Lanny Bassham Update - The Masters, Saturday

Masters Saturday

It is day three of the Masters and in the golf world this is the day for players to move up if they are going to have a chance at wearing the green jacket. There are over 40,000 people within the gates of Augusta National with millions all over the world watching every shot. Today one of our clients Jerry Kelly tied Phil Mickelson for the best round of the day at 5 under par. We were unable to visit directly with Jerry but we had a chance to talk to his caddie Eric Meller about the round. Eric told us that Jerry was just having fun out there. He said “Jerry loves the Masters because it is the only major where you can really have fun. The crowds are super responsive to a great shot and the course is demanding enough that if you are not at the top of your game it hammers you.” Today Jerry was focused on process and his score showed it.

We teach that to improve your chances of doing well in competition you should focus on the process of execution and not on outcome or your environment. You cannot think about process and outcome at the same time. If you are thinking about results your process may suffer. But if your total focus is on process outcome is enhanced.

We have been following Jerry and Ben Crane. This is Ben’s third Masters and the first time he has survived the cut. He is not at the top of the leader board but his discipline to run our system seems to really be paying off according to his caddie Joel Stock. See a pattern here? The caddies are easier to talk to than the players at the Masters. Players are hard to get close to even for the trainers. In PGA events we can have direct access to the player on the driving range, on the putting and chipping areas and even in the locker room if accompanied by the player. Not so at the Masters. Combine that with no cell phones allowed on the property and you can see how difficult it is to communicate directly with the players you are trying to help. The good news is these two are doing really well because they are well along in using our program. We began working with Jerry and Ben in 2007. Both have won on the PGA tour since beginning our program. We wish them God Speed tomorrow.

For more information on Mental Management for Golf - go to our website www.mentalmanagement.com