Trust the Process

I've been listening closely to a lot of post-competition interviews from the pros in golf and in other sports.  In those interviews, I've noticed a theme that comes up over and over again from athletes who are at the top of their sport.  It sounds something like this...

"I'm just going through my process and staying in the present moment".

Process is considered the series of actions (physical, mental and emotional) that are involved in a routine.  Great players all have a routine that they undertake before every action.  This routine fits their individual personality and tempo.  They focus intently on how well they produce this routine instead of putting all of their energy (and anxiety) on the result of the action they are about to undertake.

When you are focused on the result, you will experience great highs and agonizing lows.  The experience tends to be one of exhaustion as you are constantly in the place of fear and anxiety over what might happen and what those possible results might mean to you.

On the other hand, athletes who are focused on their process can sometimes be hard to read from the exterior.  It can be hard to tell if they just snap-hooked a shot into the woods or made a 90-foot putt.  They react much less to the result of what has happened.  They seem balanced and more "in the middle" when they are playing their sport.  They derive their satisfaction in the discipline they show in carrying out their "pre-shot" routine.  By not being emotionally tied to the result, they are able to remain in the calm, centered place where they can more readily have access to being "in the zone" and where they can notice subtleties about themselves, making it an ongoing growth and learning process.

These players tend to not "shout for joy" as much, but they do tend to have a contented smile on their faces much more than the average golfer when they play the game.  Golfers that come to mind are Matt Kuchar and Fred Couples.  These are the kind of guys who keep their contented saunter around the golf course going, regardless of the exterior circumstances.  A good example of this is a time when Fred Couples made one of the greatest pars ever at the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass in the Players Championship in 1999.  Fred hit his first shot just a little short of his intended target and it ended up in the water.  If you watch Fred's reaction, there is not much of one at all.  He simply stepped up and hit another one....into the hole on the fly.  The greatest example of the cool customer that is Freddy occurred after he dunked his par shot.  With a smile, he just walked along about the same way he did after his initial shot went into the water....no big deal.

You can tell when a player is tied to the results on the practice range.  There is an immediate emotional reaction to their poor shots and they quickly reach for the next ball, before the previous ball has finished rolling.  These players, so caught up in their emotional reaction to the golf shot they have just hit, are missing the golden opportunity to learn from what just happened.  Players who are instead focused on the process will calmly evaluate their routine and take a moment to notice what is happening to cause their issue.  They possess self-awareness and self-knowledge and are able to learn from what has just transpired to cause their poor result.  These two players look completely different when they practice and when they play.

If you don't currently have a 20 to 30 second "pre-shot" routine that feels comfortable and revolves around relaxation and rhythm, I suggest that it should be your main priority as a player to establish such a routine.  Create it consciously now and take the time to break down the details of your routine to what is important, comfortable and personal for you.  Then, practice your routine and only your routine for an extended period of time.  Train yourself when you practice to let go of the results and to focus on the process of your routine.  We want to be able to have this positive habit in place so that when the "chips are down" and we find ourselves in a place where there is the potential for having anxiety arise about the result of any given shot, we can return to our training on focusing on process to guide us through.

Here are some elements to a routine that you might consider consciously including in your pre-shot routine.

- Commitment to your decision (club, kind of shot, etc.)
- Fundamentals (grip, posture, alignment, ball position)
- Relaxation
- Rhythm (throughout the entire routine)
- Positive Visualization
- Waggle
- Trigger that starts the action
- Commitment to being detached from the result...regardless of the result.  (Hint: If you are having an emotional reaction to the result...you are tied to that result.)

Enjoy the process of creating your process.  After some time, discipline and practice, this routine should feel like a trusted friend and as comfortable as house slippers.

For help in consciously creating such a process, feel free to visit my website at www.presentmomentgolf.com to schedule a Sports Psychology Coaching session.

Steven Miller, M.A.
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