Instruction
Dr. Gupta: On Becoming A Golfing God
You have had those days before. You speak of them still.
It matters not your age. Or your level of skill. You know exactly the days that I am speaking of. The days where you could do no wrong. The days in which golf felt effortless. The days in which the ball seemed to gravitate toward the hole. The days in which you marveled at your own possibilities.
Those rare and treasured days in which you tasted The Zone.
It is at once mythical, mystical and mysterious. It is the subject of legend and lore. But you have lived the legend. And you have craved it ever since.
How could you have it one day and lose it the next? Is it not possible to bottle it? Or to tease it out of hiding?
Like all things, the first step is to understand it. And in this journey to understand what it is, we must first understand what it is not.
Much of what you are about to read will surprise you. For it will likely be the antithesis of what you have heard.
The zone has more to do with the mind than it does with the brain. The fascination with electrodes and brain signals and imaging reflecting glucose uptake is simply an example of scientists playing with their toys. Its real world application takes place only in the pages of reference-laden journals, rather than in the day-to-day experience of the human being that is the golfer.
What do I mean?
When a golfer is in the zone, do you think he cares which of his brain hemispheres was more active or what his heart rate was or which parts of his brains lit up on the scan?
And can the scientists who disseminate all of this impressive jargon take a golfer and put him into the zone using all of their fancy toys?
Forget the electrodes and the scans and the myelination and the motor patterns. Let’s talk about the reality that YOU the golfer knows. And what YOU the golfer experiences on any given day.
Let us move on to the mind.
Perhaps the most ubiquitous phrase in the lexicon of sport psychology is Mental Toughness. Sport psychologists love this phrase. Let me ask you a question. When you are not playing well is it because your mind is your friend or your enemy? And if it is your enemy, why would you want your enemy to be tough? If it is your mind that gets in the way of your performance, would you rather it be a tough adversary or a weak one?
The zone has nothing to do with mental toughness.
What about all the talk about positive self-talk? You have surely tried to tell yourself that you CAN DO IT and that YOU WILL PREVAIL. And when you did, did the mind not whisper back? Which voice had the greater effect? Your self-talk? Or the mind’s response?
What about thinking positive thoughts? You have likely tried this as well. When you had a positive thought it made you feel better, right? But how many seconds did it take for the negative thoughts to return?
You have perhaps even tried breathing, yoga, meditation, positive imagery, visualization, aphorisms, exercise and diet modification. Did any of these do the trick?
If you agree to suspend all of this ill logic. If you can abandon for a few minutes this bag of colorful potions, perhaps we can have a serious conversation.
Are you ready?
The side effects of the zone may be detected in the brain, but the zone itself is not found there. The zone has nothing to do with mental toughness. The zone is not about calming the mind, controlling the mind, appeasing the mind, or taming the mind.
In case you have not noticed, the mind cannot be tamed. It was never meant to be tamed. The mind is a tempest. A wild beast. Frenzy is its very nature. And if you stand in the way of this storm, you will be devoured.
The zone is not a state of a strong mind, a quiet mind, or a calm mind.
The zone is a state of No Mind.
When you experienced those tranquil, effortless days in which you accessed the zenith of your skill, it was because you had transcended the mind. Purely by accident. You did not have positive thoughts or happy thoughts. You had NO THOUGHTS. When there is no mind there is no thought. And when there is no thought, you have access to the full sum of your skill.
Can we get into the zone at will? Certainly. But it will cost you something that you may not be willing to pay: Your intelligence. The deep-seated belief which says that YOU KNOW.
Understanding the state of no mind will be more about unlearning rather than learning. It will require you to abandon all that you have been told. It will require you to admit a certain degree of ignorance. In accepting ignorance, you will begin to clear your mind of the cobwebs of thoughts. And you will begin the road toward clarity.
Can you do it? Can you make yourself available to existence? Can you let go of the knowledge of which you are so proud? Can you allow yourself Just To Be? Can you allow yourself to regress into childhood? Wholly new and innocent?
If you are willing, you will have started the journey. The journey toward No Mind. The journey toward clarity.
The journey toward becoming A Golfing God.
