Head Games
I’m neither a big golf fan nor a big Tiger Woods fan, but yesterday the TV was on in the background and this time of year there’s very little of interest on a late Sunday afternoon before cable series kick in. I do find interesting how golfers perform under pressure, since it seems that they are particularly vulnerable to “head games” as the final round is played and final holes draw near, despite thousands of hours of practice.
Sergio Garcia was tied for the lead with Tiger Woods until he put two balls into the water on the next to last hole, and one in the water on the final hole, dropping six shots back in just two holes. (Earlier in the tournament, he had complained that Woods, as his playing partner, deliberately distracted him on a shot. Why golfers need crypt-like silence to swing a stick at a ball I’ll never know.) Garcia has never won a major, and has never lived up to the potential most people believed he possesses.
Woods played extremely well, won by two strokes in a tight field, and seemed to relish the pressure. I believe he’s won four tournaments faster this year than any other, and he’s only a handful behind Snead’s record (I think that’s what Warner Wolf said this morning on Imus.) He a fearsome competitor, and is what they call in sports a “money player.” (And even he was clearly distracted during his famous marital problems and infidelity.)
Some of us cave under pressure, some of use find it nutritional. It’s a shame to get in front of a buyer and then fall apart, or to walk out on a stage and draw a blank. No one is shooting at us. Golfers walk on manicured lawns in the sun trying to win millions. We all have to put things in perspective.
Some people have legitimate, dramatic issues of health, family, and relationships. Most of us are trying to convey value, help people, and be paid for it. That’s our walk in the park.
© Alan Weiss 2013
Tim Wilson
Alan,
I remember watching a tournament that Woods was playing in and was a few strokes behind. What I found fascinating is seeing other well-known golfers actually change their game as Woods was catching up with them and go on to win the tournament. They seem to come apart. Clearly, Tiger got into their heads, and they folded like a cheap suit under pressure and these were in their own right champions.
While travelling I was in a long ticket line (I was still working in corporate and had to fly coach) there was an announcement the flight would be delayed. On queue, a collective groan rang out and the expected anger came forth. There was a ticket agent who was working the crowd and she was amazing. She was the essence of cool, calm, and collective. Everyone she engaged with, she calmed down regardless of how upset they were, she didn’t let their anger disrupt what she had to do. She stayed focused and resolved their problems.
Professionals on the golf course let the pressure of playing against Tiger Woods get to them. Yet a ticket agent facing an angry crowd upset with the possibility of missing connecting flights are calm down by a person who didn’t let the pressure intimidate and keep her from providing excellent customer service.
Alan Weiss
Thanks, Tim!