Inside Golf - September 2010

September 2010 www.insidegolf.com.au.......................................................................................................................................................................................... INSIDE YOURMIND

59

DrMikeMartin PRESSURE COOKER

Appleby loves the

WHEN you get frustrated with your swing on
the range, take heart: even PGA Tour winners
feel that pain. Stuart Appleby, who shot an
incredible final-round 59 in West Virginia to
earn his ninth US PGA Tour win, said that the
win had, “Given some real valid weight to the
time you spend on the range frustrated, and
there’s plenty of that!”
Appleby overcame his frustration in
practice, as he overcame the pressure at the
18th green in the Greenbrier Classic. He had
to sink a curler from 11 feet to keep alive in the
tournament and to keep his score in the 50’s.

What was going through his head as he stood over the putt on 18? Well, Appleby is a fan of the game. He is well aware that sinking that putt would make him only the fifth player in history, and the first non-American, to break 60 on the PGA tour.

Likewise, Appleby knew that he was tied with overnight leader Jeff Overton, who still had two holes to play. This putt would put Appleby one up and require Overton to try to birdie one of the last holes to force a playoff.

Did Appleby shrink back under the associated pressure of that final putt?

“You know, I knew what it was all about. I
knew I had to make it. I knew I had to make
it for the tournament; I knew I had to make it
to have a 59. I’m sitting there going, how many
opportunities are you gonna get to do this?”
“But I still felt very relaxed. The cards have
been laying out perfectly for me all day long.
Why wasn’t it gonna do one more?”
Appleby relished being in contention.
Instead of folding, he reinterpreted his pressure
situation and turned it into a challenge. Rather
than feeling the weight of history and the
pressure to win, Appleby saw an opportunity.
That’s how he stayed focused under the pressure.

Dr Mike Martin is a golf psychologist who works with professionals, trainees and elite amateurs who struggle with loss of focus, self-doubt and inconsistency in their game. He has worked at the US Masters and British Open. Mike teaches at The Ridge Golf Course (near Menai in Sydney). To get a copy of his FREE mental game report “Five Embarrassingly Simple Secrets” go to www. MentalGolfer.com

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