Golf Psychology

What makes golf such an interesting, addictive and demanding game? One reason is that golf is essentially multiple games rolled into one; putting, for example, requires a very different approach both physically and mentally to driving. The nature of golf also allows for a considerable amount of thinking time between and over shots, which, at various times, can appear to be both helpful and unhelpful. How a golfer uses this thinking time can have impact on his or her level of play.

Fantastic feeling

I believe one of the reasons golf has such an ‘addictive’ quality is the sense of control that you can gain (though often lose) when playing. One moment, a set of thoughts or instructions (or an absence of thought) enables the feeling of having absolute control of the golf ball. A fantastic feeling of being able to control your body in order to hit a small ball in the direction you want. All too often this feeling is brief, or gets interrupted by thoughts or external distractions. I see part of my role as helping the player identify distractions and maximise the ‘in control’ times.

A mental game?

Much has been written of golf being ‘all in the head’ or as much as 95% mental. I don’t see it this way; a mentally strong player tends to get the most out of any situation, including when working technically on his or her swing or, indeed, in other areas of life. In other words, you can’t separate the mental and the physical. The mentally sharp player will tend to have a longer term view of improvement in their game and is often able to make genuine progress in their game rather than an up and down, fix me quick approach.

Common sense

I often hear the line that sport psychology is just common sense. I would go even further and say that the best sport psychologists I’ve seen achieve success with players largely as a result of assisting players to think in the language of common sense more regularly. From my experience with golfers, when it comes to competition or perceived pressure situations “common sense” isn’t very common at all.

Working with Chris

Working directly with Chris, in conjunction with private sessions, enables me to impact effectively in several areas:

• Getting the most from lessons
• Improving practice (see footnote)
• Use of a practice diary
• Pre-round/ tournament preparation
• Concentration - developing a meaningful pre/ post shot routine
• Transferring good practice into good play
• Course management/ strategy
• Decision making
• Post-round analysis / reflective review

In addition, I’ve found the following areas are as particularly helpful for golfers at all levels:

• Recovering from mistakes
• Building confidence
• Anger management
• Using ‘nerves’ to your advantage

Philosophy

One of my basic philosophies is that our thoughts affect behaviour, which in turn affects performance. The idea that the quality and direction of our thoughts impacts on performance is a very powerful idea. For example, given the same situation (say, a bad bounce), one player may act with calmness and composure, whilst another may react negatively (inwardly or outwardly), leading to dramatically different outcomes on subsequent holes. What thoughts (if any) was each player generating about the same situation? It’s the thoughts we have about situations that lead us to behave in a certain way.

Chris Jenkins is proud to work with Jonathan Bint

Jonathan Bint, M.Sc. is a sport psychologist for the English Golf Union, working with national and regional junior squads for the past five years. He currently works with eight regional under-18 squads throughout England.
Jonathan is also a sport psychologist to the English Ladies Golf Association, working with Regional Select squads. In addition, Jonathan also maintains a private consultancy, based in Essex. He has played golf to a handicap of scratch and has competed in international, national and county events.
Jonathan is a British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) Accredited Sport Psychologist.

For further information about Jonathan's work contact Jonathan on: 07801 932 767 or Email Jonathan here or read his golf blog.