What I learned...

Being at the US Open was an amazing experience. What I learned was that expectancies are a powerful psychological mechanism.  Players who believe that they have the skill to overcome the inherent challenges of a golf course tend to play to those expectations. Not rocket science I know, but it was interesting witnessing this phenomena up close.  Historically, the US Open golf courses are set up to offer such a challenge that winning scores for the tournament tend to be closer to par than other PGA tournaments.  But the question is, are these scores solely a product of the difficult course set up or can they be attributed to preexisting beliefs?  Do players arrive at a US Open with biased expectations.  Do they actually come in expecting to shoot scores closer to or higher than par? Hearing the players talk on the practice tee and during practice rounds they openly discussed what they expected the winning score to be, givien the course setup.  However, the golfer that I was with that week stated that he thought the course setup played to his advantage and that he felt like he could score really well.  As it turned out that player played really well that week and had a chance to win on the final day. Clearly his beliefs served him well. In psychology, there is a theory that explains why golfers play to their expectancies or as refered to in golf nomenclature "comfort zones." The theory of Cognitive dissonace explains that when a golfer is playing above his/her believed ability or "comfort zone" he or she will expereince tension or dissonance. Uncosciously, the golfer will alleviate this tension by performing in a way that is more consistent with their existing beliefs or expectancies.  As a reslut they struggle breaking through these "comfort zones."  The take home from all this is to set your beliefs and expectations high. Start building the inner belief that you can and will play well so that when you are in that position you will be comfortable.  Obviously playing the game of golf requires more than positive beliefs.  I'm straight forward with all my athletes. Elite performances requrie elite practice.  But you must establish positive expectations prior to experiencing them. Then it is a matter of putting in quality work and staying patient until your belief becomes your reality.