WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.960 Ah, I'm Sam what you've seeing from Fort Worth, Texas 2 00:00:03.319 --> 00:00:05.240 and I play at Merivus to Country Club. 3 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:07.040 This is Golf. 4 00:00:06.839 --> 00:00:08.679 Smarter number four hundred and sixty. 5 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:13.800 Welcome to Golf Smarter Mulligans, your second chance to gain 6 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:17.440 insight and advice from the best instructors featured on the 7 00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:23.480 Golf Smarter podcast. Great Golf Instruction Never gets Old. Our 8 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:28.359 interview library features hundreds of hours of game improvement conversations 9 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:31.960 like this that are no longer available in any podcast app. 10 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:34.679 If in that shot you took the second or two 11 00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:37.240 or five seconds to figure out I'm really going to 12 00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:40.000 hit a seven iron, and you're not ambivalent, you make 13 00:00:40.039 --> 00:00:43.119 your best choice. You have met the first criteria of 14 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:46.320 the shot. The next criteria is to make sure you 15 00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:48.640 sort of feel the shot. How's it going to feel 16 00:00:48.679 --> 00:00:51.000 if you're put right? You know, when we put we 17 00:00:51.079 --> 00:00:53.640 kind of walk halfway and this is the feel of it. 18 00:00:53.840 --> 00:00:55.479 And then you get in and hit it. And it's 19 00:00:55.479 --> 00:00:59.039 that simple. And if you do those three things regardless 20 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:02.320 of the result, because we're only concerned with everything that 21 00:01:02.479 --> 00:01:05.760 happens before the ball leaves the club face, because after 22 00:01:05.799 --> 00:01:07.760 it leaves the club face, there's not a lot we 23 00:01:07.799 --> 00:01:10.239 can do. But if you do those three things, that 24 00:01:10.359 --> 00:01:13.200 SHOT's a one for one. If you don't do all 25 00:01:13.239 --> 00:01:15.799 of those three things, you do not get the point, 26 00:01:15.959 --> 00:01:18.840 and it's a zero for one. And again that's independent 27 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:22.200 of the result. You got one hundred shots, only fifty 28 00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:24.159 of them did you do it? The other fifty you 29 00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:29.519 were smoking cigars chatting. If you apply this very simple concept, 30 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:33.799 it's hard not to increase your percentage to sixty or 31 00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:36.840 even more maybe, and that really will have a huge 32 00:01:36.879 --> 00:01:38.599 impact in the average golfer. 33 00:01:43.560 --> 00:01:47.439 Mastering Golf's Mental Game with author doctor Michael T. Larden. 34 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:54.159 This is Golf Smarter. Welcome back to the Golf Smarter Podcast. Michael, Hi, Fred, 35 00:01:54.359 --> 00:01:54.959 how are you. 36 00:01:55.640 --> 00:01:57.560 I'm doing great. Nice to be here. Fred. 37 00:01:57.640 --> 00:02:00.359 It's great to have you back on the show. Your 38 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:02.680 first book, who was many years ago? 39 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:05.400 Right, two thousand and eight now hard to believe? 40 00:02:05.599 --> 00:02:08.759 Wow, Well, congratulations you've gone through a lot in that 41 00:02:08.919 --> 00:02:15.080 time and professionally as well. But you have a new book, 42 00:02:15.719 --> 00:02:19.520 Mastering Golf's Mental Game, the Ultimate Guide to better en 43 00:02:19.639 --> 00:02:24.639 course performance and lower scores. Michael, I have a shelf 44 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:28.599 full of metal game books. Is why should I be 45 00:02:28.680 --> 00:02:31.240 getting rid of all of them to keep yours. 46 00:02:32.280 --> 00:02:34.159 Well, I don't know about getting rid of them all. 47 00:02:35.400 --> 00:02:37.680 But this book is really designed to be a little 48 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:42.039 bit different, and it's modeled next to a very famous 49 00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:45.479 book called Feeling Good by David Burns, which is a 50 00:02:45.719 --> 00:02:50.400 psychology book and if you ever go to all the 51 00:02:50.439 --> 00:02:54.759 outpatient clinics, it's sort of a bible in the model 52 00:02:54.879 --> 00:02:57.960 is like this. That Feeling Good book is actually a 53 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:03.280 workbook where you look at pieces of your mindset and 54 00:03:03.319 --> 00:03:05.759 then you get to rate it and then you get 55 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:09.439 to reframe it. So if you get through the book, 56 00:03:09.879 --> 00:03:12.960 you end up it's hard not to get better. And 57 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:15.719 this book is really set up for you to interact 58 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:19.319 with the book. It has drills, it has ways in 59 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:22.360 which you can find out I'm strong in motivation, but 60 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:25.560 I'm weak in emotional control. And if that's the case, 61 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:28.680 these are exercises to get you better. So it's really 62 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:31.680 meant to be a hands on book to help you improve. 