Shakespeare wrote that “ All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts”. His words apply to many elements of our lives but they ring especially true in golf. Rory McIlroy, current World No. 1 in golf, has been taken to the hearts of golfers all round the world, especially in the United States. And in the United States he will compete for three of the four majors so a supportive audience will help when he needs their vocal applause on a tense back nine on a Sunday afternoon. But how has he won them over? One simple illustration is the ease with which he carries himself on and off the golf course. He gives in both spheres and he is instantly an easy interviewee for the media. He will sign autographs, chat to the patrons and as he has already done, win the hearts of millions of golf fans around the world. His friendly, easy-going manner will helps him play golf like few others – there’s a lesson in there.

Rory McIlroy became golf’s world number 1 yesterday with a win in the Honda Classic at P. G. A. National. But to win the tournament meant  he had to do things differently. He said: “I knew going out there the conditions would be tough, and I was just trying to make as many pars as possible, and you know, when a few opportunities presented themselves, I tried to take them. That’s all I was trying to do.” Imagine trying to win a tournament in golf with the world’s best players around you and all you are trying to do is make as many pars as possible. It sounds counter intuitive but it makes sense. Generally players play less well on Sunday compared with the opening three rounds. That being so, playing to par or going one or two under for the day often secures the win for the leader on Saturday afternoon. Rory wisely did what he had to do. He played to win by playing within himself. That’s a sensible approach for anyone in any sport.

Tiger Woods went back to basics with his putting this week in the Honda Classic. He said: “I just worked on going back to my old basics with my dad, and some of the things that he taught me. When I looked at the tape, I got away from some of those things. My posture was off; the way the club releasing was off. A lot of things were off”. One has to wonder why any golfers, especially the worlds’s best, forgets or leaves his basics behind. But the answer is simple because our perception of what we do and what we actually do are often different. What that means is that though we might think we are looking at the golf ball or maintaining our posture, it is often the case that we are not. One way to solve the problem is for you to record yourself on the putting green or practice range. See the difference between you when you are confident about your putting and when you are not confident. One classic difference is posture. Just look at the posture of a confident person and compare it with a diffident person – one who lacks confidence. You’ll quickly see that head position, shoulders, chest and legs are different and this difference transfers into skilled performance. Golfers who lack confidence have poor posture which affects their swing path and putting stroke. Get back to basics but also get back to acting confidently on the practice green and golf course.

After completing an excellent second round in the Honda Classic, Rory McIlroy explained: “I had a couple of chances on the front nine and didn’t take them, but I was just trying to stay as patient as possible”. Trying to climb the leader board on a day when low scores per round are possible increases the demands golfers place upon themselves, especially the world’s best golfers. Rory McIlroy knows that his best rounds of golf come when he is patient, and accepts the outcome of every shot and begins his next shot without a memory or care for the last one. That is a mental skill that is vital in golf. For any aspiring golfer, he or she should practise on the range working on a focus for each shot that considers only the needs of that shot, not what happened on the last shot or what can be achieved with this shot. It is a simple, mindful approach to shot making in golf. Have a go on the range before you take it to the course. Think only about a smooth take-away from the ball.

So why did Rory McIlroy lose to Hunter Mahan? Did it have something to do with the semi-final with Lee Westwood? Perhaps; one cannot be sure.  Rory McIlroy said: “To me, it was like my final in a way [playing Lee Westwood]. That was the one I wanted all week and I got. And that’s what I got myself up for. Yeah, maybe mentally and emotionally it did take a little bit out of me. But it still doesn’t take away from the fact that Hunter played very, very solid golf.” Spectators love rivalry. They love the drama as it is played out in match-play. And perhaps it is why the world of golf loves the Ryder Cup, President’s Cup and the Vivendi Trophy. Sometimes, however, we forget the big prize because we are focused on the emotional battles along the way, the rivalry with another player, the damning comments that linger in the memory and the need to set the record straight. These issues have their place, but they are at times, draining physically and emotionally because your self-worth is tightly wound around the possibility of a victory or a defeat. So what should you do? Use these threats to your self-worth when you need to spark some life into your game. They are a challenge to you but they are only valuable in their proper place. They cannot replace the intrinsic value of playing golf; of spending hour after hour on the range or putting green. The goal is always to improve; not always to prove other people wrong. The reason is that proving others wrong is worthwhile when you do but stifling when you don’t. That thought is in control of you and your emotions and not the other way round. Next time someone challenges you about your golf game or your golf skills or your golf ability, check whether it makes you get up at 5am the next day to practise your golf. If it doesn’t, then it serves no purpose. No point in worrying about it because it didn’t change your behavior.