There may be no more painful affliction in golf than the “yips” – those uncontrollable and maddening little nervous twitches that prevent you from making a decent stroke on short putts. If you’ve never had them, consider yourself very fortunate (or possibly just very young). But I can assure you that when your most treacherous and feared golf shot is not the 195 yard approach over water with a quartering headwind…not the extra tight fairway with water left and sand right…not the soft bunker shot to a downhill pin with water on the other side…No, when your most feared shot is the remaining 2- 4-foot putt after hitting a great approach, recovery or lag putt, it makes the game almost painful.
And I’ve been fighting the yips (again) for a while now. It’s a recurring nightmare that has haunted me most of my adult life. I even had the yips when I was in my 20s, but I’ve beat them into submission off and on most of my adult life. But just recently, that nasty virus came to life once again. My lag putting has been very good, but when I get over one of those “you should make this” length putts, the entire nervous system seems to go haywire. I make great practice strokes, and then the most pitiful short-stroke or jab at the ball you can imagine. Sheesh.
But I’m a traditionalist, and do not look toward the long putter, belly putter, cross-hand, claw or other variation as the solution. My approach is to beat those damn yips into submission some other way. Here’s what I’m doing that is working pretty well, and I offer it to all of you who might have a similar affliction on the greens.
When you are over a short putt, forget the practice strokes…you want your natural eye-hand coordination to be unhindered by mechanics. Address your putt and take a good look at the hole, and back to the putter to ensure good alignment. Lighten your right hand grip on the putter and make sure that only the fingertips are in contact with the grip, to prevent you from getting to tight.
Then, take a long, long look at the hole to fill your entire mind and senses with the target. When you bring your head/eyes back to the ball, try to make a smooth, immediate move right into your backstroke — not even a second pause — and then let your hands and putter track right back together right back to where you were looking — the HOLE! Seeing the putter make contact with the ball, preferably even the forward edge of the ball – the side near the hole.
For me, this is working, but I am asking all of you to chime in with your own “home remedies” for the most aggravating and senseless of all golf maladies. It never hurts to have more to fall back on!
Over the last couple of decades, golf has become much more science-based. We measure swing speed, smash factor, angle of attack, strokes gained, and many other metrics that can really help golfers improve. But I often wonder if the advancement of golf’s “hard” sciences comes at the expense of the “soft” sciences.
Take, for example, golf instruction. Good golf instruction requires understanding swing mechanics and ball flight. But let’s take that as a given for PGA instructors. The other factors that make an instructor effective can be evaluated by social science, rather than launch monitors.
If you are a recreational golfer looking for a golf instructor, here are my top three points to consider.
1. Cultural mindset
What is “cultural mindset? To social scientists, it means whether a culture of genius or a culture of learning exists. In a golf instruction context, that may mean whether the teacher communicates a message that golf ability is something innate (you either have it or you don’t), or whether golf ability is something that can be learned. You want the latter!
It may sound obvious to suggest that you find a golf instructor who thinks you can improve, but my research suggests that it isn’t a given. In a large sample study of golf instructors, I found that when it came to recreational golfers, there was a wide range of belief systems. Some instructors strongly believed recreational golfers could improve through lessons. while others strongly believed they could not. And those beliefs manifested in the instructor’s feedback given to a student and the culture created for players.
2. Coping and self-modeling can beat role-modeling
Swing analysis technology is often preloaded with swings of PGA and LPGA Tour players. The swings of elite players are intended to be used for comparative purposes with golfers taking lessons. What social science tells us is that for novice and non-expert golfers, comparing swings to tour professionals can have the opposite effect of that intended. If you fit into the novice or non-expert category of golfer, you will learn more and be more motivated to change if you see yourself making a ‘better’ swing (self-modeling) or seeing your swing compared to a similar other (a coping model). Stay away from instructors who want to compare your swing with that of a tour player.
3. Learning theory basics
It is not a sexy selling point, but learning is a process, and that process is incremental – particularly for recreational adult players. Social science helps us understand this element of golf instruction. A good instructor will take learning slowly. He or she will give you just about enough information that challenges you, but is still manageable. The artful instructor will take time to decide what that one or two learning points are before jumping in to make full-scale swing changes. If the instructor moves too fast, you will probably leave the lesson with an arm’s length of swing thoughts and not really know which to focus on.