63 00:03:32.120 --> 00:03:34.879 Well, it's clear that that's the case because you have 64 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:39.439 homework assignments, you have tests in it, which I found 65 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:41.599 to be a lot of fun. 66 00:03:41.879 --> 00:03:42.639 And that is that. 67 00:03:42.759 --> 00:03:44.319 The format of the other book is it give you 68 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:46.960 a little assignments as the across the board. 69 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:50.240 Yeah, I mean the famous Feeling Good book is like that. 70 00:03:50.439 --> 00:03:53.319 And really this book comes from you know, I get 71 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:55.919 calls all the time to work with various players of 72 00:03:56.080 --> 00:03:59.280 various levels, and I don't have the time to do that. 73 00:04:00.520 --> 00:04:02.800 I can barely work with the tour players that I 74 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:07.080 work with, and so at the university, I teach a 75 00:04:07.159 --> 00:04:11.840 curriculum for sports psychology, if you will, And really, this 76 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:16.759 book is a compilation of the curriculum I teach the 77 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:20.600 medical students and the residents who are interested in sports psychology. 78 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:22.680 I see, And where do you teach. 79 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:27.839 I'm at UCSD, the University of California, San Diego. I'm 80 00:04:27.879 --> 00:04:28.800 a professor there. 81 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:31.519 Good science school, right, very. 82 00:04:31.319 --> 00:04:33.519 Good neuroscience, tremendous neuroscience. 83 00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:35.240 Well that's good to know because I have a nephew 84 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:40.839 who went there and majored in neuroscience. Yeah yeah, yeah. 85 00:04:40.920 --> 00:04:42.319 Now he's a professional musician. 86 00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:44.879 Oh, he's a smart he's a smart guy. 87 00:04:44.920 --> 00:04:47.759 He's the smartest drummer in on the stage. 88 00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:48.439 Of course. 89 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:53.120 I'm like, I'm going through because I dog eared a 90 00:04:53.160 --> 00:04:57.439 whole lot of stuff in this book, and I don't 91 00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:01.199 even know where to get started. On picking apart which 92 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:05.240 parts are so important. But again, this podcast is more 93 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:07.560 about how do we get the average golfer better? 94 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:11.439 So you know, let's go there, let's just go there. 95 00:05:11.639 --> 00:05:16.360 Yeah, sure, sure, Well here's the main thrust of it. 96 00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:19.959 And it's the same for the tour player as it 97 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:23.000 is for the average golfer. And I really think it 98 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:27.000 probably benefits the average golfer more. And what I mean, 99 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:31.319 I mean this everybody that plays sport, especially in golf, 100 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:35.920 it's human nature to become result oriented. I just need 101 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:38.519 a par on the last hole to break ninety or 102 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:42.199 break eighty, or you say to yourself, gosh, how did 103 00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:44.519 I make that triple bogie on the last hole that 104 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:48.720 leaks into the next hole and you play poorly. So 105 00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:53.319 we have to accept that we are result oriented people, 106 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:56.759 human beings are. That's one piece. Now, if you read 107 00:05:56.800 --> 00:05:59.800 all the sports psychology books on your shelf, and mind's 108 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:04.160 bre probably up there too, my old one. And what 109 00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:08.480 you hear the sports psychologists talk about very consistently is 110 00:06:08.519 --> 00:06:12.480 that the golfer or the athlete really has to focus 111 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:16.120 on the process. Now what do we mean by process? 112 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:19.519 We mean what are the components of hitting each shot? 113 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:23.839 So I've come up with this term called pre shot pyramid, 114 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:27.519 which is very simple and it kind of has three parts, 115 00:06:27.560 --> 00:06:31.759 and it goes like this. Every shot you have to calculate. 