Equipment
Three tips to think about nothing while over the ball
After delivering a seminar for the PGA of Philadelphia, a gentleman walked up to me and said “Hi, I’m Dr. Howdy Giles. I was Arnold Palmer’s dentist.” Howdy, and I have been friends ever since and he was kind enough to introduce me to the King in April of 2016. On that memorable day, we asked Arnie what he thought about when standing over the ball, and his response was simple.
Nothing.
To condition yourself to think about nothing while standing over the ball, you must be highly disciplined. These three tips provide you with a dose of daily discipline so you can start thinking like a king today.
No. 1. Challenge Yourself Daily
This self-empowering activity is so much fun and highly motivating. Off the course, your Daily Challenge could be as simple as completing a task, starting a task, making that certain phone call or committing to one thing that will take you out of your comfort zone.
On the course, your Daily Challenge might be to visualize every shot, stay positive the entire round or to think about nothing while standing over the ball. Once you determine your Daily Challenge, it takes only 2 seconds to write it down. Writing it down makes you much more committed and self empowers you to achieve it. Every one of our golfers doing the Daily Challenge absolutely loves it, and I know you will too.
No. 2. Crush Your Morning and Evening Routine
If you want to take control of each day, physically change your path to get in and out of bed each day. The reason why is that 95 percent of what you do today is the same as what you did yesterday, which means you are on auto-pilot almost the entire day. By changing how you get in and out of bed, you create the perfect framework for constant improvement because you are in control of the very first thing you do each day, and the very last thing you do.
Total time required to reroute your path in and out of bed is about 1 second.
No. 3. Ask Yourself a Better Question
Did you know the quality of your life is only as good as the quality of the questions you ask yourself? The conversations you have in your mind must be focused on improvement, not on what’s wrong. The danger in asking yourself the wrong questions is that your subconscious mind will provide you with all the right answers to your wrong questions. You know that dreadful feeling of being stuck or frustrated and you have no clue how to improve? The reason why is your communication creates a perpetual road block with no chance for a detour. Asking the wrong questions makes it virtually impossible for you to succeed, in golf and in life.
If you ask yourself why you can’t perform under pressure or why your short game stinks, your subconscious provides you with a host of reasons why. By asking questions that start with “Why is it so easy,” everything changes instantly.
For example, say any of these questions out loud right now and see how they make you feel:
- Why is it so easy to make this putt?
- Why is it so easy to relax and be totally calm right now?
- Why is it so easy to think about nothing standing over the ball?
By constantly asking “why is it so easy,” you will feel more relaxed which equates to lower stress and less anxiety. Lowering your physical and emotional anxiety translates to better golf, and the best part about it is that asking a better question takes about 2 seconds!
In Extreme Ownership by U.S. Navy SEALs Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, they said something at the end that really caught my attention.
Discipline = Freedom
These three simple discipline tips will help you play your best and create freedom in your game, both on and off the course.
To recap:
1. Take the Daily Challenge (2 seconds)
2. Crush Your Morning and Evening Routine (1 second)
3. Ask a Better Question (2 seconds)
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Pingback: Don’t think over the ball—especially about shanks or white elephants
crit5011
Feb 6, 2017 at 2:33 pm
I mastered thinking of nothing in the 60’s and my high school teachers will confirm it and and….sorry what was I saying.
edge of lean
Feb 6, 2017 at 12:46 pm
Uuhhh*
Miuralovechild
Feb 5, 2017 at 12:37 am
I remember watching Peter Jacobson and Matt Greaser on Golf Channel talk about their 26 swing thoughts before impact.
Spencer
Feb 5, 2017 at 12:26 am
I think of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
Scott
Feb 6, 2017 at 8:51 am
You were suppose to keep your mind totally blank!!
Double Mocha Man
Feb 4, 2017 at 9:02 pm
This article’s been posted for about 8 hours. Apparently nobody’s thinking about nothing. No comments.
Tom
Feb 5, 2017 at 10:17 am
we’re still caught up on the Under Armor golf bag article
Double Mocha Man
Feb 6, 2017 at 1:32 pm
Thanks alot Tom…now you have me thinking about the UA golf bags. Try not to think of elephants…