Woods' Calmness Under Pressure
by Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D.

Woods won the 2006 British Open this year in a very different fashion than other career wins he has bagged. Most of the time, Woods overpowers the golf course by hitting driver to wedge distance, but during this week - his 11th major win - was different. He only hit one driver off the tees the entire week. It was a week of strategic and finesse golf, not his typical power golf.

I’m sure you have read some of my articles on course management and playing within yourself. However, when you are Tiger Woods and others expect you to play the power game all the time, which is one of his biggest assets, it’s harder to tailor your golf game and strategy to the specific golf course, in this case Royal Liverpool.

Tiger Woods never deviated from his preconceived game plan that most professional golfers develop when playing a practice round. “I developed a strategy to play this golf course that I thought suited me and I felt comfortable with it, and I went out there and executed my game plan. It’s just one of those times where you develop a game plan and stick with it and there's times when you need to adjust, but I stuck with it the entire week. I adjusted clubs off the tees, just because the wind conditions kept changing, but as far as the overall game plan, I never deviated,” Woods said.

Royal Liverpool was playing so hard and fast that when you are a long hitter, it makes it difficult to control your shots off the tees and into the greens. Tiger new that 350 yard drives would not be manageable. “As I was playing the golf course, I would hit a couple of drives, and the driver would go 350, 370 yards. How can you control that out here? You can't control that. The fairways are hard enough to hit as it is, and you add driver and they go that far, now how hard is it to hit the fairways?”

However, it was only his superior thinking and strategic placement off the tees that helped Woods win his 3rd British Open Championship. His power game often overshadows his touch and finesse game around the greens, which is also key to his success. He has a superior touch both around and on the greens. He confessed that creativity was key to ball control in his win. “You had to create golf shots this week - you had to really control your golf ball in the air, because if you did not control the ball in the air with the correct spin, you could not control it on the ground and it could really get out of control,” Woods said.

Woods tells the media that his game plan was about taking a “conservative approach” to the golf course, which was how he played the entire week. But some golfers confuse playing conservative golf with playing tentative golf. Conservative golf is playing smart golf and being patient with scoring opportunities. At times, you have to hit the middle of the greens or run the ball up on the green 30 feet left of the pin. Tentative or scared golf is playing away from hazards, water, or bunkers because you are afraid of hitting into those obstacles.

Tentative golf causes your swing to change because you are afraid of hitting a bad shot. Your body becomes tense and you have a greater chance to steer the ball away from the hazard. When playing smart golf, your goal should be to plan and pick a smart target given all the elements of the shot (pin location, bunkers, etc.) and make a free, aggressive swing to that target.

Tiger’s mentor, his father, taught him very well. You probably already know that Earl Woods would try to distract his son during his practice in the hopes of improving his ability to concentrate on the course. Tiger’s father also preached the importance of thinking his way around the golf course, having a smart game plan, and not letting emotions interfere with making smart decisions on the golf course.

“He was always on my case about thinking my way around the golf course and not letting emotions get the better of you, because it's so very easy to do in this sport. And just use your mind to plot your way around the golf course and if you had to deviate from the game plan make sure it is the right decision to do that. He was very adamant I play like that my entire playing career,” Woods said.

Woods’ focus and course management strategies are especially important in the Majors. However, Tiger does not change his level of focus or try harder to focus in majors. The same can be said when he needs to make birdies on the final nine holes of a tournament. He believes that you don’t “flip a switch” and kick it into overdrive when needed in majors. Instead, he believes that you play every golf shot with equal importance and intensity from the first tee shot to the last putt.

“I don't intend to do it on purpose - that's not one of those things where I can turn on the switch. I believe in the way I play golf that you turn the switch on the first hole and you have it on the entire time. And you don't try any harder on each and every shot. You have the same effort level, you give it everything you have on every shot,” Woods said.

Although he does not try to elevate his game to another level on purpose, Woods has an uncanny knack for hitting great shots or holing long putts to help him secure a win. Wood’s says that he draws strength from his experience and confidence knowing he has succeeded in the past. Maybe he even uses some of his past statistics to draw confidence and intimidate the opposition. Woods’ record is 11-0 in majors when he has or is tied for the lead starting the final round of a major. Do you think his competitors are aware of this fact?

“I’ve seemed to pull things off at the end and I think that's just due to I feel comfortable being there. I’ve been there enough times. I've had enough success that I feel comfortable being in that situation…. And I just think that there's certain calmness that comes about being able to say with honesty that I've done this before. And I'm out there and that's the calmness that I feel coming down the stretch.”

Woods’ calmness may be his biggest mental game asset especially when all his competitors are well aware that he will not beat himself when playing with the lead in a major.

Want more information to help you stay composed on the course. Check out Dr. Cohn's Golf Psychology Programs and The Composed Athlete program at Peaksports.com.