116 00:06:32.399 --> 00:06:34.680 You know, if it's a putt, the breaks over here, 117 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:37.759 the speed is such and such. If it's a driver, 118 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:39.879 you know, I'm going to cut it off the left 119 00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:43.000 tree or an iron, I need to hit it one 120 00:06:43.079 --> 00:06:46.439 hundred and fifty five yards. So you make some calculation 121 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:49.040 and in a very general way, we call that the 122 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:52.759 left brain. If you don't make that calculation, you're probably 123 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:55.199 not going to do well. But after that is a 124 00:06:55.240 --> 00:06:59.240 really important part. You make your calculation, and it's important 125 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:01.720 you just don't go up and hit it. It's important 126 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:05.439 that you use your right brain and you either visualize 127 00:07:05.480 --> 00:07:08.439 the shot. That's like Aaron Baddeley, he sort of closes 128 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:12.839 his eyes and sees the shot, or you feel it kinesthetically. 129 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:15.199 And what I mean by that is, let's say you're 130 00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:17.600 going to hit a draw or a hook, you sort 131 00:07:17.639 --> 00:07:21.079 of reverse, I mean you rehearse, you know, your hands 132 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:23.920 turning over. Conversely, if you're going to hit a slice, 133 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:27.439 you would kind of maybe rehearse holding on and if 134 00:07:27.480 --> 00:07:31.800 you look at the good players, David Duval, Tiger Woods, Phil, 135 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:35.120 many of them. Phil has a lot of visual stuff, 136 00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:37.519 but many of them really they have the feel of 137 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:41.240 the shot. And then after that, ideally you just step 138 00:07:41.279 --> 00:07:43.639 in and hit the shot with instinct. So we go 139 00:07:44.040 --> 00:07:47.319 left brain, think about it, right brain, feel it, step 140 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:50.240 in and hit it. And those are the three components 141 00:07:50.519 --> 00:07:54.279 of the pre shot pyramid for all shots. Now, why 142 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:58.839 that's important, Fred is because we ask the golfer to 143 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:02.480 rape his process, and that means, let's say on the 144 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:06.199 first hole, I hit a great drive right down the middle, 145 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:09.399 but I didn't really take the time to decide where 146 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:11.560 I wanted to hit it. I sort of got lucky, 147 00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:14.839 so I didn't go through the left brain part one. 148 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:17.079 So even though I hit it two hundred and eighty 149 00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:19.920 yards down the middle, I do not get a point 150 00:08:19.959 --> 00:08:22.839 for that shot because I didn't get through the process. 151 00:08:23.399 --> 00:08:26.800 Now conversely, I might hit my second shot and I 152 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:29.519 might you know, think about it, well, rehearse it and 153 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:31.759 hit it, and I even could hit it out of bounds. 154 00:08:32.039 --> 00:08:34.720 But if I went through that process, I get a 155 00:08:34.759 --> 00:08:38.200 one for one. And so what we get is the 156 00:08:38.279 --> 00:08:43.039 golfer starts to pay attention to rating as process and 157 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:46.519 that satiates the human nature to sort of rate how 158 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:49.960 you're doing. But what you've done is you've turned your 159 00:08:50.039 --> 00:08:53.399 attention to the right thing, which is I don't want 160 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:55.840 to worry about the double bogie behind me or the 161 00:08:55.879 --> 00:08:59.159 birdie I need. What I'm really focused on is just 162 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:02.600 doing these opponents that lead to a good shot. So 163 00:09:02.679 --> 00:09:06.799 we sort of trick the golfer into being process oriented 164 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:10.039 while he's rating himself. And that's sort of the trick 165 00:09:10.120 --> 00:09:12.799 of it. And let's say you shoot one hundred that day. 166 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:16.399 Then you look back and you say, of those hundred shots, well, 167 00:09:16.519 --> 00:09:19.840 sixty of them, I really did my pre shot pyramid, 168 00:09:20.279 --> 00:09:23.440 So you'd get a sixty percent that day. And what 169 00:09:23.480 --> 00:09:27.320 we found is the average golfers around fifty to sixty percent, 170 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:31.200 where the tour players are in the ninety percent tile range. 171 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:34.200 And if we can help you, you know, stay on 172 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:36.799 task with a few more shots, you're going to end 173 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:38.200 up scoring a lot better. 