Rick Sessinghaus named Top 25 Instructors by Golf Tips Magazine
Golf Tips Magazine just announced their top 25 instructors in America. I was one of the fortunate few to be named on the list. Golf Tips Magazine is the third largest magazine in the country and I have served as senior instructional editor for the past three years. Look out for some of my articles in the spring 2012.
Presenter at Teaching Summit
I was fortunate that I was asked to be a presenter at the Southern California PGA teaching summit in Palm Desert. I was one of speakers alongside Hale Irwin and Jim Flick who were providing coaching presentations to the other PGA members. My presentation was on the “Psychology of Teaching”. I touched on many ideas of how instructors and students can get the most out of a golf lesson. I talked about communication styles, learning styles, and some psychological skills of students. It was great to share information and to be with so many respected professionals. In future tips I will be sharing more information on how a student can get more out of golf lessons.
Radio Interview about Tiger’s Comeback
Here is a short 10 minute radio interview I did with a sports show in Toronto on Tiger Woods’ comeback. I share my thoughts on his swing and his mental outlook as he tries to recapture his winning ways.
What mental state should you play in?
I loved watching the final round of the PGA Championship. I was watching how these great players handled the major pressure. I will be honest in that I don’t know a lot about Keegan Bradley and Jason Dufner; however they looked like totally different types of golfers on Sunday. What I mean by this is the “state” they played the final round. The commentators mentioned time and again how Dufner seemed to not let anything bother him. As the round went on I thought Dufner was trying to be so unemotional that it affected his intensity level. I understand that if we get too emotional it can hurt performance, yet Dufner was going the other way with this idea. He looked complacent, almost uninterested. This can lead to focus that is not as sharp and energy levels that are too low to be at your best. On the other hand Bradley was so in the moment he allowed himself to celebrate great shots with a fist pump, big smile, and hop in his step. He actually looked like he enjoyed the pressure. I coach golfers to be humans, not robots. Throughout sports history the champions showed a certain intensity and energy. Some showed it in how they reacted, while others you could see it in their eyes. Bradley had that intensity and energy and he allowed himself to experience the moment. Dufner looked as if he was trying to ignore the importance of the event by not caring. Some golfers are told to play like you don’t care and never show emotion because that is bad. I don’t want to coach robots, I want to coach golfers who do care, who do get upset, who do celebrate a great shot, that’s life. I think that what makes life great is to be emotionally in the experience, that what’s makes us feel alive. I know people will tell me that too much emotion can hinder performance. I agree if the emotion is not channeled properly it can become an issue. I sometimes think that trying to not show emotion can be more damaging as one loses the spark that brings the competitive spirit alive when you need it most. Both played great golf for four rounds and Bradley proved yet again that emotion can be an asset to performance. I’m looking forward to following Bradley throughout his career, because it is refreshing to see someone enjoy the game so much
How many junior tournaments to play in?
As we the summer concludes I’m surprised how many junior golfers over extend themselves during the summer. What I mean is that parents and juniors feel compelled to play in every tournament on the schedule. The problem is that the junior has no time to practice and bad habits set in and poor performance follows. The best professional players in the world play maybe three weeks in a row and have time on Tuesday and Wednesday to practice. Juniors bounce from one tournament to another tournament with no down time and no time to practice. The pressure of rankings and competing is overshadowing proper training and long term development. I like to help juniors and parents set up a realistic schedule that includes practice, physical training, mental training, practice rounds for important events, and prioritize the best tournaments to play. In the long run, playing in one tournament a week with scheduled practice time in between is more beneficial than playing 8 tournaments in a 10 day stretch. Juniors get burned out and by the time the summer ends they don’t want to play anymore. Set up a realistic schedule that balances out training and competition. Look at long term improvement over short term results.
The 5 C’s for Competitive Golf
Even the weekend warrior has experienced a time on the golf course when they felt the exhilaration of competition. Maybe it was the time you had to make par on the last hole to break your own low score, or make a putt to win a bet with your buddies, or even winning your club championship. It doesn’t matter if you are in the hunt to win the US Open or trying to win a skin from your weekend foursome, the same mental skills need to be learned to give yourself a chance to come out on top. Nerves, tightness, and distractions are all apart of playing in a competitive environment.
By learning the 5 C’s any level golfer will perform better the next time they feel the heat of competition.
Concentration
The ability to stay focused on the shot at hand. Not allowing you to become distracted by the importance of the situation. Pressure creates distractions for most golfers. They begin to think more about the importance of the situation. This outcome thinking gets in the way of staying focused on the process of being in the present moment. A great shot is a result of being present with the current process. Take your focus away from what ifs and focus on what you can control. A golfer can use their eyes, self-talk, and routine to improve their concentration. Train yourself to concentrate on what you want, not on what you don’t want.
