The Mindful Golfer
By Dr . Josh Brant , Clinical Psychologist and Sports Performance Coach
What Are You Afraid Of ?
Standing on the tee box at a CSGA qualifier a couple years back , I had never been so afraid in my life . Despite my theoretical understanding of the impact of fear on performance , my body ’ s survival instincts took over . My heart was pounding . My breathing was getting shorter and tighter , and my mind went blank . My hands were shaking so badly that it took me three tries to get the ball to stay on the tee .
You may think sport psychologists are immune to the anxieties that so often plague our clients . No such luck . When the body is told by the mind there is something to fear , even the most mentally tough struggle .
From evolutionary perspective , fear is a natural , physiological response to danger . Which makes perfect sense if you ’ re confronted by an angry bear , or a speeding car , or sitting in a plane bouncing through turbulence .
But the first tee of a Connecticut Amateur qualifier ?
Other than the possibility of having a heart attack because I was so terrified , my life was hardly in danger . So , why was I reacting this way ?
The simple answer is that to our nervous systems , a threat is threat . It doesn ’ t matter whether or not the threat is real or imagined , rational or irrational . In my mind I was afraid I was not good enough to be playing in a CSGA event , I was going to fail , and people were going to laugh at me for my incompetence . To my body , I might as well have been floating in shark infested waters wearing a bloody steak around my neck .
In golf , being at the mercy of one ’ s nervous system is a problem : Our thinking becomes quick and impulsive rather than slow and deliberate . We are more apt to be guided by our emotions than by critical thought . Our ability to focus , pay attention and be creative decreases . So does our working memory . We become defensive , pessimistic , and primed to see a threat in situations where it doesn ’ t exist . Our ability to absorb and take in new information is impaired . There is a significant increase in muscle tension , a
40 | CSGA Links // August 2018 www . csgalinks . org