174 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:41.159 You'll get higher scores on your pyramid and lower scores 175 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:41.720 on your card. 176 00:09:42.440 --> 00:09:46.000 Exactly. That's exactly right, friend. So that's kind of the trick, 177 00:09:46.279 --> 00:09:48.840 the big overarching principle, and you. 178 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:54.000 Have various components to your pre shot pyramid. It's not 179 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:59.200 just the planning and the concentration. It starts low. I 180 00:09:59.240 --> 00:10:05.240 really like the you had attitude, motivation, control, optimization, concentration 181 00:10:05.399 --> 00:10:06.240 and then planning. 182 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:10.360 Why that order, well. 183 00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:13.559 I mean we start with you know things like you know, 184 00:10:13.639 --> 00:10:17.919 do you have the right attitude? And really that chapter 185 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:22.399 it's derived from a woman Carol Dweck at Stanford who's 186 00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:26.960 a very famous psychologist, and she has articulated a concept 187 00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:31.360 called mindset. And over thirty five years she studied successful 188 00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:35.840 people in sport, art, politics, and she studied people who 189 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:39.200 were not. And what she has found and she's published 190 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:43.240 academic papers in addition to a popular book called Mindset, 191 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:49.080 is that successful people they view an obstacle as a challenge, 192 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:52.360 They take criticism as something that they can learn from 193 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:56.639 where they and they see other people's success as inspiring. 194 00:10:57.120 --> 00:11:01.679 Where people with a fixed mindset, not a flexible mindset, 195 00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:06.799 they see obstacles as intimidating or other people's success is intimidating. 196 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:10.679 And so in that chapter in particular, we teach you 197 00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:15.960 that concept the mindset of very successful people and then 198 00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:18.480 those who are not. And then we ask you to 199 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:23.759 rate yourself and find out where you are on that continuum, 200 00:11:23.879 --> 00:11:27.360 and then we actually give questions and drills to help 201 00:11:27.399 --> 00:11:31.759 you move to a more flexible mindset, a more adaptive mindset. 202 00:11:32.120 --> 00:11:34.559 And that's kind of chapter one that sort of sets 203 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:38.039 the stage, you know. Then we talk about motivation. Why 204 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:43.159 do you play? And if your motivation decreases, sort of 205 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:46.080 getting connected with falling in love with the game, and 206 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:50.399 we call that internal motivation. And so we give you 207 00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:53.559 concepts and again we go through what I think are 208 00:11:53.559 --> 00:11:56.720 the really important things, which are, you know, what's your attitude? 209 00:11:56.759 --> 00:11:59.360 How do you stay motivated? Then how do you deal 210 00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:03.360 with emotion positive and negative? If we make a double 211 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:06.000 legal we want to be you know, a little fist pump, 212 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:09.080 but be relatively cool because we have a hole after that. 213 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:12.600 Or you have you know, negative thoughts, don't hit it 214 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:15.480 in the water, and we look at you know, when 215 00:12:15.559 --> 00:12:19.159 those thoughts come up. These are techniques to turn your 216 00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:22.399 attention to what is going to be best for you 217 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:25.720 rather than let your mind drift there. And then we 218 00:12:25.799 --> 00:12:27.919 talk about, you know, how to put this whole thing 219 00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:32.000 together in a cohesive plan. When we talked about the 220 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:35.240 mental scorecard a minute ago, that's really the application on 221 00:12:35.320 --> 00:12:38.720 the course where the first part of the book that 222 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:41.519 we're talking about now, that sort of sets the ground 223 00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:46.159 stage for you know, the components that very good athletes 224 00:12:46.200 --> 00:12:49.159 and very good golfers need to have to perform. 