VIEWPOINT tour tales & true
Grant Dodd
The curse of outside distractions
O
ne of the best books written on sport psychology is sadly
one of the least appreciated. Such seems to be the way
of things when the writer is perceived as concentrating
on academically orientated aspects of performance
enhancement over populist, anecdote-driven rhetoric.
But Terry Orlick’s Psyching for Sport: Mental Training
For Athletes is as comprehensive an insight into the practical
application of sport psychology as exists. The Canadian
veteran is one of the most respected authorities in his field, and
draws on decades of experience at the pinnacle of elite sport
consultation in formulating his theories.
Back in the day when I was searching for whatever key would
open the lock on the mysteries of pro golf, a chapter in Psyching
for Sport resonated deeply with me. It
dealt with the key attributes that Orlick
identified as common to successful,
high-performance athletes.
One was the athlete’s ability to bring
competition-like intensity to their
training and practice sessions. However,
what caught my attention the most was
his assertion that the ability to deal with
distractions was as important a skill as
many physical attributes.
The more I thought about it, the
more sense it made. If you prepared Tiger Woods’
golf hit a
for competition to the fullest of your new low at
abilities, then surely you should also the WGC–
Bridgestone
prepare for eventualities that could Invitational, an
possibly distract you from delivering on event he used
to ‘own’.
your full potential.
For instance, how would you handle
an argument with your significant other
prior to teeing off in the final round
of an important event? What would
your reaction be to being targeted by
an unruly spectator directing personal
comments at you? Most golfers have a
mental plan of action if they hit a shot
out-of-bounds or miss a short putt, but
rarely one that deals with issues that
originate outside their physical sphere
of self-influence. It’s a crucial oversight,
of course, given the possibility that a
lapse of concentration at a crucial time
might be the difference between sporting
immortality and anonymity.
50 Australian Golf Digest october 2010
Going through a divorce would certainly qualify in the
distraction category. Regardless of what was on the line, the
mental toll wreaked by such a conflict would test the fortitude
of the most Zen-like competitor on the planet.
And when you think of unflappable, Zen-like, impervious-
to-pressure concentration, you think of Tiger Woods. Or you
used to, pre-fire hydrant imbroglio and certainly pre-divorce
proceedings. But Tiger Woods 2010 is a different model to the
one that preceded it by some margin, a factor that can only be
ascribed to the turmoil in his private life at present.
A number of pundits have begun writing obituaries of Woods’
career. They are undoubtedly premature, for who, in similar
circumstances, would be equipped to deal emotionally with
what is going on? Even those pointing
to the nature of his self-inflicted wounds
would be likely to admit that the pain
of separation from one’s children, and
the removal of the counter-balancing
influence of family life, is a disruption
that only someone with a heart of stone
would be able to push to one side.
Woods’ ability to execute under
pressure has never been in doubt. A
capacity to funnel his energies into a
solitary moment in time has perhaps
been the most important factor
separating him from his peers over the
past decade.
But for now, he is a shadow of the
bulletproof competitor of years past.
Void of the singularity of purpose that
was once the fulcrum of his dominance,
the distracted champion is present at
tournaments physically but the mind and
spirit appear only partially in attendance.
His place in history as one of the two
greatest golfers to have lived suggests
that this is a momentary shift of
equilibrium that the passage of time will
likely correct. In the interim, perhaps a
lie down with a good book is in order.
Grant Dodd played in the 1997 and
STEPHEN SZURLEJ
1998 British Opens and is now a
commentator for golf broadcasts on
One and Ten. To ask Grant a question,
visit grantdodd.blogspot.com