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Learning From Adversity |
By Dr. Deborah Graham
"It was the only time I saw him try too hard," said Tiger's caddie, Steve Williams.
Seldom can it be said that Tiger lost a major because of pressing or trying too hard, but this time it cost him a very personal victory..
It might not have happened at the 2006 Masters had it not been for the intense emotion he had been enduring the several months prior.
Players of all levels lose strokes to pressing or trying to hard, for a wide variety of reasons that can cover the spectrum of human emotions.
For Tiger it was an unusual case of "outcome" and "mechanical thinking" that was rooted in his deep concern for ...the thoughts, wishes and feelings for his Dad. And who wouldn't in his situation? It was the very first time his father and mentor, Earl Woods, would not make the trip with him to Augusta. And perhaps it might even be the last time his father would watch him play in a major on television.
Tiger is human. And on this rare occasion, under extreme emotional duress, circumstances weakened Tiger's normally intense focus on the process of simply creating shots, and let it be skewed by the importance of his play that day.
Players with untrained mental skills frequently lose strokes to trying too hard, most often without even knowing it! They mistakenly blame their equipment, swing flaws, poor conditions, the weather and at times even another person for the adversity.
When the player, with one of the best mental games ever, falls prey to some faulty thinking it is not hard to imagine how easy it is for the rest of us to do the same. But he, like many other great players, has invested time and energy into getting to truly know himself and his tendencies in competition. And he, like hundreds of other great players has made mental coaching an important part of the development of his game.
These players set themselves apart by being more aware of the real reasons they are losing strokes or struggling with some adversity. This allows them to correct the real problem instead of going off in a time consuming and false direction, like changing teachers or making a swing change.
For Tiger this led to three-putting the 11th at Augusta to fall five shots behind the leader. On 13 he had a 6-foot eagle putt, which he missed; then on the 15th, a 12-foot eagle putt which he also missed. His 3 putt on 17 was one of six for the week and it left him three shots behind Phil Mickelson--all very unlike Tiger when in contention at a major.
Earl Woods sadly lost his fight with cancer the following month. Tiger wisely took the next nine weeks off to grieve. When he came back for the U.S. Open he understandably missed the cut for the first time ever in a major.
What does a Champion do after a heart breaking experience takes a toll on his play? First he works through some of the intense emotion. Then, and this is the important part, he determines to learn from the adversity and use what he learns to not only turn his game around but to make it better.
Tiger resolved to commit himself to learning from the difficulties he was having playing to his potential; he was on a mission to get organized, to get back to basics and make them even better, back to creating shots.
He describes it coming together in one hour of a three hour practice session after a tough start in Chicago. In that hour he regained the creativity, sharpened his focus on the process of hitting shots, later saying "I had every shape, shot, height, spin, whatever you wanted". Tiger then went on to finish his 2006 PGA Tour season with six consecutive victories!
But Tiger doesn't measure himself by trophies or awards, rather by something much more personal to him, his own assessment of his play and how much he learns. "Am I a better golfer right now than I was at the beginning of the year? If the answer is yes, then it's a successful year," he said. "Because if I did that for the rest of my career it's a great career."
Like every true champion, Tiger aspires to, and does get better through adversity.
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