225 00:12:49.240 --> 00:12:58.840 Well, I'm fascinated about the motivation part. I'm sure that 226 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:03.840 you have discovered a wide range of answers on motivation, 227 00:13:04.159 --> 00:13:09.120 going from amateurs to tour players. But I'm curious about 228 00:13:09.159 --> 00:13:13.679 amateurs and recreational players. What you hear, what's the vast 229 00:13:13.679 --> 00:13:16.039 difference of motivations they have to play golf. 230 00:13:17.320 --> 00:13:21.039 Well, it's a great question. And if your motivation is, 231 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:25.360 you know, to smoke cigars with your buddies and have 232 00:13:25.480 --> 00:13:29.039 a cocktail at the turn. If that's your motivation, just 233 00:13:29.080 --> 00:13:32.320 to fratnize and have fun, well that's one thing. And 234 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:36.200 you probably aren't buying this book because you're less concerned 235 00:13:37.399 --> 00:13:40.960 about scoring well. But let's say your motive. 236 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:43.120 I think those guys are more concerned about scoring well 237 00:13:43.159 --> 00:13:45.159 with the cart girl. But that's a whole different conversation. 238 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:48.440 Yeah, that one. I don't have the expertise, and I 239 00:13:48.440 --> 00:13:49.279 don't even want to go there. 240 00:13:49.320 --> 00:13:52.960 Go ahead, I'm sorry I did, But maybe. 241 00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:55.559 When I before I was married, younger, three kids ago. 242 00:13:55.840 --> 00:14:00.919 But anyhow, so yeah, I mean the average guy. You know, 243 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:03.679 they generally play golf because they love it. It's a 244 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:06.320 lot of fun. And then what happens is, you know, 245 00:14:06.360 --> 00:14:08.919 they get in the Saturday morning games with their buddies 246 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:12.480 and they start to you know, compare themselves to their buddy, 247 00:14:12.759 --> 00:14:17.279 and their motivation changes from really enjoying the game making 248 00:14:17.320 --> 00:14:20.519 good shots to you know, how do I stack up 249 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:23.120 against my friends? And it takes a lot of the 250 00:14:23.159 --> 00:14:27.159 fun out of it. Sometimes if their mindset, if you will, 251 00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:31.759 in competition is unhealthy. So what we try to do 252 00:14:32.039 --> 00:14:35.799 is we try to identify if your motivation stays pure, 253 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:37.879 which is, you know, I play for the joy of 254 00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:43.840 it and I love concentrating and competing. That's healthy versus 255 00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:46.919 you know, you start to get scared and intimidated, and 256 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:50.159 then you start to let's say a negative cognition, which 257 00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:53.159 is a fancy way of saying negative thought, which is, 258 00:14:53.200 --> 00:14:56.720 you know, I'm not bad putter well or I can't putt. 259 00:14:56.759 --> 00:14:59.960 You know, words like can't aren't words sports that colleg 260 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:04.960 loogists or sports psychiatrists like myself use. So we we 261 00:15:05.080 --> 00:15:07.200 really kind of take a look and we try to 262 00:15:07.240 --> 00:15:10.639 reconnect you with enjoying the game, and then we build 263 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:14.720 some armor around you to deal in the competitive environment 264 00:15:14.840 --> 00:15:18.440 so you can still have fun and concentrate on what's important, 265 00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:19.639 which is having fun. 266 00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:27.879 The motivation for somebody who and like for myself, my 267 00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:30.720 motivating I want to get better, right, I want to 268 00:15:30.759 --> 00:15:31.480 get better at golf. 269 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:32.559 I want to improve. 270 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:39.519 Is that a motivation that could become a problem. 271 00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:40.759 Well, no, that's. 272 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:43.480 Great, I mean because that's results oriented, isn't it. 273 00:15:44.600 --> 00:15:46.879 Yeah, well yes, and no, I mean the goal is 274 00:15:46.919 --> 00:15:49.200 you want to improve. So then I'd say, well what 275 00:15:49.240 --> 00:15:51.720 does that mean? And you'd say, well, I want to 276 00:15:51.720 --> 00:15:55.759 break eighty And I'd say, okay, that's a result goal. Okay, 277 00:15:55.799 --> 00:15:58.679 what is the what is the process to break eighty? Well, 278 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:01.440 the process to break eighty is, you know, make a 279 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:04.759 lot of pars and a few bogies and maybe throwing 280 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:06.759 a birdie. And then I'd say, well, how do you 281 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:10.879 do that? And it will always distill down to well, 282 00:16:10.919 --> 00:16:15.440 I have to hit quality shots, and so that's the process. 