As an instructor, I develop a priority list of changes I want to make in a player’s technique. We then patiently and gradually work through that list. Beware of instructors who give you more than you can chew.
So if you are in the market for golf instruction, I encourage you to look beyond the X’s and O’s to find the right match!
Most pros take months, even years, to win their first tournament. Lottie Woad needed exactly four days.
The 21-year-old from Surrey shot 21-under 267 at Dundonald Links to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three shots — in her very first event as a professional. She’s only the third player in LPGA history to accomplish this feat, joining Rose Zhang (2023) and Beverly Hanson (1951).
But here’s what caught my attention as a coach: Woad didn’t win through miraculous putting or bombing 300-yard drives. She won through relentless precision and unshakeable composure. After watching her performance unfold, I’m convinced every golfer — from weekend warriors to scratch players — can steal pages from her playbook.
Precision Beats Power (And It’s Not Even Close)
Forget the driving contests. Woad proved that finding greens matters more than finding distance.
What Woad did:
• Hit it straight, hit it solid, give yourself chances
• Aimed for the fat parts of greens instead of chasing pins
• Let her putting do the talking after hitting safe targets
• As she said, “Everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots”
Why most golfers mess this up:
• They see a pin tucked behind a bunker and grab one more club to “go right at it”
• Distance becomes more important than accuracy
• They try to be heroic instead of smart
ACTION ITEM: For your next 10 rounds, aim for the center of every green regardless of pin position. Track your greens in regulation and watch your scores drop before your swing changes.
The Putter That Stayed Cool Under Fire
Woad started the final round two shots clear and immediately applied pressure with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes. When South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim mounted a charge and reached 20-under with a birdie at the 14th, Woad didn’t panic.
How she responded to pressure:
• Fired back with consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th
• Watched Kim stumble with back-to-back bogeys
• Capped it with her fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 18th
• Stayed patient when others pressed, pressed when others cracked
What amateurs do wrong:
• Get conservative when they should be aggressive
• Try to force magic when steady play would win
• Panic when someone else makes a move
ACTION ITEM: Practice your 3-6 foot putts for 15 minutes after every range session. Woad’s putting wasn’t spectacular—it was reliable. Make the putts you should make.
Course Management 101: Play Your Game, Not the Course’s Game
Woad admitted she couldn’t see many scoreboards during the final round, but it didn’t matter. She stuck to her game plan regardless of what others were doing.
Her mental approach:
• Focused on her process, not the competition
• Drew on past pressure situations (Augusta National Women’s Amateur win)
• As she said, “That was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win. So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this”
Her physical execution:
• 270-yard drives (nothing flashy)
• Methodical iron play
• Steady putting
• Everything effective, nothing spectacular
ACTION ITEM: Create a yardage book for your home course. Know your distances to every pin, every hazard, every landing area. Stick to your plan no matter what your playing partners are doing.
Mental Toughness Isn’t Born, It’s Built
The most impressive part of Woad’s win? She genuinely didn’t expect it: “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win my first event as a pro, but I knew I was playing well, and I was hoping to contend.”
Her winning mindset:
• Didn’t put winning pressure on herself
• Focused on playing well and contending
• Made winning a byproduct of a good process
• Built confidence through recent experiences:
- Won the Women’s Irish Open as an amateur
- Missed a playoff by one shot at the Evian Championship
- Each experience prepared her for the next
What this means for you:
• Stop trying to shoot career rounds every time you tee up
• Focus on executing your pre-shot routine
• Commit to every shot
• Stay present in the moment
ACTION ITEM: Before each round, set process goals instead of score goals. Example: “I will take three practice swings before every shot” or “I will pick a specific target for every shot.” Let your score be the result, not the focus.
The Real Lesson
Woad collected $300,000 for her first professional victory, but the real prize was proving that fundamentals still work at golf’s highest level. She didn’t reinvent the game — she simply executed the basics better than everyone else that week.
The fundamentals that won:
• Hit more fairways
• Find more greens
• Make the putts you should make
• Stay patient under pressure
That’s something every golfer can do, regardless of handicap. Lottie Woad just showed us it’s still the winning formula.
