Having a good attitude during a round of golf and in your everyday life is essential for success and happiness. Your attitude is just a habit of thought that you have put into your subconscious mind. Your attitude is reflected in your state of mind, your behavior, and your conduct which reflects your opinion or purpose.
Professional positive attitudes
Ben Hogan was a fantastic lover of the game of golf, and this was his attitude. He said,
“I have loved playing the game, and practicing it, whether the next day called for a tournament, or a trip to the practice range, the prospect that there was going to be golf in it made me privileged and happy. I couldn’t wait for the sun to come up the next morning to play the course again.”
Tom Watson summed up his attitude by saying it never bothered him to miss a green because one of four things could happen, and three of them were good.
- He could hole the shot from off the green, or out of the bunker.
- He could hit it close and tap it in.
- He could hit it poorly and make a good putt, or
- He could hit it poorly and miss the putt.
Tom said if you added up all those scores, a birdie, two pars, and a bogey, it came to even par. So if you practiced your short game, you had nothing to fear.
Bubba Watson changed his attitude for golf and his life
With his Masters win, Bubba has climbed 8 places to No. 4 in the world golf rankings. It didn’t happen by accident. After Bubba finished 8th in China last year at the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament, his caddy Ted Scott urged him to improve his attitude and commit to a timetable to do it. Scott told him, “’Look, you give me this kind of focus on the golf course for the next six months, and rejoice in all the great things in your life, and let’s see where you will be in six months.”
Bubba Watson has said that his first Masters win was as if he lucked into it. The year after the win he was involved with the adoption of his son Caleb and learning how to become a family man. In addition he was “learning how to be a great champion” dealing with the constant media and sponsor attention, the newly increased fame, and the pressure and expectations of proving himself.
“What I had to do was learn how to work more efficiently,” Watson said. “If that meant 30 minutes a day on the range or 15 minutes on the range and 15 minutes putting, that’s what I needed to do. I need to be a dad and take care of my boy when my wife can rest. And then set a time a day when I have a week off, the time here; I’ve got 30 minutes here, I’ve got an hour here. So I just had to dedicate myself and be more efficient when I was practicing to get back to a level that I want to play at. It took me a year or so to get adjusted that I’m not really that good, I’ve got to keep practicing. Finally I got adjusted to it and here we are another green jacket after a year.”
If you aren’t able to maintain a positive attitude on the golf course, email Joan at info@pmi4.com for a complimentary 15-minute consultation about developing a new strategy.
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