283 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:19.960 Goal is to hit better quality shots. And that's where 284 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:22.440 we come back to the pre shot pyramid. Now, let's 285 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:25.919 say your problem is in the short game we'd obviously 286 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:29.279 spend more focus over there, but we still use that 287 00:16:29.399 --> 00:16:33.120 pre shot pyramid as a process goal. And then over 288 00:16:33.159 --> 00:16:36.360 here we have the result goal of improving the short game, 289 00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:40.320 and the overarching result goal would be to break eighty. 290 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:44.120 So there's actually in the goal setting chapter. I think 291 00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:47.480 that's underplanning. We use a matrix where we ask you 292 00:16:47.559 --> 00:16:50.639 to define what's your result goal, and then we ask 293 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:52.399 you to define, well, how are you going to get there? 294 00:16:52.559 --> 00:16:55.840 And that's the process, and so we actually keep tally 295 00:16:55.919 --> 00:17:00.399 of both things so you make sure you have a 296 00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:01.720 a good healthy balance. 297 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:08.559 Passion seems to be a huge motivation for a lot 298 00:17:08.599 --> 00:17:09.240 of golfers. 299 00:17:10.119 --> 00:17:14.119 Well, and that's the beauty of the average golfer because 300 00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:19.799 passion they play. Most average golfers play with this what 301 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:23.200 we call internal motivation. And I use a analogy of 302 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:28.160 premium gas versus low octane. So premium gas would be yeah, 303 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:31.319 I play for the love of it. Low octane gas 304 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:33.400 would be, gosh, I need to make the cut to 305 00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:38.079 pay the rent this week. So the tour players, they 306 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:43.559 actually paradoxically have at times more problems with motivation because 307 00:17:43.559 --> 00:17:46.440 they get burned out and then their golf, you know, 308 00:17:46.559 --> 00:17:49.119 they don't just play for fun like we do. They 309 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:52.839 have to do golf outings and there's a business aspect 310 00:17:53.160 --> 00:17:55.480 and that can sort of burn them out. And we 311 00:17:55.519 --> 00:17:58.480 see that all the time, and then we, you know, 312 00:17:58.599 --> 00:18:02.400 we try to reconnect them with their youth when they 313 00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:05.240 played golf and they had fun, because if you're not 314 00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:07.640 having fun, it's very hard to play well. 315 00:18:08.359 --> 00:18:10.960 There is a great example in the book of a 316 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:14.400 young phenom who comes up and hits the tour while 317 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:17.200 he's still in high school. Didn't you share that story 318 00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:20.200 about how his motivation was. 319 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:21.920 It seemed like it was derailed. 320 00:18:22.680 --> 00:18:25.440 Yeah. Now we're talking about Ty Tryon, who really is 321 00:18:25.480 --> 00:18:27.759 a heck of a good kid. And I think he's 322 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:31.640 almost thirty now, but when he was I think sixteen, 323 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:33.720 right or seventeen. 324 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:34.559 Think he said seventeen in the book. 325 00:18:34.599 --> 00:18:41.000 Yeah, seventeen. He actually earned a fully exempt card on 326 00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:43.279 the PGA Tour, which I think, to this date is 327 00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:46.559 the youngest player my brother. I was cattying in for 328 00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:50.200 my brother, ironically behind him, and we watched him get 329 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:53.319 his card, and that year my brother also got his card. 330 00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:57.880 But the next year Ty came to visit me, and 331 00:18:58.039 --> 00:19:00.559 you know, he was a junior in high high school 332 00:19:01.079 --> 00:19:03.920 or maybe a senior at that time, and you know, 333 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:06.519 it was very tough because you know, he wanted to 334 00:19:06.519 --> 00:19:10.039 have fun like normal high school kids. But the next thing, 335 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:14.279 you know, he had contracts with Nike, IMG was his agency, 336 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:18.599 and Red Bull, and he had all these corporate responsibilities. 337 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:21.480 So now you take a high school kid who really 338 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:24.720 just wants to have some fun and loves golf, and 339 00:19:24.759 --> 00:19:27.359 you put him on a private jet and he flew 340 00:19:27.400 --> 00:19:30.240 around with Tiger a lot, and that was big business. 