Deadly sins of putting: Don’t label it
Dr Bob Winter is one of the leading mental coaches in the world. Winter is a mind game coach at DLGA and has helped golfers rise to the international stage.
The coach believes that labelling a putt creates a sense of pressure on a player, increasing the chances of missing.
What is label putting?
Do you stand over a putt and ‘label’ it with a value or rank of importance? If you do then you’re a classic ‘label’ putter. A golfer who gives a putt a ranking and feels that they have to be successful on that putt in order to salvage a shot. Simply, the way they identify a putt creates a sense of internal pressure to perform.
For example, say you have missed the green on an opening par four and you have hit your chip shot to five feet. You are currently laying three. Instead of focusing on what needs to be done in order to successfully hole your five-foot putt, you start to think in your mind about the result. You label the putt as ‘important’ or ‘critical’ to saving your par. You create a sense of internal pressure that builds up and you often miss the putt and become frustrated.
Labelling putts isn’t just about identifying par or bogey putts. This ineffective mental attitude can also hold golfers back from shooting low scores. Many times a player will have a very make-able 10-foot putt for birdie only to think that he can still two-putt and make a solid par.
This self-limiting mindset often sabotages golfers who have been playing well all day and in the final stages of a round, realise that they have to shoot a certain score or make the final putt to win or qualify. The mistake they make is to allow the perception of the event to overwhelm them and by “labelling” the putt as big, they often miss.
Cure for labelling
What is vital to curing this affliction is to let go of the emotional strings that you attach to the putt and get into the physical dimension for rolling the ball into the hole. A statement of fact for all golfers is this: a 10- foot putt is in reality…a 10-foot putt.
Regardless if it’s a 10-footer to win the US Open, Club Championship or a two pound bet. It will still be nothing more than a 10-foot putt!
As soon as you label a putt you bring into the equation something within your imagination or a projection into the future. What you need to do is stay in the moment and break
The putt down to the simplest denominator. It is a 10-foot putt and no different to any 10- foot putt you have faced a thousand times.
Stop telling yourself that this putt is for par, birdie or bogey! Don’t remind yourself that if you make this putt you will qualify for the club championship. Or shoot your lowest nine-hole score for that matter. As soon as you label a putt you attach an added value. Which raises your emotional stake and thus adds pressure.
