WHAT DO I WANT TO THINK

What do I WANT to think right now?

That phrase sums up what Scott Watkins, director of instruction at the Phoenician, said helped him win his fourth Southwest Section PGA Championship in September at Pinnacle Peak Country Club.

Having won this same title last year, and in back-to-back victories in 1986-87, Scott sees himself as a better golfer now than when he was an All-American at Arizona State and a Pacific 10 Conference Champion. Even better than when he played on the PGA tour for four years in the early 1980's. He reflected on the differences in his game.

"I think I'm smarter and I think my mechanics are better. I'm probably a more consistent putter. My weak point on the tour was putting. I used to leave it short all the time. More important he said, "I don't have the mental peaks and valleys as much as I did. I'm getting control of that."

How is he getting control of that? He described it this way. "This year we played Pinnacle Peak Country Club and their bent grass greens were really soft.

We were required to wear soft spikes and on those greens the spikes left "pock-marks," kind of like small craters. On the first day I teed off close to the end of the field and so the greens were pretty rough. For the first nine holes I got frustrated and a little upset everytime one of those marks threw my putt off line. I was stroking the ball well but still ended up with several three putts. I was getting more and more tense inside, I wasn't having good luck."

Then things changed. No, the greens didn't suddenly, magically become smooth, but as Watkins said, "I thought about them differently. I accepted that they were just the way they were and that I couldn't do anything about it. I remembered that my only job was to put a good stroke on the ball. I was more at ease when I chose to think that way and more putts began to fall. I ended up even for the day and knew I was in it."

"What I've learned", said Watkins, "is that when the anxiety begins to build I want to take a step back and ask myself, what do you choose to think, because what I am thinking is creating the anxiety."

What we tell ourselves, or how we interpret any given situation will either move us closer or further away from the outcome we want. Watkin's thought on the first 11 holes was something like, 'the greens shouldn't be this way.'

When he changed his thought, his interpretation, to 'the greens are just the way they are and everyone's playing them,' he changed how he felt inside. And he created a knowing that he was in position to have a chance to win. He knew he was in it!

Watkins says he's learned, as part of his pre-shot routine, to notice what is in his mind; where his attention is at any given moment, and then to literally ask himself the question; "Is this what I want to think right now?" "Is this what I want to pay attention to right now?" "When I"m not playing well," he said, "I know that I"m not keeping my attention focused on my target. One of the first things that I notice is my eyes start wandering. Then I see something I don't like, trouble or something, and I say 'I don't want to go there.' "

"The other thing that happens is that this feeling just pops into my head that I'm going to miss it left. I feel like Lee Trevino who said " You can talk to a fade, but a hook won't listen." "On the 10th tee of the SWS championship, it happened. That thought popped into my head. I might have been distracted by some folks talking on the nearby tee, but I didn't step back and go through my routine. I just went ahead and made the shot, and sure enough hooked it into the rough. I was allowing negative thoughts to be in control."

If he had remembered to step back and again go through his pre-shot routine then he may have remembered to ask himself the question about his attention. If the answer was no, his attention was not where he wanted it, then he could ask, "What do I want to pay attention to right now?" And then choose, and put his attention on that. In golf, it's almost always the target that he wants his attention on.

"It really doesn't matter, he said, what you thought 10 seconds ago, it matters what you're thinking about right when you're pulling the trigger, and that (question) kept me focused right at that point on what I wanted the shot to do, not what I didn't want it to do."

The further this (final) round went the more I really kept telling myself to keep in that routine."

And it made a difference as Watkins' course record equaling 6-under-par 66 final round gave him a three-stroke margin of victory over Don Yrene, an assistant pro at Scottsdale's Gainey Ranch.

The mental skill that Watkins is describing is one that I call, NOTICE AND CHOOSE, and I encourage players to practice it on and off the golf course. You might decide to notice where you are placing your attention each hour, on the hour, during one day and see what you discover about how you are using your energy. Whatever we put our attention on is also what we are fueling with our energy. That is the creative process. So, the question to ask yourself is, "Am I creating what I WANT in my life with where I am placing my attention?"

Some golfers find it helpful to create a "trigger" or signal that will serve as a reminder for them to notice what they are thinking or where their attention is located. It usually works best if the signal is something that is a natural part of the golf experience and that you give these special powers by simply designating it as such. For instance, you can decide that a particular head cover, or golf glove, or even the tips of your shoes will be "the" signal. When you have made the commitment to that intention in your mind then that object in fact becomes the trigger or signal. It's not important what the trigger is, it's only important that you make the commitment to the intention.

Scott Watkins has had a great year, capping it off with honors as the Player of the Year for the Southwest Section. Next year also holds great promise as his SWS-PGA Championship win gives him entry into both the Phoenix Open and the Tucson PGA tour event. Is he creating what he wants by where he places his attention? You bet he is.

"This feels pretty good, Watkins concluded. I'm getting older and have less time to spend on my game than I used to. I've got three kids, and the youngest is 6," he said, "and now is the time I need to be around." And as much as anyone he has learned that being able to actively choose where and when he gives his attention allows him to balance all the aspects of his life in a way that provides success, and not just in golf.

Dr. Paula King, Golf's "Head" Coach®, is a licensed sports psychologist in private practice in Phoenix. Specializing in work with golfers her clients include tour pros, juniors and amateurs. Comments or Questions?