341 00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:32.799 And I think that would be you know, very hard 342 00:19:32.839 --> 00:19:36.079 at seventeen years old to go through that process, and 343 00:19:36.119 --> 00:19:39.119 it made golf less fun. I mean, we've heard about 344 00:19:39.160 --> 00:19:42.119 Michelle Wee talking about those kinds of things in the 345 00:19:42.200 --> 00:19:45.279 media and you know, now she's playing great and won 346 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:49.480 a US Open, but she also talks about how she's reconnected, 347 00:19:49.880 --> 00:19:52.240 you know, to the passion of golf. And she's another 348 00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:56.400 example of a very young phenom who when she had 349 00:19:56.440 --> 00:20:00.000 to deal with everything that comes with being a female, 350 00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:03.400 that sort of derailed a lot of her passion. We 351 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:07.240 saw that with Rory McIlroy. You know, he he wins 352 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:09.720 his major, you know, he blows the Masters, but then 353 00:20:09.720 --> 00:20:12.400 he comes and wins his major and becomes you know, 354 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:14.920 this phenom, and then he has a dip in the 355 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:17.960 level of his game because he has to integrate, you know, 356 00:20:18.119 --> 00:20:20.720 being under the microscope of the media and all this 357 00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:23.799 other stuff. And it probably wasn't that fun. I mean, 358 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:26.319 people think, oh gosh, it to be super fun to 359 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:30.200 be famous. I think, like Andy Warhol in reverse, maybe 360 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:33.680 for five minutes it's super fun, but it's but after 361 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:36.160 a while it's pretty tiring not to be able to 362 00:20:36.200 --> 00:20:39.400 be a normal person. And that's a tough challenge for 363 00:20:39.880 --> 00:20:43.759 many of the high profile athletes. So you know, how 364 00:20:43.759 --> 00:20:47.200 do we reconnect them with the reason they fell in 365 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:50.039 love with golf? That's really the goal, and keep that 366 00:20:50.079 --> 00:20:51.079 connection strong. 367 00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:54.920 I thought Rory fell apart because he went to different clubs. 368 00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:57.759 The Nikes never mind, so he. 369 00:20:57.759 --> 00:21:01.519 Got well there's more than that conjecture, but certainly that 370 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:04.039 was part of it. Yeah, you know, breaking up with 371 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:07.319 a girlfriend and being under the spotlight of the media, 372 00:21:07.640 --> 00:21:09.319 and I think there were a lot of things that 373 00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:12.359 were a lot of new challenges and and if Rory 374 00:21:12.440 --> 00:21:15.079 didn't play well, I'm sure Nike wouldn't have come to him, 375 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:18.640 you know, with a very lucrative contract. So that's all 376 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:19.519 part and parcel. 377 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:23.119 And I frequently am asking questions about these young phenoms 378 00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:24.960 that are coming up and if they can you know, 379 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:29.039 because golf is so mental, and even on the tour 380 00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:31.359 it's got to be so mental, especially the stress of 381 00:21:31.400 --> 00:21:35.319 a Sunday, that how can these kids handle this kind 382 00:21:35.400 --> 00:21:38.240 of pressure and still you know it's not just hitting 383 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:39.799 the ball farther than everybody. 384 00:21:41.880 --> 00:21:44.079 Well, I mean, you know they you know, it's a 385 00:21:44.119 --> 00:21:47.720 little like training Navy seals, you know, the really good 386 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:51.799 ones really learned to you know, how to how to 387 00:21:51.880 --> 00:21:55.039 deal with that pressure and get a playbook if you will, 388 00:21:55.240 --> 00:21:58.359 and I like, I like in my book to that 389 00:21:58.599 --> 00:22:01.920 you know, it really has answers and suggestions. You know, 390 00:22:01.960 --> 00:22:04.160 we go out and play golf and you know number 391 00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:06.400 sixteen at my course has a lot of water on 392 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:09.359 the left, and you know ninety percent of the people 393 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:13.400 up there are aiming to the right and having really struggling. 394 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:16.240 Very few of them. You know, know what an anchor 395 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:19.720 thought is in ways to deal with our human nature 396 00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:22.759 when our mind drips. So recently I had a web 397 00:22:22.839 --> 00:22:27.480 dot com player, Camillo Betedetto, really a fine player, come 398 00:22:27.599 --> 00:22:32.400 visit with me, and you know, he, like many players, 399 00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:36.519 you know, had had good concentration, but really didn't have 400 00:22:37.079 --> 00:22:40.599 kind of a playbook. So in certain situations, you know, 401 00:22:40.680 --> 00:22:43.440