Getting into the flow helps your golf game

One of my favorite books in my substantial golf library is “They Played With A Quiet Mind” (1991) by Charles F. Kemp, a professor of pastoral psychology at Texas Christian University, a scratch golfer and psychological consultant to the LPGA.

“The most effective attitude for winning golf is what we have chosen to call a ‘quiet mind.’ It is a freedom from tension and pressure, a sense of calm and serenity,” Kemp wrote. He cites examples of players who performed their best while feeling more positive and relaxed than ever, experiencing “peace of mind.”

Recently, Rick Sessinghaus, longtime swing coach for Collin Morikawa, wrote an article for Golf Digest titled, “How Collin Morikawa quiets his mind.” One would think he had just been reading Kemp’s book. The previous July, Morikawa had missed a cut and finished T-64 at the RBC Heritage, the two worst finishes of his career to that point. “He was not in the correct headspace to play his best,” said Sessinghaus. “Besides the swing work, a big part of my coaching involves trying to get Collin in the right mental place to perform at his peak. In sports psychology terms, we call this the flow state – loosely defined as being wholly immersed in an activity with a sense of heightened focus.” This was the very first reference to “flow” relative to golf I had seen in many, many years. 

The concept of flow in positive psychology has been studied and researched since the early 1970s. The term  was coined by University of Chicago psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in 1970, which he described as “a state of concentration so focused that it amounts to absolute absorption in an activity.”He pointed out that the flow state can enhance every human endeavor, including work, art, music, intimacy, recreation, sports and much more.

Csikszentmihalyi states that optimal experience is an end in itself. The activity that consumes us becomes intrinsically rewarding. In this way, it is an “autotelic” activity, referring to a self-contained endeavor that is done not with the expectation of future benefit, but simply because the doing itself is the reward. Avid recreational golfers don’t stick the tee in the ground expecting a big reward four hours later: They play because they cherish the experience. We play for the fun of it.

There are certain similarities with the flow state and playing in the “zone.” In both cases, overthinking and self-consciousness are dampening aspects to performance. When someone in sports is described as playing in the zone, it’s often accompanied by being “out of his head,” “possessed,” “on fire,” or “unconscious.” They mean intensely focused, absorbed and consumed by what you’re doing. That’s flow.  When professional golfer Al Geiberger (“Mr. 59”) became the first PGA Tour golfer in history to shoot 59 for 18 holes in tournament play in the 1977 Memphis Open, he said later, “The day I shot 59 I didn’t know I was in the zone, until I was out of the zone.”

If you want to create the conditions in your own activities where the flow state and optimal experience are possible, start by eliminating those things that block flow from developing. When you’re on the golf course, stop worrying, cancel negative thoughts, don’t over-analyze everything, do not complain, clean up bad habits. Tension, anger and nervousness should play no part in your demeanor on the golf course.  Is it possible for you to enjoy the combination of the solitude of nature and the comfort of being with other people? Those folks who find themselves in a flow state experience joy. We all need to feel the joy when we play golf.