Pressure Golf: Overcoming Choking and Frustration

C.E. (Kit) Lefroy is the director of the School of Sports Administration
at Laurentian University.

All too often golfers choke and have negative feelings about themselves
and their game, not because they cannot play, but because they are
unable to control their feelings. Michael Clarkson’s thesis is that
choking and the frustration that result from choking are caused by fear.


The book’s first section, “Strategy No. 1: Awareness,” focuses on
the fears that are often the cause of mistakes. In seven short chapters,
Clarkson explains in simple language why golfers feel the way they do in
pressure situations, why worrying is the number one cause of choking,
and why choking happens to everyone, including such great golfers as
Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Ben Hogan.

Strategies for keeping pressure at optimum levels and enjoyment high
are discussed in “Strategy No. 2: Pressure Management.” As the
reader proceeds through the six chapters in this section, it becomes
clear that fear and pressure, if properly managed, can improve
performance and enjoyment. Topics include “How to Make Golf Less
Neurotic,” “Understanding Your Internal Pressure,” and “The
Confidence We Should Have.”

“Strategy No. 3: Focus” covers such things as trusting yourself,
focusing strategies, pressure-reduction strategies, and concentration
for special shots (the first tee shot and putting). The five chapters in
this section deal with topics that are well known to any reader of golf
magazines, including focus cues, pre-shot routines, picking a target,
visualization, and imagery.

“Strategy No. 4: Managing Your Emotional Chemistry” brings it all
together with strategies for gaining emotional control and redirecting
feelings. Chapters in this section are devoted to identifying and
changing emotions; getting up, and coming down; focusing nervousness;
and becoming a grinder.

Pressure Golf is written in layperson’s language and offers many
practical strategies. Those who decide to apply them in their next golf
game will likely lower their score.