Composure
As the pressure increases golfers are more apt to act differently. They allow the pressure to change their emotional state. Golfers who don’t stay composed will act flustered, rush movements, and let little things affect their composure. Emotions can affect decision making and shot execution. The best stay at the same composed state that they played with on the first hole. Being composed is consistent from hole to hole. As the competition increases it becomes even more important to act calm, cool, and collected. Act as if you belong and are ready. Use your body and breathing to get back to being composed. Act like Tiger when he is playing in the final round of a major. Tiger is always composed when it matters most.
Comfort Zone
Competition pushes our comfort zone to the edge. Most feel uncomfortable as we have new golf experiences. The best push out their comfort zones by embracing the challenge and wanting to accomplish something they haven’t accomplished before. Breaking out of a comfort zone could be as easy as defining the situation differently. Instead of looking at the new situation as something to be nervous about, see it as something to have fun with and embrace the chance to go for it.
Calculate
Every shot requires you to make the right decision for the situation. Under pressure each golfer tends to make decisions differently. Usually a golfer feels time moving faster and they end up making decisions quicker then normal. The skill of taking enough time to accurately assess the shot is needed to make the right decision. Also under pressure golfer will tend to make low percentage decisions and risk a lot more than under normal situations. The goal is to treat each shot the same and go through your proper mental routine that creates the best decision for you. When you can calculate what the shot entails and the risks involved you are more likely to be committed to that shot. When you are committed you minimize the affects of pressure on your game.
Commitment
Every shot requires total commitment for the shot to come off successfully. In competition golfer tend to doubt more often which creates poor shots. Pressure creates the mind to race to swing thoughts, past poor performances, and potential future disasters. Committing to a golf shot is the most important skill that any golfer that learn to improve performance. Commitment involves knowing your game, the situation, narrowing your possible choices to one. Commitment is confidence in your ability for each shot you attempt. Confidence can be changed in an instant with the use of visualization of past successes or visualizing the successful completion of the present shot. The next time you are playing in competition remember the 5 C’s and you will be better prepared to hit a great shot no matter the pressure. Your mind tells the body what to do. Start training your mind so your body can just take over.
Great Advice for Juniors
Below is an interview with Ted Gleason of www.RoadtoCollegeGolf.com. He gives some great information for juniors looking to play college golf.
Who does Sean Foley think he is?
I’ve been in the golf business all my life and coaching golf for the past 15 years. I have always felt that golf instruction was the most important aspect of keeping golfers passionate about the game. As a member of the PGA we have a responsibility to help our students and bring professionalism to our craft. Tiger Woods’ current swing instructor Sean Foley is starting to play the ego game. What I mean by this is he is trying to establish himself as the all knowing guru, while ripping other teachers and commentators. What I know of Sean Foley’s teaching philosophy it is a little Leadbetter, mixed with some Golf Machine, with some knowledge of bio-mechanics. His resume is impressive and I believe he will improve Tiger’s swing. It is one thing to believe you are the best, it is another to play petty games with other respected professionals. Mr. Foley is feeling some heat and not dealing with the pressure as well as he could. Instead of bantering back and forth with Hank Haney he should be working on eliminating Tiger Woods’ 180 pop up drives and erratic putting. I hope for his sake, Tiger and his other players all play well and he looks like a genius, because his ego needs that reinforcement. From a mental coach standpoint, I wouldn’t want my swing coach trying to constantly defend his method. My advice to Sean, (not that he asked for it) would be to do what he does best, which is coaching high level players to get better. If he gets sucked into media frenzy surrounding his results with Tiger, he will be distracted from his coaching. Just teach Sean and have the results speak for themselves.
Meeting Padraig Harrington
I had the pleasure of meeting Padraig Harrington at a Wilson Staff commercial shoot near Los Angeles. He is making fun of me for wearing the same colors as him. My friends Kyle Scoby and Dan Martin were there and we spoke to him about how his season is going. He was coming off a disappointing tournament at Pebble Beach, but was excited to be playing at Riveria. His attitude was great as he is finishing making some changes to his swing and is ready to focus on contending. Good Luck Padraig!
Do you want to play collegiate golf?
I have the privilege to be apart of the Southern California Junior Summits that will be at three different locations: University of San Diego, Woodland Hills CC, and the Tiger Woods Foundation in Anaheim. The emphasis of these summits is getting junior golfers prepared for college golf. I played collegiate golf and coach many college players and know that the transition from junior to collegiate golf is a big jump. From a mental skill standpoint the pressure of constantly “qualifying” for the travel team can be a grind for some players. You have to continue to prove yourself and be on your game throughout the season. The challenge is the new environment many experience. The college life can be one of freedom, responsibilities, and time management. Are you prepared for these changes? From a golf perspective you will be playing with better players, on tougher courses. The mental skills of confidence, composure, and mental toughness are must to have a successful college career. The key is to develop a plan that has support from your parents, coaches, and professors. Understand the plan is about balancing your time academically, athletically, and socially. If any one of these gets out of balance you will not make it through successfully. If you have made it on a college team then you have the physical skills, now your mental game will be challenged. Are you mentally strong enough for the ups and downs?
Hi Rick,Thanks for the article. Still working on my game. I did just