Improve your game from your inbox – Playoff Golf
Golf Psychology by Coen Welsh – The Volvo China Open finished on another playoff on Sunday. That was at least the fifth playoff in the European Tour this season.
On top of those five we also witnessed another playoff in the Masters Tournament where Sergio Garcia won a major for the first time.
The latest playoff saw South African, Dylan Frittelli, going head-to-head with the Frenchman, Alex Levy. Both players are part of a new generation of young golfers (u/30) who are all performing superbly on the various global golf tours.
In the past, younger players used to feel intimidated by more senior players with more experience, but research by Hayslip and Petrie showed that there were no significant age-moderating effects [in golf performance], but they instead pointed to the importance of developing golf-specific psychological skills to enhance or maintain performance, irrespective of age.
So, there is no reason why younger players should feel intimidated when playing with more senior players.
Tip of the week – Perseverance
The six most important issues for the Junior Golfer are (From: http://bit.ly/1Uxhjpk): 1. Emotional Control, 2. Focus and Concentration, 3. Realistic Expectations, 4. Perseverance, 5. Personal Responsibility, 6. Self-Worth Beyond Golf and lastly, 7. Self-Belief.
In my opinion, Dylan Frittelli lost the China Open long before the playoff with his final round 74.
For him personally, he would have to continue to focus on number 4 above, namely, perseverance.
He has already lost one playoff so his first win should not be too far away as long as he can continue on the path he’s on. He seems to have the right mindset as he told EuropeanTour.com: “I’m sure I’m going to win, hopefully this season – that would be a great goal to achieve. I am hoping to have a very long career so I’m not going to let this get me down or be upset with anything.”
This is also our tip of the week. As a golfer you need to look at your results holistically, one loss or one win does not define your game or your personality.
Looking back, take all your results into consideration and let that influence your outlook.
In the case of Frittelli, his 2017 results over the last four tournaments are T29, T19, T5 and 2nd. That’s definitely an upward curve and all bets are on him to win the next one.
Quote of the week
“It stings a little bit” – Dylan Frittelli after losing the Volvo China Open on the first playoff hole.
For more tips visit www.capacitytrust.com
Coen Welsh, a qualified industrial psychologist, is an expert on the Antecedents and underlying Psychological Conditions predicting Employee Engagement.He has worked in diverse teams in the UK, Egypt and Namibia. Coen regularly gets invited to speak at HR and other conferences. He is a regular contributor to NBC National Radio as well as Tupopyeni and Off-the-Hook on NBC Television. He is a founding member of the Professional Speakers Association of Namibia. You can visit him at www.coenwelsh.com.