FINAL ACTION ITEM: Pick one of the four action items above and commit to it for the next month. Master one fundamental before moving to the next. That’s how champions are built.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” on RG.org each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more Tips!
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Michael Holmstrom
Jan 6, 2015 at 10:00 pm
Great Article. Basically similar to other things i’ve read from Bob Rotella, etc. I was excited to go out today and play, doing my best to eliminate conscious swing thoughts I normally use during setup and swing, i.e. kick left hip out, Flare the left foot, lower right shoulder, blah blah. Instead I just tried to “feel” the setup in my body and adjust setup based on tee. Old thoughts still creep in on the tee, or on the putting green, but i’d say i was successful about 80% of the shots. I play to a 9.5 index and shot a 74 today with 4 birdies. My second best round of my life. This stuff works….just saying!!
other paul
Jan 4, 2015 at 8:01 pm
Golf is thinking followed by focused thoughts directing an action. Not thinking and then no thinking.
other paul
Jan 4, 2015 at 7:57 pm
I was playing Virtual golf (36 holes in one hour) one night and found the zone for 1 shot. What I felt was a overwhelming focus and confidence (not an empty mind) in the task at hand. I knew exactly what I was going to do and how to do it. I then stepped up to the ball and thought “right at the pin” and hit it. Landed 10′ past from 194yards and almost hit the stick. I disagree with empty mind, an empty mind is not a focused mind. I also have found the zone in martial arts as well a single time while fighting. It was a amazing, felt like Jet Li for 30 seconds.
Philip
Jan 4, 2015 at 9:39 pm
Depends on the individual and how one defines an empty mind. For myself, my mind is constantly full of thoughts. My best golf is when I focus on my objective, visualize the result, step up to the ball and execute. To me that is an empty mind – not thinking about and being distracted by the wind, that golfer who won’t shut up, the traffic, the office, what am I having for supper, and the pain in my left leg, etc.
For myself, being in the zone is a form of walking meditation. So for me, I agree with the concept of an empty mind where I hardly notice the golfers I am playing with when I approach my ball. What I still find difficult is switching this state of mind off and on so that I can still enjoy the company of those I play a round of golf with. It is easy to switch off, not so easy to get back to it.
Mike Belkin
Jan 4, 2015 at 10:18 am
Great piece, and totally agree on the “unlearning” component in that we have to remove our preconceived notions and “let go” to help get in the zone.
Kapil Gupta MD
Jan 4, 2015 at 12:53 pm
Much appreciated, Mike. Glad you enjoyed it.
Craig T Nelson
Jan 3, 2015 at 8:21 pm
More WRX. Scam material
jon
Jan 3, 2015 at 9:58 pm
Scam? Why you hate to hate. You be trollin.
Beacher50
Jan 2, 2015 at 6:38 pm
What did Chevy Chase say in Caddyshack…NA NA NA…NU NU NU…NH NH NH
Toby Smith
Jan 2, 2015 at 8:42 am
Really interesting article, but leaves out the key info….how do you achieve it! I struggle to keep my mind quiet, would love more info about how to achieve this.
Barry S.
Jan 2, 2015 at 11:48 pm
Visualize the shot with your third eye and you’re pretty much there.
David
Jan 3, 2015 at 9:28 am
Didn’t you read? You must unlearn what you have learned. Go watch Star Wars – The Empire Strikes Back. If you are still asking this question, you have completely missed the point of the Force and need to watch again.
Yoda
Jan 3, 2015 at 3:49 pm
true dat
Anon
Jan 10, 2015 at 1:35 am
For the low price of 399.95 he be willing to show you the secrets of the no-mind!
???
Jan 2, 2015 at 4:56 am
Great piece,
Pleasure to see a golf related subject not covered in launch monitor data, or every golf psychology terminology under the sun. Golf was played well, by more skilful players than the modern day tour pro long before these two over subscribed genres ever came into prominence, so all aspiring players please take note. Play the game as it should be, which is ‘a game’, with the best results often found when simply mucking around or experimenting, it’s all in the dirt so to speak, and having lots of lessons will not give you the answer. Only you can find the answer from within, by trying a variety of styles/techniques that suit your own individual awareness and feel proprioception. Mimicking others will not help, as that is there journey and you need to follow your own, Furyk/Watson/Kuchar don’t stand on the range wishing they looked like some text book swing, when they are laughing their way to majors and top ten finishes. If they had been told they must follow the norm be that technical or mental they would never have made it to the top!
