level
of a potential recruit’s athleticism and the quality of
their character. As a coach follows prospects around
the course he or she will evaluate how they present
themselves, how they deal with distractions, how
they react to bad breaks and how they interact with
other players. A young athlete who displays resiliency
when things become difficult and shows discipline
and maturity will distinguish themselves in a very
positive way. A junior golfer who plays with mental
toughness will appear head and shoulders above
others who might have similar or better stats on the
course but lack that intangible, that fire. Coaches
want complete packages that they can help grow
and who will step up when the chips are down, not
someone who needs to be coddled and protected.
Some mistake solid mental toughness and an un-
shakeable belief in oneself as arrogance. Quite the
opposite is true. An elite athlete can set aside their
ego and the desire to “prove” something to other
people because that is a goal that they can never
truly achieve. Real mental rigor is an overwhelmingly
positive attribute that enhances a player’s perfor-
mance but also honors the competition, without
whom they would be nothing.
College coaches want well balanced athletes who
strive to achieve personal goals and understand that
self-improvement is a building process, that success
does not come all at once. There will always be ups
and downs, but surmounting the problems and
feeding off of small victories strengthens morale.
This routine of positive reinforcement builds upon
itself and encourages one to attempt to repeat the
behaviors that provided the positive feedback, creat-
ing a self-sustaining cycle of success. We are human
beings and confidence is fragile. No one is perfect
and no one has everything tightly in hand all the
time. Developing mental toughness simply enables
the young golfer to trust their own ability and deter-
mination and know that they will ultimately prevail.
Winning coaches know that more games are lost
than are won, and they value players who give every-
thing of themselves to all of the challenges in their
lives. Winning coaches prize players who fight with
everything they have.
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