What do you do if people don’t listen to sense? Some golfers, like Mark Wilson, get a hard time from the press because they are perceived to be short hitters. But does hitting it long really matter? Mark Wilson said “I know people keep talking about how I hit it so short that I can’t compete. First of all, I don’t hit it very short. And secondly, it all comes down to putting. It really does. So I just don’t know how many times I have to explain it.” Strange as it may seem, Mark Wilson has won three times on the PGA Tour in the last 14 months. Not bad for a short hitter. The same issue is raised about Luke Donald, but he is the world number one. It’s a funny old game but a very simple one when it comes to winning. It’s down to your short game so keep the putter in your hands.

Golf commentators lament the poor putting of Sergio Garcia. We hear “If only he could putt…”, “If he made the last putt…” and “putting is his only downfall”. But is it actually true? Let us take a look at his statistics from 7 feet since 2007: 46%; 2008: 56%; 2009: 61%; 2010: 52%, 2011: 58%. In 2007, he was world no. 12 and in 2008, he was world no. 2. We can see a correlation between putting average and world ranking as the years pass. Putting matters. I just wonder whether the issues of poor putting are mechanical or mental. Or whether they are a mixture of the two. It seems, at least from the outset, that it is more of a mental challenge than a physical challenge. Golfers change putters a lot. They don’t change any other club with such regularity; but I’m not sure how often the spend working on their confidence, trust and acceptance of putting and putting outcomes. The best putters in the world will score 3 from 4 putts at 7 feet. Somehow, these golfers get more from their putting than others. We have lots to learn about putting; however, we can still learn from the best putters who tell us that they trust their line, they trust their stroke, and they accept the outcome.

In an interview after losing narrowly to Nick Watney in the Wolf Golf Championship 2012 near Tucson, Tiger Woods was asked how long it would take to fix his putting stroke. He replied: “I should be able to fix it in about a day”. In this summary, we see a time frame to understand and refine a vital skill in golf. Putting is not an intricate skill. Instruction books illustrate how simple it is and should be. You’ll read about “rocking your shoulders”, “keeping the face square”, and accelerating the putter head through the ball”. But putting is challenging because the ball travels on an undulating surface and is affected by the grain of the grass, footprints, weather conditions and the person hitting the putt. Research has shown that from 7-feet, golfers on the PGA Tour, miss 1 out of every 2 putts they hit. In other words, they have a 50% success rate from 7 feet. Putting matters. Luke Donald went from 60% success rate from 7 feet in 2009 to 75% from 7 feet in 2011. In 2011, he became world no. 1. But is putting a skill that improves with practice, confidence or both? So many golfers recognize putting as an art, not a science. They talk about “feeling the putt”, “trusting yourself”, “trusting your line” – these are not technical terms. One wonders whether putting is all in the mind?

We’ve all heard lots about goal setting and its value in training and on the course. It’s useful in every line of business. But did the best golfers use it? It’s clear that Tom Watson used it in practice. In his infamous instruction book, Getting Up and Down, he explained in the Practice section, that he was specific about his practice. For example, seeing whether he could get 7 out of 10 shots within three feet of the flag from off the green. These specific, measurable, and challenging goals meant that he always had a purpose and target for his practice. He didn’t spend hours each day mindlessly hitting golf balls. He was practising to get better at every aspect of the game. He advises us to practice the short game whenever we can. But we should practise with a goal in mind. 6 out of 10 putts within 3 feet of the cup from 40 feet might be a useful goal for one golfer but should be adjusted based on your current performance – some need less of a challenge others need more of a challenge. The key point is that we can only get to be our best when we keep moving in a direction that takes us further than where we are today.

Butch Harmon said recently: “Tiger was the greatest pressure putter I’d ever seen since Jack Nicklaus. There was no doubt about that. He made every one he had to make every single time, and he just doesn’t do that anymore. I don’t put that down so much to mechanics as I do nerves.” Is it nerves or is it mechanics? Or is it a bit of both. The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to over-value personality-based (about the person) explanations for an observed behaviour (e.g., poor putting) of another person but under-values situational explanations for that behaviour (e.g., a mechanical flaw). In other words, we might think someone’s poor putting is more to do with their mental state than their mechanics. Before we make such an assessment, we need to be careful about the advice we give because we might be setting them off on the wrong path. Putting statistics might offer an objective picture.