Tiger Woods’ fading influence: Does he really need help from a mental coach?
Like in any other sport, the need for mental aid in golf cannot be stressed less. Mental coaches can really help boost golfers’ confidence, which in turn improves their performance on the course.
Tiger Woods, whose career has been hurt by injuries, should think of using such an aid in order to regain his waning form.
It is not always the physical clout or technical expertise but the attitude and self-belief in rough times that leads one towards victory.
Keegan Bradley, a young professional American golfer, has set a perfect precedent for Tiger Woods. The young star took everybody by surprise after he won the PGA Championship in his debut this year.
He attributes his success in part to his sports psychologist, Bob Rotella, who according to him, played a pivotal role to play in his final victory.
Bradley came under enormous psychological pressure after having a triple bogey on the 260-yard par-3 15th hole in the PGA Tour this year.
However, he refused to knuckle under the unfavourable situation and sought mental aid from his psychologist.
It did wonders for him. He quickly came out of his bad run and moved on to win the tournament with the help of his psychologist.
Was there anything special that Rotella did to set up Bradley’s victory? Not much. He merely helped the golfer regain his morale by infusing assuredness and mental courage.
“I don't care if you three-putt. I don't care if you hit the ball out of bounds," the 62-year old Rotella said to his golfer. "I don't care what kind of mistakes you make. Nothing is going to bother you”.
"You're going to be in a great mood and in a great state of mind, and nothing is going to change that”.
The talking technique that Rotella employed produced favourable results. As a matter of fact, the importance of mental aid in sports is increasing immensely.
Phil Mickelson, an American golfer who has four major championships to his name, is also said to have sought mental aid after he came close to winning the British Open in July but lost it mainly due to the fact that he could not concentrate on the game for
long.
Injuries have much to do with the slump in Woods’s performances. For example, in July 2011, he took a break from competitive golf to nurse his ankle and knee injuries.
Injuries usually erode the confidence of athletes leaving them vulnerable to extreme psychological exhaustion. Consequently, the possibility of setbacks increases.
Tiger Woods, these days, seems to have lost all the mental toughness he displayed in the last ten-year span.
Rotella believes that Tiger Woods must fall back on psychological support to leap back to his winning performances.
Although Tiger Woods is reported to have benefited from the psychological assistance as an amateur, now is the time for him to make the most of mental aid.
Perhaps, Woods may have been attributing his lacklustre play to his injuries but he should not completely debunk the importance of mental toughness required to win any major tournament.
Woods is not an infallible hero and must try out the coping techniques that Bradley used in order to win the PGA Tour.
Woods is going through tough times and he needs mental toughness to regain his lost glory.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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