Jim Flick has spent decades teaching some of the world’s best golfers including Jack Nicklaus. After all that time watching great players hit golf balls, his assessment of the game was not particularly flattering on the physical side.
“Golf is 90 percent mental,” Flick said, “and the other 10 percent is mental, too.”
You may also see the quote “Golf is 90 percent mental” credited to Nicklaus but, despite that, Flick’s version may be the best way to start this discussion.
Because the longer you play, the easier it is to understand what he meant.
The better you are, the more you notice
I think the mental side of golf becomes much more obvious as you progress into competitive golf.
You can be one of the best players on your local course, in your town or on your school team and start thinking that you are good enough. Then you travel to a bigger event and realize that there are many golfers who can do exactly what you can do with a golf club.
And many that can do more.
At that level, everyone can hit good units. Everyone can fly an iron, control a wedge and do putti. The separation starts to become less about whether you are able to hit the shot and more about whether you can hit when you need to.
We’ve all experienced a smaller version of this.
You crawl onto the driving range and then hit a completely different shot on the first tee. You miss a six-footer, rake another ball in the same spot and hit it right.
Your ability has not changed in 10 seconds. The situation did.
.mgs-kr{container-type:inline-size;container-name:mgskr;margin:32px 0 !important;font-family:var(–kr-body,inherit)}.mgs-kr *{box-sizing:border-box !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr .mgs-kr .mgs-kr . !important;color:#121212 !important;padding:14px 14px 12px !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__eyebrow{display:flex !important;align-items:center !important;gap:8px !important;font:700 11px/1 var(–“Ariallow Condensed,”Kr-Display Narrow”, Arial, sans-serif) !important;letter spacing:.14em !important;text transformation:uppercase !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__bar{width:24px !important;height:8px !important;background:#F5C400 !important;flex:none !important}.mgs-mgsghead-mgs:mgs-kr_mgsk-mgs-kr: 0 0 !important;font:700 19px/1 var(–kr-display,”Barlow Condensed”,”Arial Narrow”,Arial,sans-serif) !important;text-transform:uppercase !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__grid{display:grid !important;grid-template:-column-sgap:-columnn-template !important;margin-top:10px !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__card{display:grid !important;grid-template-columns:96px 1fr !important;background:#fff !important;color:heir !important;text-decoration:none !important;min-height;borderkrgrgs !important:8. .mgs-kr__card:focus-visible{outline:3px solid #121212 !important;outline-offset:2px !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__img{position:relative !important;overflow:hidden !important;display:block !important;flex:none !pximportant;width;8min !important;height:auto !important;margin:0 !important;padding:0 !important;border-radius:0 !important;background-color:#D9D4C7 !important;background-size:cover !important;background-position:center !important;background-repeat:no-repeat !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr .mgs-padding:_mgs-padding: !important;display:flex !important;flex-direction:column !important;gap:3px !important;min-width:0 !important;justify-content:center !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__tag{font-size:10px !important;font-weight:600 !important;letter-spacing:uppercase; !important;color:#4A4A45 !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__title{margin:0 !important;font:700 17px/1.05 var(–kr-display,”Barlow Condensed”,”Arial Narrow”, Arial,sans-serif) !important;text-transform:overflow-mrportant:overflow-mrportant ! .mgs-kr__hook{margin:0 !important;font-size:13px !important;line-height:1.3 !important;color:#4A4A45 !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__cta{display:none !important} /* Wide layout: three cards in a row. Key to the column width of the article, not to the screen. */ @container mgskr (min-width: 620px){.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__img{width:100% !important;min-height:0 !important;aspect-ratio:5/3 !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__wrap {2padding !important:26pxr.pxmgskr .mgs-kr__eyebrow{font-size:14px !important}. .mgs-kr__heading{font-size:34px !important;margin-top:8px !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__grid{grid-template-pepx:2,1:fr important !important;margin-top:20px !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__card{display:flex !important;flex-direction:column !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__body{padding:16px 18px 18px !important;gap:8px !important:flex-starify:1content !important:flex-starify:1content !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__tag{font-size:12px !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__title{font-size:26px !