Kapil Gupta, MD
Jan 2, 2015 at 11:32 am
Amen, friend. Your wisdom shines through.
Armisen
Jan 3, 2015 at 12:40 pm
Sorry, I don’t buy it.
MANY people ‘muck around’, without help, and get stuck in an endless pattern of experimentation and a constantly changing swing that never allows them to progress as a player (this coming from a creative-type, avid golf experimenter).
Surely there is a middle ground where one can learn the game with the help of someone who encourages experimentation within some guidelines.
And players of old were more skillful than their modern-day counterparts? I’d like to know how you measure that. Smacks of bias to me.
Philip
Jan 3, 2015 at 5:45 pm
I guess it depends on how they “muck” around. If they just try different things then I totally agree as I did exactly that a few years ago and did nothing but go in circles. However, if they are starting to listen to their body (i.e. instincts) while experimenting (paying attention to cause and effect) then they can open up a large door to improvement if they try to simplify what they are doing.
Can people accelerate in their game with outside help – for sure (videos, books, golfing partners, etc.) I personally have found it difficult to find a golf coach who was on my page or was able to get me to their page – tricky for sure, but I will be trying again with another course pro this spring. I learn so much from other golfers each time I play (both better and worse than myself) so why not from a teacher of golf. Every little bit helps.
I agree with your third point – players of long ago are not more skillful than yesterday, today, or tomorrow. Each independent era had the most skillful players of that time based on the then current course conditions, equipment and knowledge available. If you took anyone from two era’s at their prime and they competed together they would both get better as a result of learning from each other.
Fred
Jan 2, 2015 at 12:30 am
I wonder if the author even golfs….
Bla bla
Jan 1, 2015 at 9:25 pm
Booooring! To long didn’t even start reading it!
Brad Ingarfield
Jan 1, 2015 at 8:58 pm
Very interesting. I’ll give it a shot. – Brad Ingarfield
KK
Jan 1, 2015 at 7:40 pm
Is this really an article on GolfWRX about how to be a god or gain superhuman abilities by using something that is beyond my mind?
J
Jan 1, 2015 at 6:41 pm
Irreverent and offensive title for an article and a statement.
Equating to some ability to focus on a task to Godliness however unintentional or not intended is despicable.
Choose better words next time.
Philip
Jan 1, 2015 at 10:42 pm
Very relevant and non-offensive. Definitely not despicable as many individuals often blame their success on some “God” and not themselves. Not religious in any shape or form as “Gods” have existed in human affairs for thousands of years and numerous “Gods” still do to this day.
J
Jan 2, 2015 at 7:12 pm
Irreverent… Not irrelevant.
Philip
Jan 2, 2015 at 11:08 pm
Gotcha, missed that. However, I do not think there is any disrespect here. Beside, I personally would not want to be a golfing god, how boring – takes all the fun out of golf. That being said, there is no disrespect in accepting that our bodies and senses, as designed, know more how to play golf than our intellectual minds. If anything, it is a sign of respect that we know so little within our minds.
As was said a long time ago, our hands know more on how to play golf than our minds will ever know.
Scooter McGavin
Jan 2, 2015 at 10:34 pm
Which of the hundreds of gods is he being offensive to? Take your sermons elsewhere, please.
Splatgirl
Jan 3, 2015 at 11:57 am
Get over yourself.
Splatgirl
Jan 3, 2015 at 11:59 am
This was in reply to J, not you, Scooter.
Philip
Jan 1, 2015 at 5:09 pm
That has been my journey over the last two years with my swing, setup and execution on the course. No thoughts – just let my body determine what is required based on what my eyes see, my senses feel, and the visualization of the ball flight in my mind.
The more i try to control with my thoughts what has to happen and how, the more I mess up. The more I allow my thoughts to evaporate and trust my senses the more amazing the results.
