Mental Toughness Training for Golf
Start Strong Finish Strong
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Practice: Endure Suffering
Suffering is inevitable and unavoidable, so foster an environment in practice that enables suffering. Think how many golfers at the beginning of each season want to win a tournament or championship? Yet, most players only want it at their convenience and are not willing to suffer to achieve it. Practices must be created with goals that are difficult to achieve and create feelings of frustration and fatigue. These moments will not only be encountered on the course, but these moments of suffering will help create who we are.
Life and golf especially is difficult and it requires patience and dedication to reach one's goals. You WILL become tired, not perform well, and thoughts of quitting may enter, but these are the critical moments of enduring suffering that need to be overcome. A few examples of athletes and historical figures who endured suffering:
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Dan O'Brien (the favorite to win the Decathlon gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics) missed all attempts on the pole vault at the Olympic trials and went from first to last. He stated “It was like a bad dream.” His comeback culminated with winning the 1996 Gold medal.
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Tim Mack (missed qualifying for the 2000 Olympics in the pole vault). He was ranked #10 in the world, qualified in 2004 at Olympic Trials, and won the Gold Medal in Athens.
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Park Tae Hwan of Korea was 14 years old and was disqualified for an illegal start at the 2004 Olympic Games in the 400 freestyle. He was so distraught; he stayed in a bathroom for hours. In 2008 at the Beijing Olympics, he won the Gold in the 400 Freestyle.
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Hayley McGregory (finished third at the 2004 and 2008 US Olympic trials four separate times; only the top two finishers advance to the Olympics). She did not advance to the Olympics despite setting the world record in the 100-back stroke (It was broken the next race).
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General George Washington lost his first battle in Pennsylvania.
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Silken Laumann was the favorite to win 1992 Gold Medal in the single scull. 10 weeks prior to the games, another rowing scull cut across her, broke her leg and shredded her muscles. Within ten days, she had five operations and was rowing just 27 days after the accident. Not only did she row, she ended up winning Bronze for Canada.
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Arguably the greatest shortstop of all time, the Ironman, Cal Ripken, holds the distinction of hitting into the most career double plays.
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Cy Young holds the all-time record for wins (over 500) yet also holds the all-time record for loses (over 300).
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Abebe Bikila won the 1960 Olympic marathon while running barefoot. He became the first Black African to win the 26.2 Olympic race. When asked why he ran barefoot "I wanted the world to know that my country, Ethiopia, has always won with determination and heroism."
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Arnold Palmer, “the king” had a seven-shot lead at the 1966 U.S. Open with nine-holes to play. He ended up losing in a playoff to Billy Casper.
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Mark Zupan was a college soccer player and was in a car accident one night while riding in the back-seat. He broke his neck and clung to a tree branch in chilly canal water for fourteen hours before being rescued. He thrived as a paralympic champion and starred in the epic documentary, Muderball.
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Jim Maclaren was a college football player at Yale University. One night while riding his motorcycle in NYC, a bus struck his wheel and he was pronounced DOA (Dead on arrival). Ultimately, all he lost was his leg and he transformed himself to become a champion in Triathlons. In a race on a c
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About the Book
“Dr. Bell’s book does a terrific job at breaking down the tools you need and to practice to become a mentally tough competitor.” –John Dal Corobbo- 2009 Indiana PGA Teacher of the Year
" Mental Toughness Training for Golf is an excellent resource for coaches and players of all levels. Dr. Bell has done an excellent job compiling diverse and practical philosophies with a proven track record of success. Mental toughness and effective training is the final frontier of coaching our sport." -O.D. Vincent- 1999 National Coach of the Year " Dr. Rob has developed a road map for success. He has helped me numerous times and is very insightful about what it takes for every player to reach their full potential." -Mark Guhne- Three Time Southern Conference Coach of the Year “The practice ideas and tournament mental processes that Dr. Rob Bell reveals in this book are incredibly valuable to a player, coach, or parent. A "must read,” for anyone looking to develop mental toughness.” –Randy Wylie- Golf Digest “Best Teachers in State” Mental Toughness Training for Golf illustrates how to maximize our preparation. In this cutting edge book, you'll learn how great coaches and players create pressure in practice, how to build a human taproot, why suffering is needed, and the don'ts of mental toughness.
About the Author
Dr. Rob Bell is currently an Assistant Professor of Sport Psychology at Ball State University. Dr. Bell is a noted Sport Psychology coach and is a certified consultant of AASP (Association of Applied Sport Psychology).
He has PGA credentials as a Sport Psychology consultant, caddies, and specializes in coaching the mental game with athletes at all levels. He presents his research and applied experience at various conferences and clinics across the nation.
Dr. Bell's area of research includes examining solution-focused guided imagery for the “yips” in golf, and applied sport psychology interventions. He has been published in numerous academic journals including: Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, Journal of Athletic Insight, Journal of Sport Behavior, and The Encyclopedia of Sports. He has also been noted in the NY Times, The Star Press, The National Psychologist, Knoxville News Sentinel, Stack Magazine, and also writes monthly columns on the mental game for various websites and newspapers.
Be sure to sign up for the monthly mental game newsletter at www.drrobbell.com In addition to golf, Dr. Bell has competed in marathons, triathlons, and Masters swimming competitions. Ryan and Nicole are his family.