Attitude is everything

It strikes me that all of us underestimate the importance of attitude – in work, in sport, in life – in everything we do. Two of the biggest reasons that people get fired from their jobs are: (1) failure to get along with others, and (2) having a bad attitude. Team coaches can tell a player with a bad attitude from the drop of a hat. Over my many years of playing and teaching golf I have seen how certain golfers sabotage their golf games because of their persistent negative attitude.

In psychology attitude refers to a set of beliefs, opinions, usual thoughts and typical feelings toward persons, things, events and actions in a given scenario. While the formation of attitudes for a particular individual is complex and may evolve from infancy to adulthood, they are largely the result of experience, upbringing, education and social influences. Our positive and negative attitudes have a powerful influence on our behavior in various situations. Unlike one’s personality, which is understood to mostly remain permanent over a lifetime, attitudes are subject to change. We see that even in politics. Still, your attitude is a reflection on you.

On the golf course if you are someone who believes that everything has to be “fair,” you are likely to become frequently upset about unfair bounces of the golf ball, unfair wind conditions, unfair layout and design of various golf holes and even unfair good luck and even stellar play from playing opponents. Another attitude that can sabotage a golfer is the feeling that you “should” or “must” hit a good shot and a good putt every time, and if that doesn’t happen every time it becomes a tragedy. Along with that if I don’t play up to my standards and don’t win more often, I’m an imposter. Of course, a few of the main causes of a bad golf attitude are fear of losing, and worries about looking bad, and resentment of others who seemingly always play well, and feeling inferior, which can rear its ugly head in the form of constant nervous anxiety.

It is my studied opinion that the world’s number one golfer, Scottie Scheffler, is an excellent example of a golfer who has a great attitude, which seems to steady him in tournament play. He is as competitive as they come and wants to win every time. But Scheffler puts his golf and his fame and his money into a proper perspective: He has stated over and over again that he doesn’t define himself as a pro golfer. His higher priorities are his family and his Lord.

People are not 100% positive or negative all of the time. But a positive attitude most of the time is certain to help you to be happy. Regardless of early observational learning and upbringing, attitude is a choice. It takes expanded self-awareness to understand and identify how harmful attitudes are holding you back from playing better golf and from enjoying life to the fullest. If you sense that you are continually engaging in negative self-talk (e.g. “You idiot, missing that putt!”) you may need to do some self-coaching to change that.

Golf is a game that results in a player becoming easily frustrated and sometimes exploding in unbridled anger and tantrums. Frustration is an emotion rooted in outlandish and preposterous expectations – as with “I should never hit a shot that bad!” Translation: foolish attitudes. Some golfers excuse that they lack “consistency” when in fact they’re consistently awful.