I recently read a great article by Jaime Diaz in Golf World, “What made Tiger Woods great?“. It Could be called “What Made Nick Faldo, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Gary Player and Johnny Miller Great?” They each talk about Tiger and about what they personally did that helped them succeed. There are some very interesting insights here. Notice that none of them talk about perfect swings or performing only when everything was working well.
In the order of the article:
- Nick Faldo was all about preparation and super golf focus. This was his strength and unusual ability. He could stay focused on the golf fully for the four days of the Major. If we could get him to take the Personality Assessment, I bet a lot that he will measure a super introvert, sober and serious, very Tough Minded and Self Assured, also extremely Self Sufficient. He disses the idea of opening and closing focus while playing but only because this did not work for him. He could have been more successful if he found a way to do that.
- Johnny Miller talks about the Dad influence, but it was not the Dad dictating and demanding that Tiger do it a certain way, dig it out of the dirt sort of thing. Johnny talks about how his Dad and Tiger’s Dad were always affirming, always telling Tiger that he was special and a Champion. This is much different than some parents who try to coach their Junior with criticism and never accept their performance as acceptable, always pushing for more perfection and performance. This leads to self-doubt and a fragile mental game, terrible self-talk for the Junior. It makes them less likely to attain their potential in golf and in life.
- Nicklaus, of the five commenters, is closest to Tiger Woods in performance. He speaks of believing in himself and his ability to make the putt or shot when he had to. No matter how he was swinging, he could find a way to score and keep his round going. He also learned from his failures like Tiger and got stronger and stronger. He played many sports and tennis his whole life. He believes that this was good for him in learning about himself and how to perform well. It also kept him fresher mentally. This is a lot different approach than Faldo. Jack also recognized that letting himself get excited while playing caused him to lose his focus. He learned to subdue his emotions while playing, maintaining optimum arousal levels for golf. Tiger is still trying to match Jack’s number of Majors.
- Gary Player is perhaps the most overachieving of the six. He talks of breaking his neck at 15 and being in bed for a whole year. Every day he talked to himself about his destiny of success in golf. He created really strong self-belief. He called his parents affirmations the greatest gift you can give a child. Gary also credited his Desire. He had tremendous desire. He talked of times when “…I was lost, hitting absolute rubbish, but I would get the ball on the green and make the key putts.” Tiger has that incredible desire too.
- Lee Trevino was obsessed with golf. He thinks Tiger Woods is too. He said that everything you do, you have a reason. No just lackadaisical practice or play. Always working on it. Lee talks of feeling and imagining shots to play them. He says that focusing so much on the little tweaks and details in the swing is making people crazy. He said, “Mr. Palmer had it right when he said, ‘Swing your swing.’” It is obvious that Lee loved the game and the art of the game.
None of them focussed on technique and thought that perfect technique was the path to success in golf. Of course, they practiced improving their physical skills. But if your mental skills are not equal then those practiced skills will not be as good as they should be in competition.
They all recognize the mental challenges and the advantages of good thinking to performance. We can help you get there faster with the approach that works best for you. Our personality assessment and recommendations will compare your personality to the frequent winners on Tour and immediately show you what to work on. Your mental game is the key to your success. It is time for you to start working on it. Your performances will be limited until your mental skills catch up with your physical skills.
