A
iger
Tale
A tiger stalking prey in the wilds cares not what other tigers do, it cares only about the task at hand, determining the right moment to pounce, totally confident in its’ ability to dominate the prey.
A golfing Tiger cares little for what other golfers may do, his “prey” is the golf course, and his task is domination of the course, not other golfers. These tiger-eyes are on the real competition—his ability to play the course one shot at-a-time.
As they watched Paul Azinger struggle on the fifth hole on Sunday during the Memorial Golf Tournament, the CBS golf commentator Jim Nantz, asked Jack Nicklaus what he thought happened to guys when they were going head-to-head with Tiger Woods.
Nicklaus said simply, “They’re intimidated. I don’t know about history, but certainly since I’ve been playing the sport I’ve never found anybody that’s dominated anything more. Name anybody who isn’t amazed by what he has accomplished. Week after week, he just keeps continuing and continuing to do more. You know, I said at the beginning of this week, I certainly would not have bet against him, and certainly the conditions that we had this week, because of what—the length we made in the par 5’s, it made it much, much greater to his advantage. I was just sort of a walk in the park for him today, once he got started.”
“Once the fifth hole was over, it was a matter of ‘Well, how many am I going to win by?’ I don’t think he thought that in his own mind, but I think he knew where he was and what position he was in and the tournament was his to win at that point. Until then, he had to make the shot to turn the thing around, and he made it. And he’s been able to make that shot fairly—with a fair amount of regularity over the last few years. So not much amazes me anymore, but it’s still amazing.”
Paul Azinger said he found himself apologizing after Tiger made the shot that turned the tournament around: “I hate that we didn’t have a closer fight. I even apologized to him, because I think at this point he looks so bored. We were walking down seventeen, and I said, “I’m sorry I didn’t give you a better game, I’m sorry I wasn’t a better player for you today.”
Azinger continued, “I would not say overall he’s (Tiger) bored, no. But, I would say he was able to coast on in. I’ve got some things I need to work on, and I finished second, and I’m all bummed out. I’m not trying to beat myself up.”
Azinger’s eyes were on the tiger. Was he intimidated? Are Mickelson, Duval and the rest intimidated? Is Nicklaus correct? I can’t say for sure, and at the same time their Sunday play suggests an intention to “beat Tiger,” rather than going out to be the best they can be.
Intimidation occurs when your focus and awareness are on someone, or something, outside yourself.
To play with Tiger means playing mentally more like Tiger. It means, in his words, “I’ve always had the ability to focus and to give it everything I had at the moment. The problem I had when I was a kid is to get out of that and relax a little bit when I was playing.”
“I never looked around or saw anything. I was so into the round or into what I was doing, I wore myself out. The trick was learning how to relax and do that at the same time. And that has taken experimentation, trial and error, experience, and learning what works for me. I can’t play like (Ben) Hogan. I can’t play that way. I can’t grind it out for all 18 holes and never let myself out of it and relax. Then again, I can’t talk it up and ham it up like Lee (Trevino) can. I’m somewhere in between. And each day, there’s some barometer I just got to feel it out. Some days I can play longer with more focus, other days, I’ve got to relax and try to get away.”
The opposite of intimidation is confidence. To create confidence, consider heeding Tiger’s words concerning the mental game; experimentation, trial and error, experience, and learning what works best for you.
Turn “the eye of the tiger” inside to improved inner awareness of who you are at your best, and then commit to bring that person to the golf course for each round and for each shot. Let the outcome take care of itself.
Watch intimidation fade, and confidence grow as you’re no longer following the tiger’s tail, but rather creating your own path.
Dr. Paula King is a licensed sports psychologist in private practice in Phoenix, Az. Specializing in work with golfers, her clients include professionals, amateurs, and juniors. Comments or Questions? She can be reached at 602-862-0032, or visit her website at www.drheadcoach.com.