Joel Dahmen can already be considered a veteran on the PGA Tour. He is starting his 16th season as a professional, ninth consecutive on the tour, where he has one win and two runner-up finishes. This Saturday, at the Farmers Insurance Open, he secured a notable top 10, reaching the final day of competition with a chance to fight for victory. What few knew is that the recovery he seems to be experiencing, after struggling like never before in 2024 to maintain playing rights, is partly related to the Navy Seals…
At the end of last year, Dahmen visited San Diego. A three-day experience whose reasons were revealed on CBS by chance. Presenter Amanda Balionis met him during that trip and asked: ‘What are you doing here?’. And the golfer from Clarkston, Washington, said: “I’m here to get better at life.” A statement that was related to the advice given by his performance coach, Chris Bertram, to meet with a Navy Seal to “toughen up mentally.”
The Navy Seals are something like the elite forces of the US military. “When you think of the Navy Seals, you think of crazy physical stuff, but honestly, it was more mental than anything else,” the player explained. “We did some water training, that’s for sure. I’m not Michael Phepls in the pool, that’s clear. But I did it, I got better at life,” he acknowledged. Dahmen, 37, needed to sink a two-metre putt to make the cut at the RSM Classic in November and another in the final round to finish in 124th place in the FedEx and narrowly retain playing rights.
“I don’t think I would have gotten through the fall if I hadn’t had that training,” Dahmen admitted. “I can dig deeper than I thought before. There’s something more in there. I’m just trying to tap into it more often.” This time, the mental work with the Navy Seals didn’t help him fight for victory at Torrey Pines, but it did help him secure his first top 10 of the year and start taking steps that won’t make him suffer as much as last season to achieve his main goal of continuing to play on the PGA Tour.
