Instant Golf Tips

Monday’s finish to the 2005 PGA tournament resulted in a remarkable and popular victory for the world’s #3 player Phil Mickelson, netting him his second career major. The tournament also turned out to be a battle between 4 of the top 5 players in the world. Ernie Els was absent from the mix due to a recent and unfortunate season ending injury. Upon even closer examination of the final standings, 8 of the top 10 finishing positions were held by major championship winners!

Due to the tournament being close to home, I was fortunate to attend Friday’s round. The morning groups produced the dynamic threesome of Vijay Singh, Davis Love III, and John Daly (all major winners). As we followed this group, the contrasting mannerisms of the 3 couldn’t have been more dramatic. Vijay strolled the course with relaxed strides, while Love “marched” down the fairways with purposeful steps and intensity. John Daly’s “everyman’s” appeal was evident and he acknowledged his adoring crowds with a boyish grin and nod of the head.

Tiger teed off in the afternoon and we joined the masses that had assembled to get a glimpse of the best golfer in the world. As is well documented, he was having a rough tournament to that point culminating in a ball finding the water on #4. His round was also distracted by a falling tree limb 40 yards from his (and our) vantage point. However, in a remarkable show of determination, he made the cut on the number by birding 18. What’s more, he finished the tournament in an incredible 4th place.

As stated earlier, 8 of the top 10 final positions were held by major championship winners. This is a remarkable statistic considering 156 golfers teed off on Thursday in a field that was already select due to its major status. Let’s examine this phenomenon and why the cream seems to rise to the top in major tournaments.

Major tournament venues are famous for their challenging conditions. High rough, fast greens and difficult pin placements are the order of the day on these courses. But when they tee off on Thursday, all the players have an equal chance at glory. On any other given day, everyone in the field can routinely shoot in the mid 60’s and most have probably flirted with 60 or below having played hundreds of rounds. So why do the same names usually appear at the top of major leaderboards (including past champions who appear out of nowhere and jump into contention).

In my opinion, the best players in the world have polished routines and they stick to them, particularly under pressure. They resist the need to “do something extra” or “turn it up a notch” because it is a major tournament. I am not talking about course strategy here. All courses require individual plans of attack. I’m talkng about shot execution. Or like the old saying, it’s better to “stick with what brung you”. If you don’t, then a repeatable golf swing becomes unreliable, desparation sets in, and scores rise.

A telling example of this not happening occurred during Saturday’s round. Vijay Singh motored along making par after par and ended up with a third round score of 69 (17 pars with a birdie on 18). Was this a frustrating round? Perhaps. But who else in the field would have traded that consistency and a 69 for their own third round score. Vijay gave himself coveted pars with chances at birdie by sticking to his routine. He knew he had another day to chase the lead and move further into contention. More importantly, he was in the mix on Sunday because he didn’t try to win the tournament on Saturday. Hence, if you try to force the issue on a major championship course, you will be sent packing Friday afternoon. Phil, Tiger, Vijay and the other major winners know this lesson all too well.

How can you apply this principle to your game? Here are some ideas:

1) Resist the temptation to “do something extra” when the heat is on. Performing up to your regular standards is something extra under those conditions. Whether you are on the verge of breaking 100 or 70, giving it your best shot means hitting your best shot.

2) Develop a pre-shot routine and stick to it. Familiarity breeds success. Next time you watch the best Pros in the world, whether in person or on TV, take notice of their routines. They may act casual between shots, but when it’s time to perform their focus is entirely on execution. The best golfers stay in the moment until the ball is long gone.

3) Every golfer has individual physical characteristics and mannerisms. There are golfers of all shapes and sizes that have succeeded at the highest levels of golf. They have succeeded because they know their strengths and weaknesses. Practices your weaknesses on the range, but use your strengths on the course. If you can hit a 5 wood 180 yards down the middle then fire that gun time and time again. Three repeating swings with that club has you putting for birdie on a 540 yard par 5!

What golfer wouldn’t want that putt?!