– Justin Thomas suffered two hefty knockings last week at Bay Hill. The first, on Thursday: a 79. And the second, on Friday: another 79 and an embarrassing total of +14, even for someone who had not competed for six months. It’s not that the man from Kentucky seriously considered the possibility of winning the Arnold Palmer, he explained yesterday, beaming, after posting a leading 68 in the first round of THE PLAYERS, but he did feel ready to see the tournament through more than decently. He had tested that on the practice range and in his practice rounds…
And at this point we reach one of the great crossroads of golf and sport in general: is there anyone capable of reproducing in practice the sensations, the tension and, in general, the whole context of official competition? Thomas said yesterday: “Much of confidence comes from practising in competition. It doesn’t necessarily matter how much, it helps a lot to be able to practice things frequently. It’s almost like a reflex. All the players who hole out in decisive moments feel so good because they have holed many putts when it mattered most. A basketball player like Michael Jordan made so many of those shots, and he felt comfortable because he had made them in competitive matches. I think it’s something inherent to competition; it’s really very difficult to replicate the feeling experienced in a tournament. I think those who manage to do it possess an extraordinary ability”
– The question now is: is anyone capable of placing themselves mentally in a competition context during practice? It seems very difficult. Perhaps you would have to ask people like Michael Jordan or Rafael Nadal. Or maybe you do not have to go that far…
– When Francesco Molinari reached the highest point of his career in 2018, the year he won the Open and climbed to World No. 5, he was working with Dave Alred, a performance coach (that was the official title he used) who came from the world of rugby and who specifically tried to replicate competition in training, as far as possible. The Italian player himself recognised Alred’s work at that stage of his career as a differentiating ingredient
– And the fact is that that success had not been a coincidence: Alred had jumped into the world of golf alongside Luke Donald, who actually became World No. 1 during his professional relationship with the British coach. He also worked with Harrington before doing so with Molinari and the Irishman certainly has the competitor profile that suggests he may have been able to replicate competition in training. Evidently, Alred’s formula is not flawless, because it has not been enduring. Perhaps his methods produce a wear that not everyone is willing to assume, since he is very hands-on with the player during practice sessions and acts and commands almost imperatively. Or it may simply be that, in reality, no technical, mental or emotional conquest lasts forever…
– Sergio García contemplates the matter from another very interesting angle. “It’s not so much about replicating competition in training as competing with the same sensations you have in training. When you train you have purer thoughts, mainly because you think more about what you have to do and less about what you mustn’t do. In 2008 I came to feel that comfort and purity at times. But it’s clear that whoever manages to have that ability gains a great advantage over the rest”, explains the Castellón native
Precisely he, with so many years at the top level, does know of a player who had or has that ability. And the answer, without being categorical, is clear: “I don’t know how Tiger Woods worked, I don’t know enough, but just from the way he played, how he competed, he has probably been the one who came closest to what we’re talking about”. Sooner or later, of course, you had to come to Tiger.