I accepted this through an experiment 2 years ago at a driving range. My 7i was 150 yards at the time and I setup to three targets. 150 yard target at centre, 130 yard target 30 yards to the right, and 170 yrs target 30 yards to the left. I always faced the 150 yard target and then would visualize which target I wanted the ball to go to and allow my body to determine my grip and setup while always facing the target in front of me.
I then proceeded to watch myself take the one 7i and hit it straight to 150, cut it to 130, and turn it to 170 yards repeatedly while landing less than 10 yards of each target. I had no idea on how to make those shots with precision, but my body did based on what I visualized in my mind. Thus began my journey to simplify everything about golf, including my thoughts which where an unnecessary burden.
Every year since has been an improvement – this one looking to be the best yet.
Kapil Gupta MD
Jan 1, 2015 at 6:07 pm
Truly fantastic, Philip. You are indeed on the right track, my friend.
Best,
Armisen
Jan 3, 2015 at 12:42 pm
This is all fine and dandy, but in no way are you ‘letting your body determine what is required’ when you swing. It’s all in your brain, man.
Philip
Jan 3, 2015 at 5:31 pm
Yes and no – I guess a better way is to say I was letting my unconscious mind control my body. In regards to this experiment, I set-up to the ball without looking at my hands or my stance. I walked up to the ball and focused on the target with my eyes, seeing the ball flight and once my hands and body felt comfortable I made the swing.
I didn’t walk up the ball and start thinking – okay, I need to open the club face a bit, open my stance and come over the top just a bit to cut the ball and take off yardage. I would be lucky to hit the ball.
Yes, my brain is being used but at the instinct level, not intellectual level. No different than if someone tosses you a baseball. You’re not calculating the speed of the ball, the angle of flight, where your feet are located, are you in balance and how far you have to outstretch your arm to catch the ball. You just move in front of the ball path, stick out your arm and catch the ball without conscious thought (or as little as possible for you).
My goal is to make my game of golf as close as possible to catching a baseball, or running though the woods at dusk – instinct.
Bill
Jan 6, 2015 at 3:30 pm
curious to know your handicap Philip… the amount of body control and unconscious mind connection you have achieved, does not just happen. I would venture to guess you are near scratch, and you have done extensive *conscious* work on grooving a fundamentally sound setup from your consistent pre-shot routine for your body type/ability level, before you were able to let your unconscious take over and actually produce the shots you visualized. You want to swing instinctively as we do in other sports, but Golf is not like other sports where we reacti to a moving object. The ball just sits there, which makes it very difficult to use the same unconscious reaction instincts of high-motion activities. You haven’t just tapped in to the same instincts you had in baseball, you have put a lot of hard work and effort in to developing your golf-specific skills. Well done!
Bill
Jan 6, 2015 at 3:41 pm
*caveat – I do agree that if the conscious mind gives a ball flight visualization to the unconscious mind to ‘react’ to, the unconscious mind will produce the shot, BUT the set-up has to be good, too. which is material for a whoooole nuther post.
AJ Jensen
Jan 1, 2015 at 2:26 pm
Great article. You’ve pinned down what I’ve struggled to explain to myself, about how to recapture the often-elusive Zone and the way I feel whenever a window opens and I find myself in it. This season maybe I will focus myself on a ‘just play’ kind of approach, abandon the active thought thing and let my hands and body do what they already know how to do with a golf club.
Gloover
Jan 1, 2015 at 1:25 pm
Eh, I’m going to trust Daniel Dennett: “all varieties of perception—indeed all varieties of thought or mental activity—are accomplished in the brain by parallel, multitrack processes of interpretation and elaboration of sensory inputs. Information entering the nervous system is under continuous ‘editorial revision.'” “These yield, over the course of time, something rather like a narrative stream or sequence, which can be thought of as subject to continual editing by many processes distributed around the brain, …”
Armisen
Jan 3, 2015 at 12:43 pm
Yes. Mind=Brain.
Nick
Jan 1, 2015 at 12:32 pm
Great article. Really makes me realize how much I overthink the game at times. I just need to sometimes let it go…