Why we need to learn some perspective
We all need to become more aware of the debilitating nature of the words and the angles that some of the press use when describing sport. If you let your brain think it is a catastrophe then it will be a catastrophe and your brain will not want to put you in that situation again.
McIlroy used the great skill of perspective to let his brain move on, take the learning and get playing again. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but it seems a stroke of genius from his management company to get him to play the next week in the Far East to get on with things as opposed to sitting and dwelling.
It is a great lesson that we can all take something from, that being that we need to learn the skill of perspective and see an outcome for what it really is as opposed to a media-hyped tragedy.
Of course golf is important, of course winning is important but if you build it up to be so important you will probably suffer as a result.
Apparently Michael Vaughan, the former England cricket captain and avid golf fan, had spoken to McIlroy about how poor his body language had been on the final day at Augusta. Apparently Michael Vaughan, the former England cricket captain and avid golf fan, had spoken to McIlroy about how poor his body language had been on the final day at Augusta and how he had let the situation control him rather than going out and focusing on what he needed to do.
The other thing that Rory apparently did during the tournament itself at Congressional was to constantly set himself new targets for a few holes at a time.
He broke the task down into smaller sections. I have been working on this for a while now with lots of players with the idea of golf not being 18 holes but six sets of three.
The concept of ‘Super 6’ would seem to be illogical but it has been amazing how many people have reported back saying how much it has helped to keep them focused and given them the ability to constantly keep bouncing back when the inevitable setbacks occur.
Much of what we need to look at to improve in golf is about balance, the balance of technical and mental. Many, many times I have said that a great mind will only get you so far if you don’t have the physical skills to go with that great mind.
However as far as I am aware nobody in the history of the game has worked out how to avoid any bad shots and, until somebody does, we do need to keep working on the Mind Factor and all of the one per cent that is added up can make a serious difference to your game.
Rory put the whole package together at the US Open.
Tom Irwin
Tom is a lifetime golfer, now over 30 years playing the game. 2023 marks 10 years in golf publishing and he is still holding down a + handicap at Alwoodley in Leeds. He has played over 600 golf courses, and has been a member of at least four including his first love Louth, in Lincolnshire. Tom likes unbranded clothing, natural fibres, and pencil bags. Seacroft in Lincolnshire is where it starts and ends.