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__hook{font-size:15px !important} .mgs-kr__cta{display:inline-block !important;align-self:flex-end !important;margin-top:auto !important;background:#F5C400 !important;padding:6px 12px !important;font-size:14px !important;font-weight:600 !important}} } /* Container browsers do not support width of the browser. (container-type:inline-size){ @media (min-width:760px){.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__img{width:100% !important;min-height:0 !important;aspect-ratio:5/3 !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__template:-grid:-100% !important; !important;gap:20px !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr___card{display:flex !important;flex-direction:column !important}.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__cta{display:inline-block !important;align-self:flex-end !important;margin-top:0pximportant :00000000000000000000 12px !important} } } .mgs-kr .mgs-kr__tag,.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__hook,.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__cta{font-family: inherit !important} .mgs-kr a.mgs-kr__cta a.mgs-kr__card:link,.mgs-kr a.mgs-kr__card:visitato,.mgs-kr a.mgs-kr__card:hover,.mgs-kr a.mgs-kr__card:focus,.mgs-kr a.mgs-kr a.mgs-kr:2{2:_2#1:1:2#active !important;text-decoration:none !important;border:0 !important;box-shadow:none !important;background-image:none !important;outline-offset:2px} .mgs-kr a.mgs-kr__card *{text-decoration:none !important;border:0 !important;box-shadow:none :flo:noneimportant ! .mgs-kr a.mgs-kr__card *:not (.mgs-kr__img){background-image:none !important} .mgs-kr a.mgs-kr__card .mgs-kr__title{color:#121212 !important} .mgs-kr a.mgs-kr__card .mgs-kr__tag,.mgs-kr a.mgs-kr__card .mgs-kr__hook{color:#4A4A45 !important} .mgs-kr a.mgs-kr__card .mgs-kr__cta{color:#121212}krmg .mgs-kr__heading,.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__title{font-style:normal !important;letter-spacing:0 !important} @media (hover:hover){.mgs-kr a.mgs-kr__card:hover .mgs-kr__ration:{underlinedecoration !important;text-decoration-color:#F5C400 !important;text-decoration-thickness:3px !important;text-underline-offset:3px !important}} .mgs-kr .mgs-kr__title,.mgs-kr .mgs-kr__hook,.mgs-grkr !important;text-indent:0 !important} .mgs-kr .mgs-kr__img img{position:absolute !important;top:0 !important;left:0 !important;width:100% !important;height:100% !important;max-width:none !important;object-fit:covered !important;margin;border:0 !important;margin:0 !important; !important;border-radius:0 !important;box-shadow:none !important;filter:none !important} .mgs-kr.mgs-kr–noimg .mgs-kr__img{display:none !important} .mgs-kr.mgs-kr–noimg a.mgs-kr.mgs-kr–noimg a.mgs-kr.mgs-kr–noimg a.mgs-kr.mgs-kr–noimg !important;min-height:0 !important} .mgs-kr.mgs-kr–noimg a.mgs-kr__card .mgs-kr__body{border-top:4px solid #F5C400 !important;padding-top:12px !important;justify-content:flex-start !important}
PGA Tour data shows what pressure can do
Researchers have used PGA Tour ShotLink data from 2004 to 2012 to study put on the final pit of the tournaments. They calculated how much money was riding on whether each putt was made or missed.
As the financial stake increased, the probability of making the putt decreased. The effect was even greater among less experienced players.
That’s what makes this study so interesting.
These were the players on the PGA Tour. We’re not talking about golfers who don’t have the physical ability to make the putt. The same player had gone that distance many times before.
What changed was what happened if the putt went in.
Your skill will not disappear
This is the part of the cliché I think golfers understand best about how to improve.
You don’t suddenly lose the ability to hit a five-foot putt because it is for your career turn. Don’t forget how to hit a driver because there are problems on both sides of the road.
The physical ability is still there.
What changes is everything surrounding the shot. Now there is a consequence. Start thinking about what will happen if you miss it. Ask the club, line or swing that you are completely comfortable with 10 minutes before.
That’s why the ShotLink study is so interesting. These were the players on the PGA Tour. They had already proven that they could do these things. However, as more money was riding on the result, the yield percentage decreased.
To me, that’s what people are really getting at when they say golf is “90 percent mental.” At some level, the question is no longer simply “Can you hit the shot?”
It becomes “Can you still hit when you really care what happens next?”
Final thoughts
Is golf really 90 percent mental?
I don’t think there’s a useful way to assign a percentage to it, but I understand why Flick feels so strongly about the mental side of the game. At some point, being able to hit the shot isn’t enough. You have to be able to produce when you only have one chance and the result matters.
The place “Golf is 90% mental.” Is that even true? appeared first MyGolfSpy.
