On The Tee with Hank Johnson

On Being Mentally Tough
Definition: Having a physiological edge that enables you to be consistent, confident, focused and determined during high pressure situations in order to perform at maximum potential.
Players who are tough minded:
- Excel during high stress and pressure situations
- Have a mental advantage over competitors
- Are able to bounce back quickly after a setback
- Can produce results even when the likelihood of success is low
- Seem unshakeable through almost any circumstance
Here are the six major characteristics of mental toughness:
Confidence
Having a strong belief in yourself increases your mental toughness. If you believe in your ability to succeed, then you are preparing yourself for success and bracing yourself in case of obstacles.
Focus
When a person cannot stay focused it is easy for them to mentally collapse in high pressure situations. The ability to concentrate on the task at hand and stay focused on the task is an unbelievably important skill that many players cannot seem to master.
Motivation
Finding motivation is easy, keeping motivation is a challenge. Lost motivation usually stems from the lack of or a shift in focus. In situations when the climb is uphill, motivation, focus and resiliency should be your best friends.
Courage
Remember that being courageous is not being fearless; rather it is having fear but acting as if you don’t. Acts of courage are usually accompanied by a mountain of fear but a courageous person will do whatever they have to do in order to get done that which has to be done.
Composure
Player who demonstrate a high level of composure appear to be “cool and in control” even in the most difficult circumstances. Since how you act directly affects how you feel this is a great quality to emulate even if you don’t feel composed.
Resiliency
It doesn’t matter how confident, focused, motivated, courageous or composed you are, if you don’t see your goal to the end then it may turn out to be pointless. Being resilient is pushing through until you reach you goal, no matter how difficult things get. Just keep your eye on the prize!

Interference During The Process of Change
Making effective change is difficult. I believe that it is because that we are intellectual beings and truly believe that if we are able to understand concepts we should be able to execute them physically. That could not be farther from the truth.
In golf, there are several roadblocks to change. Here are a few that I’ve run into when my students are in the process of improving their swing mechanics:
1) It doesn’t feel like my old swing. There is a misconception that at some point, the new swing that they are trying to make will eventually feel like their old swing. The student then pursues trying to make the new swing feel like their old swing and ends up gravitating back to their old swing. The new swing will never feel like the old swing because it isn’t the same thing.

2) It doesn’t feel like it will hit it anywhere. Change sometimes feels like you’re not swinging as hard as you think you should. We have been conditioned to believe that the more effort you exert, the farther you will be able to hit it. The extra effort ends up tightening muscles and slowing down swing speed thus reducing distance. The dilemma comes with trusting that a more relaxed swing (with less effort) will actually give you a better chance at hitting it farther. Just like the old saying goes :” Swing easy and live with the extra distance.”

3) It will make me look strange/weird. In order to make a visible change, I often have to get the student to exaggerate a particular motion. This can make students feel like they will look odd. I use video equipment to allay the student’s concern and let them see that what feels like a huge change is really a small change from a visual perspective.

4) It can’t be that simple. As odd as that sounds, when things seem simple, people tend to believe that it won’t work. This seems to be especially true in golf. It goes back to the notion that golf is complicated and the feeling that “I’m not working hard enough and don’t feel like I’m putting in enough effort”.

5) It doesn’t work. Too often we believe that if we understand a concept, we should be able to physically reproduce our thoughts. If that’s the case, we should be able to write with both hands since we already understand how to write. Motor skill acquisition takes time and consistent effort. I find that students tend to quit too soon and don’t persevere long enough for effective change to happen.

6) I don’t want to be embarrassed. Making a change is difficult. It sometimes requires drills that will make a student feel very uncomfortable and could look embarrassing on the driving range. They may not want to look like “Tin Cup” with the teaching aids they have to use. They believe they know what they need to do and stop using the aid and now don’t have an effective way to monitor their practice.