The gusts of wind almost knock you over. Your socks are soaked. A dangerous jar sand pit lingers in the corner of your eye. These are the physical feelings of the Open, but the real challenge of this major test is mental.
This week at Royal Troon, you’ll hear broadcast analysts talking about the best connection players being the ones who stay patient. They take medicine. They grind it off. But beyond these clichés, what psychological barriers does the Open actually pose? What are the specific goals and requirements for one to win in a tournament like Royal Troon?
acceptance
At the Open, players face a mental examination that requires more than just planning around well-protected greens and fairways. Much of the testing is completely beyond the player’s control. You can’t control the wind and rain. The same goes for tee times: Only Mother Nature knows whether you’ll be teeing off in a light breeze, or ahead of a hurricane. Discovering what’s in the sand is a relentless shock to your system.
Dr. Maurice Pickens, a veteran PGA Tour sports psychologist, said accepting adverse results is a learned skill unique to the Open. It all comes from knowing how to evaluate shots.
Pickens defined four categories of how to “label” golf shots and plotted them on a four-quadrant chart with two axes: “Performance” and “Results.” The four parts of this chart are as follows: good execution – good results, good execution – bad results, bad execution – good results, bad execution – bad results.
Pickens, who coached Zach Johnson and Stuart Cink to Open titles and currently works with Keegan Bradley and recent PGA Tour winner Davis Thompson, asserts that in this game, You have to anticipate, accept the “good and the bad” and react appropriately.
“In the Open, you’re going to have a lot of ‘good’s and bad’s, especially when you’re turning into the wind,” Pickens said. “Maybe you play well up front, maybe the game is easy, and you’re 4 under. But you’re still going to hit some good shots and end up with bad results. If you’re not careful, you’re going to You’ll lose your mind. Instead of playing 1 over, you’ll play 4 over.
At the Open, Pickens advises his players to use this visual assessment to control their emotions. The uncontrollable nature of tournament conditions means you’ll get some “good and bad” results, but you’ll also get some “bad stuff” – in other words, lucky breaks. You have to appreciate and anticipate both and truly embrace the peaks and valleys of links golf to keep your mental game in check.
deeper
Changing winds at Royal Troon deal a heavy blow to this Open
“You hope to shoot a good score,” said Jon Rahm, who shot a 2-over 73 on Thursday.
promise
When dealing with factors beyond your control, best practice is to be very specific about your pre-shot vision. Pickens describes commitment as “knowing where you want to hit the ball,” but many players mistake commitment for confidence or comfort. This merger can be a dangerous path.
“Confidence means, ‘I know where this ball is going to end up.’ But you can’t know that. There were flaws on the green. There was a gusty wind,” Pickens said. “You don’t have to be comfortable with the ball to play great golf. You don’t have to be emotionally comfortable. Let’s be honest, no player is comfortable off the tee on the 18th hole at Augusta National or TPC Sawgrass. These are It’s all physically demanding shots. I advise my players to stay away from that – it’s not the goal to be committed and trust your routine.
Looking for confidence and comfort with the ball will only lead to disappointment and unrealistic expectations, and in an open tournament, this can lead to a rapid decline.
Commitment means using the information you have, making a plan, and sticking to it. Crosswinds—which many players describe as one of Royal Troon’s scariest challenges—make this practice particularly difficult. In links golf, known variables can change in an instant, but it’s the player’s job to know when to make adjustments. There’s a difference between feeling physically uncomfortable before your swing due to misalignment, whirlwind, etc., and feeling mentally uncomfortable. Pickens advises his players not to ask questions when walking up to the ball, whether to themselves or their caddy. Self-talk must be established before execution: Whatever happens before the shot is the only thing a player can really control in the Open. You can’t risk destroying it.
Scotty Scheffler and the other top Open Championship contenders will have to face tough lies. (Harry Howe/Getty Images)
elasticity
You’re going to get kicked in the teeth at the Open. Whether it’s a sudden bounce or a sudden gust of wind at the worst possible moment, there are always those moments that force you to pick yourself up from the ground. But not every player has this ability. It’s one thing to accept, to move on from a wayward shot or a big number. Finding the will to bounce back from brief fluctuations is another. This is hard to do – especially if you do it multiple times in a round.
“At some point, people lose their resilience,” Pickens said. “Then they start shortening the process. They don’t pick good targets, they just hit the ball around. They do it because they know they won’t disappoint – because they haven’t invested as much. It’s to protect you. A way of self.
deeper
Bryson DeChambeau’s superpower isn’t distance. This is a strong confidence
The Open Champion won’t let that happen. They bounce back. Again and again.
“Resilience is saying no, I’m willing to let myself down again,” Pickens said. “A resilient player says to himself, I’m not going to just throw it away and let this habit start to develop. Even if I miss the cut by five strokes, I’m going to give it my all.
The score will decide this Open. Some kind of mixture of birdie, par and bogey or worse. Three-putt. A hole. 350 yard drive. But both the eventual winner and his rivals will know that the champion was conquered first between the ears. The Open Championship is a mind game.
(Top photo of Rory McIlroy: Ross Kinard/Getty Images)
