Virginia Golfer November/December 2013 | Page 32

by THOMAS DUNNE

Rotella:
Practice, Patience

Key to Building
Mental Fortitude

Use the off-season to sit down, evaluate
and sharpen your mindset on and off
the golf course

Atlantic begin hanging up the sticks and turning
their thoughts toward important matters like
Thanksgiving turkey and holiday parties.
But to Charlottesville-based sports
psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella the off-season—
right now—should be considered some
of the most important pages on a player’s
calendar. Rotella should know; after all, he’s
coached major champions such as Keegan
Bradley, Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington
and Davis Love III, among others. Many
days may be too cold to play,
but Rotella believes there’s
still ample opportunity
to make the arrival
of next spring that
much sweeter.

30

VIRGINIA GOLFER | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

TAKE INVENTORY

“The first thing you do in the winter is
evaluate your past season—from a mental and
emotional standpoint,” Rotella says. “This is
the time when you sit down and ask yourself:
‘Did I have a great attitude last year when I
was on the golf course? Did I enjoy myself
when I was playing? Did I trust myself with
various parts of my game? Was my emotional
state in a positive, healthy, good place?’ ”
Rotella underscores the emotional side of
the game by being realistic in considering
how well we handle aspects of the game that
are out of our control such as pace of play, the
weather, maybe an overzealous ranger. These
are things that can be proxy targets for those
who haven’t committed to improving their
skills and playing better.
“After evaluating those things, take an
honest look at yourself and say, ‘What do I
need to do?’ ” Rotella advises.

w w w. v s g a . o r g

WALTER IOOSS JR./GOLF DIGEST/© CONDÉ NAST

I

It’s the time of year
when the “frost is on the
punkin”and many golfers in the mid-