Anger in Golf -
The power for self-destruction or
self-improvement
by
Dr. Gary Wiren,
PGA Master Instructor
In the Foreword to a popular golf book written over
50 years ago, Rex Beach, a then well-known novelist, made this
observation about the game. "I am a golfer. I have played for 20
years, but I have recently made a discovery. I hate it!" Although
Beach's comment was in jest, there are many golfers in the world who,
because of the anger they build up during their play, could make the
same statement in all seriousness. If that applies to your golf,
BEWARE! It's a malady far worse than a roundhouse slice!
The physiological responses to anger include a general tensing
of the body's muscles, temperature increase which may induce
perspiration, increased heart rate, more rapid breathing, and other
changes preparing you for "fight or flight." All of these conditions
negatively affect the production of a consistent golf stroke. If
tension is one of the great destroyers of the swing, then emotions
(such as anger) which contribute to tension must be properly
controlled by the player looking for his best results.
No one needs to tell you that "that damned Scotch croquet"
which is your favorite pastime, is a frustrating game. Just when you
seem to have it licked &endash; the swing in the groove, your putts
dropping and the recoveries down pat &endash; it comes apart. You
feel the reason they call golf an "old man's game" is because it
takes eighty years to learn it. When you reach that point, ask
yourself a question: Does it make you mad? If it does, you are not
alone. It is the extent to which it happens, and how you cope with
your anger in golf that is important.
What Is Anger And How Does It Affect The Golfer?
Anger is a response to the thwarting of a goal-seeking
activity. In other words, it's not getting what you want. When that
1-1/2 foot putt stops short of the cup, or your tee shot hits a tree
and caroms out of bounds, that sudden surge of warmth you feel isn't
the weather changing; it's your mad thermometer going up. It is
caused by the frustration of not accomplishing what you would like to
do. Unfortunately for golfers, anger affects the human body in the
ways we described at the beginning of this article. In addition, it
disturbs the normal rhythm of the physical and mental functions which
are conducive to good golf. Anger affects not only how you feel but
also how you think and act. A rash decision on the golf course
influenced by anger can often be more destructive to one's score than
the most obvious physical effect on one's swing.
Responses To Anger
There are several ways in which golfers express their anger.
Listed below are three types of players and the ways in which they
respond to anger.
1. The Verbal Abuser
The golfer whose anger takes the form of a stream of
not-so-polite epithets is expressing his displeasure by the most
common means &endash; verbally. Not all golfers swear out loud. Nor
for that matter, do they all swear. When ill fortune strikes, some
just stand there in "profane silence."
2. The Physically Violent
This more demonstrative player takes his rage out physically
upon his equipment, the course, or himself. The run-of-the-mill types
simply break clubs when they make a bad shot. Others abuse the trees,
shrubbery, tee markers and &endash; sad to say &endash; sometimes
even the putting green. The most rash punish themselves. One such
individual, a good player from the western United States, once became
so infuriated when he chunked a routine pitch shot into a trap that
he bludgeoned his ankle with his wedge until he drew blood, then
threw his club into the trap, dove headlong in after it and proceeded
to lie on his back scooping sand onto his body yelling, "I'm going to
bury myself alive."
3. The Quitter
Some people get so mad they quit. They may quit in the middle
of a round, much to the discomfort and embarrassment of their fellow
players; or they may just quit after a particularly bad day filled
with humiliating shots. Some players quit a couple of times a year
and swear they will never play again, but they seldom keep their vow.
You Can Improve!
Everyone can, with practice, improve his temperament just as he
can his swing. The truth of that statement personified was Bobby
Jones, everyone's choice as the all-time greatest amateur player.
Early in Jones' career he was known for his fiery outbursts, which
usually resulted in the launching of one of his clubs into space. He
gradually learned the trick of appearing outwardly cool, but those
who were close to him knew the heat that was being generated beneath.
Yet he learned to subdue it without negative result.
A marvelous example of controlling attitude &endash; and
therefore, emotion &endash; was exhibited by Peter Jacobson in an
earlier Hartford Golf Classic. Peter was in the lead approaching the
last nine. In the middle of these last holes he bogeyed two in a row.
Between the green and the tee of the next hole, he pretended he "just
made two birdies," thereby countering the anger and rising feeling of
desperation. He kept calm and happy, and went on to make another
'real' birdie to win. This positive thinking process was a skill he
had learned earlier in the year from a sports psychologist in Eugene,
Oregon.
One of the most common occurrences which test the golfing
temper is the "bad break." There are golfers by the score who can hit
picture shots and play a great game when things are going well. But
if an inexplicable stroke of fate sends the ball in precisely the
wrong direction when all the laws of nature would have it go the
other way, they simply come apart. These same players who can cope
with failure in their strokes regard tough breaks as personal
catastrophes. If ugly bounces seem to unduly raise your hackle
feather, preach to yourself that bad breaks are a part of the test;
divot marks are there for your ball to roll into, as are heel prints
in the sand and the lone bush in the rough. The great Harry Vardon
simply took the attitude of expecting occasional bad breaks and
refused to worry over a bad lie or hard luck. Richard Armour, in his
book Golf Bawls, shows some insight into the golfer's disposition for
remembering only the bad breaks in the following poem:
A Golfer's luck is always
tough,
His good luck's simply
nil;
The bad bounce goes into the
rough,
The good bounce&endash;hell,
that's skill.
Counting to ten (or multiples thereof, if necessary) may seem
like a medieval way to cope with anger, but it makes good golf sense.
More specifically, it is good advice to not hit a shot if you are
still mad from the previous one. This very mistake is often the
undoing of the player who drives out of bounds after a three-putt
green, or hits a quick second ball out of bounds before having
recovered from the first. The saying, "one bad shot leads to
another," is founded in part on the failure to observe this practice.
Demonstrating minor displeasure, if done in an acceptable
manner, is not out of line on the golf course, providing it doesn't
offend those around you. Winners learn to face it, get rid of it and
get back to business. Better than expressing your displeasure is to
use temporary anger to motivate you to more practice, a better game,
and lower scores. It is worth it! For, in the words of Bernard
Darwin, golf's most prolific writer, "It is certainly true that we
all hate the game at times. Then how intense must be its compensating
pleasure that we go on playing it."
Gary Wiren is a PGA Master Instructor and a Ph.D.
He operates "Golf Around the World" in Lake Park, Florida. The
company conducts golf seminars, schools and personal visits, and
sells golf teaching aids, books and videotapes. Call 561-625-1928 or
800-824-4279 for information.
Garyw@floridagolfing.com
